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Bilimoria Says India's Diversity and Creative Economy Offer Global Advantage
Karan Bilimoria spoke at an economic meeting in New Delhi.
He said India’s large population is one of its strengths.
He also said India has many languages, religions, foods and traditions.
He believes this variety makes India distinctive around the world.
Bilimoria pointed to films made in many Indian regions, not only Bollywood.
He said creative work can help the economy grow.
He also noted that millions of small and medium-sized businesses are part of India’s creative activity.
He said the creative economy makes up about 6 per cent of the world economy.
Karan Bilimoria spoke at the Kautilya Economic Conclave 2026 in New Delhi on Monday.
He said India’s population scale, demography and diversity are important national strengths.
Bilimoria described India’s variety of languages, religions, geography, food and cultural traditions as globally unmatched.
He highlighted regional film industries and the wider creative industries as contributors to India’s economic potential.
He said creative industries account for about 6 per cent of global GDP and noted India’s creative activity includes millions of small and medium-sized enterprises.
- Who
- Karan Bilimoria, Baron Bilimoria and a member of the UK House of Lords.
- What
- He said India’s diversity, demography and creative economy give the country a distinctive global advantage.
- Where
- New Delhi, India.
- When
- Monday, at the Kautilya Economic Conclave 2026.
- Why
- He argued that India’s cultural diversity and creative industries contribute to its economic potential.
Economic strengths
Economic assessment
Role of culture in evaluating economic potential
Economic strengths
Bilimoria argued that culture and diversity are underlying strengths that should be considered alongside measures such as GDP growth, per capita income and geopolitics.
Economic assessment
The article describes conventional discussions as focusing on macroeconomic indicators such as GDP growth, per capita income and geopolitics; it gives no named opposing speaker or rebuttal.
Key facts
- Speaker
- Karan Bilimoria, Baron Bilimoria, member of the UK House of Lords
- Event
- Kautilya Economic Conclave 2026
- Location
- New Delhi
- Creative economy share of global GDP
- Around 6 per cent, according to Bilimoria
- India's official languages
- 22
- Creative activity
- Bilimoria said it is supported by millions of small and medium-sized enterprises in India.
Quotes
Karan Bilimoria
British Indian businessman and UK House of Lords member
“India's strength is not just in its scale, being the most populous country in the world, but it has two other things: demography, diversity. the diversity of India, whether it's in language, whether it's in race, whether it's in religion, whether it's in terrain, whether it's in food, whether it's in different cultures, whether it's music, dance, all over this country is beyond compare. No other country comes close to it.”
thehansindia.com
“India has huge power in the creative industries, let alone the media sector”
thehansindia.com










