Local Digital Journalism and Creators: Driving Jobs and Growth in India

The creator economy has emerged as a significant driver of employment generation, income creation, and digital value in India over the past decade, with accelerated growth in the post-Covid period. Enabled by digital platforms and social media networks, content creators and influencers have transitioned from peripheral participants in the economy to central actors within marketing, media, commerce, and communication ecosystems. This paper seeks to quantify and analyse the creator economy from a macroeconomic perspective, focusing on its contribution to Gross Domestic Product (GDP), employment generation, and structural transformation of the labour market. Despite its rapid expansion, the creator economy remains under-represented in formal economic measurement due to its decentralised, informal, and platform-driven nature. It integrates industry data, employment trends, monetisation models, and policy initiatives to assess the creator economy’s evolving role within India’s services-led growth framework.