Thaindian News

Mumbai, March 23 (IANS) News Corp chief executive and media baron James Murdoch says Indians, with all their brains, are making major global contributions in a variety of areas but creativity remains a sleeping tiger without that focused unleashing of energy.

“Look at almost any field of human knowledge and you will find Indians making their contributions on a global scale,” Murdoch, also the chairman of the media empire for Europe and Asia, told a media and entertainment conclave here.

“From mega-corporations straddling the world, to chemists developing life-saving drugs, to universities turning out engineers and scientists, India has established itself as a commercial, political and economic heavyweight,” he told the Ficci-Frames conclave.

“Behind India’s phenomenal rise is the unleashing of her human talent. This is the creative force behind her impressive economic figures,” he added at the conclave, organised by the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI).

Yet, in spite of the great capabilities that Indians possess, they are yet to cash it in on it in a more aggressive manner, said the son and successor of veteran media moghul Rupert Murdoch.

This, he felt, could make India’s creative sector grow from mere $15 billion now to $120 billion, if talent is better utilised.

“The impressive achievements of the last two decades have not even begun to fulfil the potential of this great land. I believe India’s creative force is still a sleeping tiger waiting to be awakened. And I suggest that the way forward begins with imagination.”

He also drew an analogy with tigers and said the challenge with India’s creative sector was to imagine what this slumbering big cat might do in the right environment.

“We all know that, even while resting, tigers are impressive - other animals are careful to give them respect. Yet only when a tiger is awake and engaged can we appreciate its force and majesty.”

He said if the industry goes on to become so big, its reach will automatically increase and it might help revolutionise such sectors as education and health care at home, while ensuring that India has a voice commensurate with her importance in global affairs.