CII’s ‘The Big Picture’ Summit, 2026: Every big picture begins small
CII’s ‘The Big Picture’ Summit, 2026: Every big picture begins small
The Confederation of Indian Industry, CII is headquartered in Delhi. It has 52 branches across India. The Big Picture (TBP) is an annual event, on the lines of FICCI FRAMES, but, comparatively, The Big Picture is smaller, and lasts for just one day. FRAMES used to be 3-day affair, now curtailed to two days. Both are held in different 5-star hotels. In the various panel discussions and chats, there could as many as 6-7 panellists, with one moderator. Both have become some-way affairs, consisting of speeches, discussions, slide-shows and Audio-visuals, with the schedule not leaving any space for any Q&A sessions. A few of the speakers are common. TBG this year was held at the J.W. Marriott Hotel, Juhu, a north-western suburb of Mumbai, situated at the Arabian sea-shore, on October 15-16.
Since my invitation was confirmed only at the last minute, I arrived a little late. Attending TBP would mean missing out on the Press Preview of the film Prahaar: The Untold Story of Ujjwal Nikam, which was scheduled for 12.30 pm, on 15 October. But I had not attended the last few TBGs because they were not held in Mumbai, so I missed the screening, and headed for Marriott. Registration posed a few problems, but by 10.45 am, it was sorted out. When I entered the Hall, the event had just about begun. The theme this year is The New Economics of Media and Entertainment: Building India’s Future Global Media Companies. The Chief Guest on the occasion was Chanchal Kumar, Secretary at the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Government of India, which oversees all aspects of the media industry in India.
Chanchal Kumar, in his effectively brief address, called upon the media and entertainment industry to move beyond scale, and focus on original intellectual property (IP), sustainable business models and global market expansion, with the objective of positioning India as a leading source of creative content, technology, talent and globally competitive media companies. He further said India has the opportunity to translate its rich storytelling traditions, cultural diversity and creative talent, into lasting economic and cultural value.
He highlighted the Government’s efforts to strengthen India’s creative ecosystem, and referred to initiatives such as WAVES, WAVES Bazaar, the Indian Institute of Creative Technologies (IICT) and India Cine Hub. He also underscored the importance of a robust anti-piracy framework to protect creativity and intellectual property, emphasising the vision of “Create in India. Own in India. Scale from India. Take it to the world.”
The summit also witnessed the release of the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) White Paper, ‘The New Economics of Media & Entertainment’, which outlines a road-map for India’s media and entertainment sector to reach $100 billion by the early 2030s. The paper calls for faster reforms, stronger regional markets and measurable implementation to accelerate the sector’s growth.
Gaurav Banerjee, Summit Chair and MD & CEO, Sony Pictures Networks India, called for a fundamental re-think of business models. He rightly opined that, “…a large audience is, finally, just a starting point. It is not a business model.” He urged greater focus on audience value, measurable advertiser outcomes and sustainable investor returns.
Ms Gunjan Soni, Summit Co-Chair and Country MD, YouTube India, described creativity and culture as economic strengths supporting India’s ‘Viksit Bharat’ ambition. She said digital technology and AI could help a young generation of creators turn imagination and local identity into world-class enterprises.
Rajan Navani, Summit Co-Chair and MD & CEO, JetSynthesys, said democratised access to technology and AI was essential to keeping pace with global change. AI, he said, was rapidly narrowing the gap between human imagination and the ability to realise ideas.
After his address, Chanchal Kumar also inaugurated the WAVES Global Investor and Investee Meet, bringing together more than 150 investors and investees. The initiative connected nearly 20 participants from WaveX and WAVES Bazaar, strengthening links between capital providers and emerging creative businesses.
CII’s The Big Picture Summit 2026 continues today, 16 October.
