Reel Innovation: Recasting India's Global Innovation Index (GII) Through Its Cinematic Diversity
The World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) releases the Global Innovation Index (GII) annually, which is one of the most important measures for analysing how nations generate and maintain innovation ecosystems. In the 2024 report, India ranked 39th out of 133 countries, rising from 81st place in 2015. This improvement is credited to performance in terms of indicators like exports of ICT services, knowledge creation, and sophistication of markets. However, the Creative Outputs area deserves a closer look, especially given how India’s vibrant film industry drives much of its cultural and creative economy.
India is the world’s largest film-producing country, with over 2,500 feature films released in 2023, according to the data from WIPO. These productions span over more than 20 languages and represent a diverse spectrum of regional cultures and artistic traditions. However, India’s global film identity is still largely defined by Bollywood, despite it accounting for only about 19% of the country’s annual film output. This disconnect between India’s cinematic diversity and its international image raises key questions about how cultural capital is measured and reflected in innovation rankings.
The GII ranks countries on various innovation indicators, including creative goods and services, national media value, and cultural exports. In these areas, India’s full potential remains unrealised. While Bollywood’s global cachet secures international co-productions and festival circuits, it is the regional film industries—in languages such as Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, and Kannada—that are driving new forms of cinematic experimentation, audience expansion, and digital content innovation. Films like “RRR” (Telugu), which gained international acclaim, including an Academy Award for Best Original Song, or “Jai Bhim” (Tamil), which trended on global streaming platforms, are not exceptions but symbols of a deeper shift in India’s creative economy.
Investment patterns, however, remain skewed. According to the trends, significant investment flows into the Hindi-language industry, while the regional industries are only now beginning to attract comparable capital. This is despite evidence that regional content consumption on OTT platforms is growing 1.5 times faster than Hindi content, with regional languages capturing almost 50% share of viewership by 2025. Moreover, the OTT sector itself is expected to reach roughly ₹35,000 crore by 2027, up from ₹17,000 crore in 2023, driven by demand for storytelling from different languages. These platforms are playing an instrumental role in democratising access to regional cinema and showcasing India's linguistic and cultural diversity. Global companies like Netflix and Amazon Prime are actively engaging with original content in Bengali, Marathi, Malayalam, and Assamese, among others. This digital shift dismantles traditional distribution hierarchies and places regional films on equal footing with Bollywood productions. The implications are profound: Indian cinema is no longer a monolithic export but a mosaic of narratives that reflect the country's socio-linguistic plurality—an asset that aligns closely with GII’s evolving metrics.
Several state governments have recognised the latent innovation potential of regional cinema. Uttar Pradesh, for instance, had launched its Film Policy in 2023, offering subsidies up to ₹2 crore per film, infrastructure support, and a single-window clearance system, which has already cleared over 1,500 filming proposals. States like Kerala, Tamil Nadu, and Telangana have established film cities, co-production incentives, and subsidies for small-budget regional films. These state-level interventions reflect a growing understanding that cultural production is not only about representation but also a strategic asset in the innovation economy.
The GII also factors in infrastructure, business sophistication, and knowledge absorption—areas where the film sector has increasingly demonstrated relevance. The rise of digital film production, non-linear editing technologies, AI-assisted dubbing, and regional subtitling platforms exemplifies how film industries are integrating technological innovation. These developments also address the GII’s indicator on intangible assets, particularly the creation and protection of intellectual property (IP). As regional film industries generate original screenplays, music, and visual formats, they also expand the base for IP exports, licensing, and global collaborations.
However, structural challenges persist. The dominance of Bollywood in media perception continues to marginalise regional outputs in international indices and branding exercises. Additionally, the lack of systematic data on regional film revenues, IP exports, and international distribution makes it difficult to fully capture their innovation value. A comprehensive national strategy that integrates regional cinema into the innovation ecosystem, through investments, subsidies, and data tracking, could correct this imbalance.
To truly harness the potential of film as an innovation driver, India must recalibrate its cultural policies to reflect its actual cinematic output and diversity. This involves not only shifting investment priorities but also lobbying for broader recognition of regional cinema in international forums, trade agreements, and IP frameworks. Moreover, by investing in translation technologies, cross-border content platforms, and cultural diplomacy through cinema, India can position itself as a creative powerhouse on par with its technological stature. By expanding the definition of cinematic capital and embracing a more inclusive vision of film investment, India can align its creative economy with the global standards of innovation. In doing so, it not only enhances its GII standing but reaffirms the cultural dimension of innovation in the 21st century.