Economic Contribution and Employment Potential of The Orange Economy

The orange economy or creative economy of India includes media, entertainment, gaming, OTT platforms, digital content, advertising, publishing, performing arts, and cultural tourism. The orange economy has become a rapidly expanding contributor to India’s gross domestic product and employment after COVID 19. This paper presents an analysis of the contribution of the orange economy to the economy and jobs of India from 2020 to 2025, using secondary data provided by government reports (FICCI-EY, NASSCOM, UNESCO, and Ministry of Information & Broadcasting) and primary data obtained using a structured questionnaire from 120 respondents (professionals in the creative sector, students, policy makers and consumers). According to the findings, India's media and entertainment industry has now surpassed the INR 2.32 trillion mark in 2024, and the digital segments of this economy have been growing at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of around 18% to 22% since 2020. Creative sector employment also exceeded eight (8) million direct jobs, with youth and women making up more than sixty percent (60%) of the newly-created position in digital creative jobs. Multiple linear regression analysis shows that digital penetration, government expenditure, investment levels and skills availability are statistically significant predictors of creative industry employment growth and that IP protection and formalisation of employment are the best predictors of positioning for a stable income. In conclusion, all three of the research hypotheses were supported: (1) the Orange Economy is a significant contributor to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of India; (2) The digital creative industry is experiencing significantly greater growth rates than traditional cultural industries; and (3) The digital creative industry has strong potential to provide inclusive job creation opportunities for youth and women. The paper suggests policy-related actions to ensure the enforcement of intellectual property and digital skills, and to assist in the formalisation of employment. The creative gig worker environment and an overall national creative economy data framework,