YouTube plans to invest over Rs 850 crore to boost Indian content creators

Mumbai: YouTube plans to invest over Rs 850 crore to accelerate the growth of Indian creators, artists, and media companies, its CEO Neal Mohan said on Thursday.

He also said that last year content produced in India racked up 45 billion hours of watch time from viewers outside of the country while in the last three years alone, YouTube has paid more than Rs 21,000 crore to creators, artists, and media companies all across India.

"In the next two years, YouTube will invest over Rs 850 crore to accelerate the growth of Indian creators, artists, and media companies. And these aren't just numbers, they're tangible impact, forging countless career and business pathways for a vibrant new India," Mohan said at a session on 'Powering the Creator Economy in India', at the inaugural day of the World Audio Visual & Entertainment Summitt (WAVES) here.

Indian creators exemplify what is special about India-- the ability to share history, culture, and passion with viewers in every corner of the world, Mohan said.

Stating that Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visionary leadership has made India a beacon for creators all over the world, which is evident by his own remarkable digital presence, he said "with over 25 million subscribers on YouTube, the Prime Minister has the largest YouTube following of any head of government in the world".

Terming India as a "creator nation," he said that over 100 million channels from the country uploaded content onto YouTube in the last year with more than 15,000 of those channels having over 1 million subscribers.

"That's up from 11,000 channels just a few months ago. And YouTube has enabled these creators and countless more to not only share their passion with the world, but also build loyal fandoms and successful businesses," Mohan said.

"In the last three years alone, we've paid more than Rs 21,000 crore to creators, artists, and media companies all across India.

YouTube's ability to connect a creator anywhere with audiences everywhere has made it a powerful engine of cultural export, and few nations have leveraged this as effectively as India, he said.