1. India’s Art and Culture Sector: 2023–2025

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Between 2023 and 2025, India reaffirmed its global identity as a cultural powerhouse, investing in the revival, digitalization, and international promotion of its vast and diverse heritage. Art and culture became central to soft power diplomacy, creative industry development, and tourism-led growth.

Key developments included:

• Major restoration and conservation projects of archaeological sites, temples, museums, and heritage cities across states.

• Rising visibility of Indian visual arts, cinema, design, music, and crafts in international festivals and cultural markets.

• State support for intangible heritage, tribal and folk art, and traditional craftsmanship, including GI (Geographical Indication) tagging and artisan platforms.

• Acceleration of digital platforms for culture: virtual museums, online exhibitions, NFTs for traditional art, and AI-curated cultural archives.

• Integration of arts education into school curricula under the National Education Policy, promoting creative literacy from early stages.

India’s cultural policy evolved to balance preservation, innovation, and global outreach.

 

2. Cultural and Creative Economy Trends

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• Creative Startups and Platforms: A wave of entrepreneurship emerged in digital art, design, fashion-tech, gaming, and art-led experiences, creating a vibrant creative economy.

• Public Art and Urban Culture: Cities invested in murals, heritage walks, cultural hubs, and community festivals, blending contemporary expression with local identity.

• Cinema and Storytelling: Indian cinema—mainstream and regional—gained global attention, while independent filmmakers accessed new international co-production and streaming avenues.

• Crafts and Sustainability: Conscious consumers supported ethically made, traditional crafts, leading to a renaissance in textiles, pottery, and eco-design.

• Diaspora Engagement: Indian diaspora across Europe, the U.S., and Southeast Asia actively contributed to promoting Indian arts through festivals, foundations, and education programs.

Cultural production moved beyond museums into digital, commercial, and immersive domains, redefining access and experience.

 

3. France–India Cooperation in Art and Culture

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France and India share a longstanding and multifaceted relationship in arts and culture, grounded in mutual appreciation, institutional partnerships, and people-to-people exchange.

• Institutional Ties: Collaborations between French and Indian museums, art councils, and cultural ministries supported exhibitions, artist residencies, and academic research in heritage, contemporary art, and design.

• Festivals and Exchanges: Events such as Bonjour India and Namaste France facilitated large-scale bilateral cultural programming across performing arts, visual arts, gastronomy, and cinema.

• Cinema and Audiovisual Media: Co-productions between French and Indian filmmakers increased, supported by bilateral treaties, funding platforms, and festival circuits such as Cannes and Goa.

• Education and Art Training: French art and design schools collaborated with Indian institutions on curricula, faculty exchange, and student mobility in fields like animation, architecture, fine arts, and curation.

• Creative Economy Partnerships: Design studios, galleries, and heritage conservation firms partnered across both countries, promoting sustainable fashion, museum technologies, and digital cultural entrepreneurship.

This cultural dialogue reinforced shared values of diversity, innovation, and humanistic expression.

 

4. Outlook Beyond 2025

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The future of India’s art and culture ecosystem is expected to be even more integrated, globalized, and digitally adaptive:

• Cultural Infrastructure Growth: Investment in cultural districts, public museums, art galleries, and creative parks will expand across metros and heritage towns.

• Tech-Infused Arts: AR/VR exhibitions, AI-generated art, immersive storytelling, and blockchain-authenticated heritage content will shape the next phase of digital cultural experiences.

• Globalization of Indian Culture: Indian languages, music, fashion, and literature will reach new audiences via streaming, publishing, and international cultural diplomacy.

• Cultural Exports: India will strengthen its position as an exporter of creative services, craft products, performing arts, and cultural consulting.

• France–India Innovation Hubs: Cross-border cultural innovation centers will emerge in areas such as heritage technology, museum design, sustainable fashion, and youth-driven art startups.

Culture will remain both an emotional and economic bridge between India and the world, with France as a long-standing partner.

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Strategic Relevance for FIBC

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• Creates opportunities for members in cultural consulting, design, event production, and digital content creation.

• Supports partnerships between French and Indian institutions in heritage, contemporary art, creative tech, and education.

• Reinforces the role of FIBC in shaping cross-cultural engagement, soft power diplomacy, and creative economy collaboration.

• Enables business and policy stakeholders to integrate culture into tourism, infrastructure, education, and innovation strategies.