India Digital Economy: Redseer, BCG see $1T by 2030

What the latest forecasts are signalling

Two separate research tracks are putting hard numbers around India’s next phase of internet-led growth. A new report produced in partnership with Redseer Strategy Consultants projects a sharp expansion in digital gaming and interactive media through FY2030. And an upcoming BCG report, set to be unveiled at WAVES 2025 in Mumbai, estimates that the creator economy will influence more than $1 trillion in consumer spending by 2030.

Together, the projections point to an Indian internet market where content, commerce, and capital markets are increasingly linked. The numbers also arrive as multiple reports reiterate the ambition of a $1 trillion digital economy, and an IPO pipeline that could reshape the listed universe of tech and consumer internet businesses.

Digital gaming and interactive media: $1.5B to $1.7B by FY2030

The Redseer-partnered forecast pegs India’s digital gaming and interactive media market at about $1.5 billion in FY2025, rising to $1.7 billion by FY2030. Within that, digital gaming is projected to nearly double to $1.5 billion.

The report also highlights faster-growing “vertical disruptors” inside interactive media. It expects segments such as Astro and devotional tech to grow eight-fold to $1.3 billion by FY2030. Micro dramas are projected to reach $1.1 billion.

The thesis, as presented, is that India remains a largely greenfield opportunity globally in these newer content formats and paid interactive experiences, especially as payments, distribution, and smartphone adoption keep widening the addressable base.

3MQ report claims: whitespace, profitability and Q-commerce scale

The same research stream outlines a set of broader internet-economy markers framed around where value could be created next.

Key points include an estimated $100 billion “whitespace” for new-age brands, and an expectation that 90% of internet firms could be profitable by FY2030. It also states that quick commerce has crossed $10 billion in GMV and now represents 15% of total e-commerce.

On capital markets, the report states India accounted for about 19% of global IPO proceeds in 2024, and estimates $100 billion of value could be unlocked via new-age IPOs by 2030.

Creator economy: BCG sees $150B annual spend today, $1T by 2030

BCG’s upcoming report, titled From Content to Commerce: Mapping India’s Creator Economy, projects that India’s creator economy will influence more than $1 trillion in consumer spending by 2030. It estimates that 2.0 to 2.5 million digital creators are currently influencing about $150 billion in annual consumer spending.

BCG also sizes direct revenues from the creator ecosystem at $10 to $15 billion currently, with an expectation that this could grow fivefold by the end of the decade. The framing here is a shift from content-only monetisation to commerce-led outcomes, with creators acting as distribution and trust layers for brands.

IPO and market cap projections: new-age tech in focus

Multiple Redseer-linked data points in the provided material focus on the scale-up of India’s new-age listed ecosystem.

One snapshot notes there are about 30 listed new-age companies with combined market capitalisation above $110 billion, with the top 15 accounting for $10 billion. Another projection expects the market cap of these new-age companies to reach $1 trillion by 2030.

The same set of forecasts references a broader $13 trillion market cap target for the country by 2030, and positions new-age tech stocks as an important contributor to that goal.

India’s global IPO footprint: volume and proceeds

The material includes two different lenses on India’s IPO presence. One report point says India accounted for about 19% of global IPO proceeds in 2024. Another states India contributed 31% of global IPO volume in the past year, with $1 billion raised in overall fundraising.

Taken together, these statistics suggest India is meaningfully visible in global issuance, though “proceeds” and “volume” measure different things. Volume captures the number of deals, while proceeds capture the money raised, and the two can diverge based on average issue size.

Digital retail and branding: the structural backdrop

A separate Redseer narrative flags that digital retail is projected to account for 12% of all retail sales by 2030. It also characterises India as under-branded, with only about 350 brands generating $100 million-plus in revenue across traditional and new-age segments.

The same context links expanding digital channels to faster scaling for new-age brands toward $10 million to $100 million revenue levels. It also references a $1 trillion branded retail opportunity over the next decade, with premium and luxury cited as major pockets.

Equity market scale: $1.5T today, $10T estimate by 2030

Jefferies data included in the material places India’s equity market capitalisation at $1.5 trillion currently, ranking it fifth globally, while its weight in global indices is stated at 1.6%.

The Jefferies report further estimates India could become nearly a $10 trillion market by 2030, assuming market returns broadly in line with the last 15 to 20 years and the contribution of new listings. The note also references India’s history of 10% to 12% USD CAGR over the last 10 and 20 years.

Internet GMV, users and the startup pipeline

Redseer also estimates that India’s internet GMV could grow to about $1 trillion by 2030, and links that to an equivalent $1 trillion public and private market cap opportunity. The same dataset cites India having 780 million internet users.

On the startup-to-IPO pipeline, the report suggests India could see over 100 matured, large-scale, profitable or path-to-profitability startups. It also points to a pipeline of 80 tech and new-age IPOs in the period, and separately mentions a prediction of 250 new-age tech listings in the coming 10 years.

Key numbers at a glance

Market impact: what these projections imply for listed themes

For investors tracking India’s listed internet and consumer names, these forecasts cluster around a few recurring drivers: paid digital entertainment, creator-led commerce, faster brand creation, and a deeper IPO pipeline.

The gaming and interactive media numbers are notable because they describe a specific revenue pool growing from $1.5 billion to $1.7 billion by FY2030, rather than a broad “internet” estimate. The creator economy numbers highlight the scale of spend creators can influence, plus the size of direct revenues, which can feed into platform economics, brand CAC strategies, and merchandising-led monetisation.

In capital markets, the market cap projections for new-age listed companies to reach $1 trillion by 2030, alongside references to India’s IPO share and potential $100 billion value unlocked through new-age IPOs, indicate a continued push toward public-market funding and liquidity events.

Analysis: why the story matters beyond one sector

What stands out across the reports is the convergence of three lines of growth: content formats (micro dramas, devotional tech), transaction-led experiences (q-commerce, social commerce), and public-market participation (IPO volume and market cap targets).

If the projections play out, the implication is not only a larger digital economy but also a broader set of monetisation models. Gaming growth sits alongside interactive media verticals that are being sized as billion-dollar categories. Meanwhile, creator-led commerce is being framed as a spend-influence engine exceeding $1 trillion by 2030.

Finally, the repeated emphasis on profitability by FY2030 for a large share of internet firms suggests the next phase may be judged less on user growth alone and more on sustainable unit economics, which matters directly for valuation and IPO readiness.

Conclusion

The provided forecasts from Redseer-linked research and BCG’s upcoming creator economy report point to a fast-expanding set of monetisable digital categories in India, alongside a widening IPO pipeline. The next reference points will be the formal unveiling of BCG’s From Content to Commerce report at WAVES 2025 and subsequent updates from Redseer on its internet economy and listing pipeline projections.