British Indian businessman Karan Bilimoria says India’s diversity, demography and creative economy offer a unique global advantage. Speaking at the Kautilya Economic Conclave 2026, he highlighted the country’s cultural strength, regional industries, languages and creative sectors as key economic drivers.
India’s diversity, demographic strength and expanding creative economy can play a major role in strengthening the country’s economic potential and global position, British Indian businessman Karan Bilimoria, Baron Bilimoria and Member of the House of Lords of the United Kingdom, said on Monday.
Speaking at the Kautilya Economic Conclave 2026, Bilimoria said discussions surrounding investment, economic growth and a country’s global position often focus heavily on conventional macroeconomic indicators such as GDP growth, per capita income and geopolitical influence. However, he said a nation’s underlying strength is also shaped by its culture, people and diversity.
Bilimoria highlighted India’s demographic scale and cultural diversity as two major strengths that distinguish the country from other economies around the world. He noted that India is not only the world’s most populous country but also one of the most culturally diverse nations.
“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,” Bilimoria said.
He pointed to the country’s diversity in languages, communities, religions, geography, food, music, dance and regional cultures. According to him, the breadth of India’s cultural traditions provides the country with a distinctive advantage that is difficult to replicate elsewhere.
“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,” he said.
Bilimoria also drew attention to the growing importance of India’s creative economy, particularly its film, media and entertainment industries. He said India’s creative strength extends well beyond the Hindi-language film industry commonly associated with Bollywood, with numerous regional film industries contributing to the country’s cultural and economic ecosystem.
According to Bilimoria, India’s creative industries have considerable potential to contribute to economic growth, employment and entrepreneurship. He noted that the creative economy globally accounts for around 6 per cent of GDP, underlining the scale of the sector and the opportunities it can create.
“India has huge power in the creative industries, let alone the media sector,” he said.
The businessman said India’s creative ecosystem is supported by a large network of small and medium-sized enterprises operating across different sectors. These businesses, he suggested, contribute to the country’s cultural output while also generating economic activity and employment.
Bilimoria further highlighted India’s linguistic diversity, pointing to its 22 official languages and thousands of dialects. He said the country’s diverse linguistic, religious and cultural traditions form an important part of its broader economic and social strength.
The discussion at the Kautilya Economic Conclave comes amid increasing attention to India’s economic prospects, investment opportunities and position in the global economy. While infrastructure, technology, manufacturing and services remain central to economic discussions, Bilimoria’s remarks emphasised the potential of cultural and creative assets as additional drivers of growth.
He argued that India’s demographic scale provides a large domestic market and workforce, while its diversity creates a wide range of cultural and creative capabilities. Together with the expansion of creative industries, these factors could strengthen India’s distinctive position in the global economy.
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Bilimoria’s comments also underline the growing recognition of the creative sector as an important component of economic development. From cinema and music to digital media, regional entertainment and other cultural industries, India has a broad ecosystem that reflects the country’s diverse population.
He said the combination of scale, demography, diversity and creative capabilities gives India a distinctive economic and cultural position globally. These characteristics, he suggested, can complement traditional economic strengths and help India realise greater potential in the years ahead.
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The remarks at the Kautilya Economic Conclave 2026 placed India’s cultural diversity and creative industries alongside its demographic and economic strengths, highlighting how the country’s unique social and cultural composition can contribute to its wider global economic advantage.
