WAVES 2025 | 19 Apr 2025

Why in News? 

The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Government of India, is organizing the WAVE (World Audio Visual & Entertainment) Summit in Mumbai from 1-4 May 2025. 

 Key Points 

• About WAVES Summit 2025: 
  • WAVES is India's first global-scale platform focused on the Media and Entertainment (M&E) sector. 
  • The summit will bring together industry leaders, innovators, investors, and policymakers to foster collaboration and shape the future of M&E. 
  • Key sectors in focus include broadcasting, films, gaming, animation, visual effects, music, advertising, digital and social media, generative AI, AR/VR/XR, among others. 
  • WAVES aims to position India as a global hub for creative content, IP generation, and M&E innovation. 
• Anti-Piracy Challenge: 
  • The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting also has announced the finalists of the Anti-Piracy Challenge, a flagship initiative under the Create in India Challenge Season 1 of the WAVES Summit 2025. 
  • Objective: 
    • The challenge was launched on 12 September 2024, with the goal of promoting Make in India technologies to combat digital piracy. 
    • It focused on cutting-edge anti-piracy technologies like fingerprinting, watermarking, blockchain, and steganography. 
    • The initiative aims to strengthen India’s digital ecosystem by encouraging homegrown innovation in content protection. 
    • The top 7 teams will present their solutions during the WAVES 2025 Summit in front of a live audience and a final jury panel. 
    • Winners will be honored at the Grand Finale, with opportunities for national recognition, mentorship, and industry partnerships. 
• Anti-Piracy Innovation Importance: 
  • According to Media Partners Asia, 90 million users in India engaged in video piracy in 2024, causing losses of USD 1.2 billion. This number could surge to 158 million by 2029 without strong intervention. 
  • Digital content faces increasing threats from piracy, illegal distribution, and manipulation, which affects content creators, broadcasters, and IP rights holders. 
  • Criminal networks continue to evolve, making enforcement and detection more complex—hence the urgency for technological solutions. 
• Strategic Support and Industry Involvement: 
  • The challenge was conducted by Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) with support from IPHouse, Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), and Hack2Skill. 
  • These organizations played a key role in evaluation and industry engagement.