British Indian businessman Karan Bilimoria has highlighted India’s diversity and demography as major strengths in the global economy…reports Asian Lite News Desk
India’s diversity, demographic strength and expanding creative economy give the country a distinctive advantage globally and could play an important role in unlocking its economic potential, British Indian businessman and UK House of Lords member Karan Bilimoria said on Monday.
Speaking at the Kautilya Economic Conclave 2026 in New Delhi, Bilimoria said discussions about investment and economic performance often focus on indicators such as GDP growth, per capita income and geopolitics.
He said the underlying strength of a country is also shaped by its culture, diversity and demographic profile.
“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. 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,” Bilimoria said.
He highlighted the breadth of India’s diversity across languages, religions, communities, geography, food, music, dance and regional cultures.
According to Bilimoria, this diversity is an important source of India’s strength and contributes to the country’s economic and cultural position internationally.
He also drew attention to the potential of India’s creative industries and media sector, saying the country’s cultural economy extends well beyond Bollywood.
Bilimoria pointed to regional film industries across different parts of India as an important part of the country’s wider creative economy.
“India has huge power in the creative industries, let alone the media sector,” he said.
He also referred to India’s 22 official languages and thousands of dialects, along with its varied religious and cultural traditions, as evidence of the scale of the country’s cultural ecosystem.
Bilimoria said the creative economy accounts for around 6 per cent of global GDP and noted that India has a significant share of economic activity linked to creative industries.
He also highlighted the role of millions of small and medium-sized enterprises in supporting economic activity connected with the creative sector.
His remarks placed India’s cultural diversity alongside its demographic scale as potential economic strengths.
Bilimoria said the combination of India’s population, demographic profile, cultural diversity and creative capabilities gives the country a distinctive position in the global economy.
The comments came at the Kautilya Economic Conclave, where policymakers, economists, business leaders and other experts gathered to discuss economic issues and India’s role in the global economic landscape.
Bilimoria’s focus on the creative economy highlighted the potential contribution of sectors including film, media, music, dance and other cultural activities to economic development.
India’s regional cultural industries have developed across a wide range of languages and communities, creating a diverse ecosystem that extends beyond the country’s better-known Hindi-language entertainment sector.
The creative economy also provides opportunities for businesses operating at different scales, including small and medium-sized enterprises, according to Bilimoria.
His comments linked India’s cultural strengths with its wider economic prospects, arguing that diversity should be viewed not only as a social characteristic but also as an asset in the global economy.
Bilimoria said India’s scale, demography, diversity and creative capabilities together give it a distinctive economic and cultural position internationally.
The remarks come as India continues to attract attention for its economic potential and growing role in global markets.
By highlighting the country’s cultural and creative strengths, Bilimoria presented diversity as an additional factor that could support India’s long-term economic ambitions alongside conventional measures of economic performance.
