The Indian Chamber of Commerce (ICC) launched the All India Initiative on Creative Economy (AIICE) in the national capital on Friday. With an aim to “tap into the vast potential of India’s creative industries”, the initiative was inaugurated by petroleum and natural gas minister Hardeep Singh Puri, ICC president Ameya Prabhu, and AIICE chairperson Rakhi Sarkar.
As per a 2023 Global Innovation Report, India’s creative economy is worth $30 billion. And, 8% of India’s total workforce is employed in creative occupations, as per the Asian Development Bank.
With these figures in hand, the ICC, one of the country’s oldest non-governmental trade associations and an advocacy group for business owners, aims to develop support for local artisans and handloom and handicrafts workers, while also focusing on micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs).
The minister, at the launch event, emphasised that while India has a rich history of cultural arts, for the longest time making a career in them has been about “following one’s calling”, but it’s important that now it’s incentivised and “lucrative” too.
Sarkar talked about the need to elevate the majority of India’s craftsworkers from poverty and advocate policy changes to support their work. The event was also attended by composer Ustad Amjad Ali Khan and scenographer Rajeev Sethi, who are the initiative’s patrons.