PM Modi Highlights India’s Gaming Ecosystem

Prime Minister (PM) of India, Narendra Modi has identified mobile connectivity as a major force behind India’s expanding gaming and creator economy. He stated that more than 500M people are now connected to gaming in some form.

Addressing the 10th India Mobile Congress (IMC) at Yashobhoomi in New Delhi on Oct 8, 2026, he highlighted the growing participation of young people from smaller cities. He even pointed to their involvement in esports, gaming content creation, and gaming businesses.

“Technology, entertainment and education sectors have seen new consumers emerge and a new generation of creators has also been prepared,” Modi said. He described gaming as an example of this change, before adding, “That means, in India, the mobile phone today is also a gaming console and has also become a studio for creation.”

How India’s Telecom Growth is Fueling Gaming and Content Creation

Modi connected this shift to the country’s telecom expansion, arguing that faster networks and affordable data have pushed social media, video platforms, and regional OTT services beyond major cities. He said this expansion has reduced some of the language and geographic barriers that previously limited digital participation.

India now has more than 5.5L 5G base stations, while 5G has reached every district, according to figures cited in the speech.

Modi also stated mobile internet speeds are about 10 times faster than in 2022. The wider digital infrastructure has supported everything from gaming and streaming to direct government services. He cited more than INR 50L Cr transferred through mobile-enabled Direct Benefit Transfers, with estimated savings of about INR 5L Cr, alongside more than INR 4L Cr distributed to farmers through PM-KISAN.

For creators, Modi argued that the smartphone has lowered the equipment barrier.

A player can now record gameplay, compete, edit videos, and publish content using the same device. He said India’s content-creation industry is already worth thousands of crores and provides livelihoods to lakhs of people.

Modi’s Gaming Outreach Goes Beyond the Player Community

The IMC speech follows his April 2024 interaction with Mythpat, GamerFleet, Mortal, 8Bit Thug, Payal Gaming, Tirth Mehta, and SKRossi. The discussion covered gaming careers, esports, gambling, skill-based gaming, and regulation, while Modi also tried mobile, VR, and PC games.

The gamers subsequently gave him the nickname “NaMo OP.”

His engagement with creators also received institutional recognition through the first National Creators Awards in 2024. Nischay Malhan, known as Triggered Insaan, won the Gaming Creator Award at the event.

Gaming is Becoming Part of India’s Orange Economy

That approach expanded through the World Audio-Visual & Entertainment Summit (WAVES) 2025. There, Modi described the Orange Economy through content, creativity, and culture and identified gaming as part of India’s emerging global creative industries.

The government has also outlined plans to establish 15K Content Creator Labs in schools and 500 in colleges.

The initiative is being supported alongside the establishment of the Indian Institute of Creative Technology (IICT) in Mumbai. The supplied government estimates put the broader creative ecosystem at about $30B USD and target two million jobs by 2030.

At the 2026 Viksit Bharat Young Leaders Dialogue, Modi urged young developers to turn Indian epics such as the Ramayana and Mahabharata into games for international audiences. KRAFTON India’s memorandum of understanding (MoU) with DPIIT earlier in 2026 similarly reflected growing institutional attention toward esports, gaming, and AI startups.

The IMC speech did not announce a new gaming fund or esports program.

Instead, it placed gaming within a larger digital strategy that includes connectivity, cultural intellectual property (IP), creative employment, and entrepreneurship. Modi also warned that deepfakes are becoming a major challenge and called for a global framework, while stressing phone and network security as priorities.