During his appearance at the Waves conference in Mumbai, YouTube CEO Neal Mohan shared fresh insights into the platform’s economic impact in India. Speaking to a packed audience, Mohan highlighted the remarkable growth of India’s digital creator economy, revealing that YouTube has paid out more than ₹21,000 crore (approximately $2.5 billion USD at current exchange rates) to Indian creators, artists, and media companies over the past three years.

The announcement, first reported by The Economic Times, underscores YouTube’s significant role in fostering talent and monetization opportunities across India’s vast and diverse content landscape. From independent vloggers and musicians to major media outlets, thousands of Indian content producers are benefiting financially from YouTube’s monetization tools and advertising ecosystem. Mohan’s remarks also signal YouTube’s ongoing commitment to supporting creators in one of its fastest-growing markets.

Calling India a true “Creator Nation,” YouTube CEO Neal Mohan emphasized the platform’s explosive growth and influence in the country during his address at the Waves conference in Mumbai. He revealed that over the past year, more than 100 million Indian YouTube channels have been actively creating and sharing content—an impressive indicator of the country’s thriving digital ecosystem. Even more striking is the fact that over 15,000 of these channels have surpassed the milestone of one million subscribers, underscoring the scale at which Indian creators are building large and engaged audiences.

Leading the charge is T-Series, India’s—and the world’s—most-subscribed YouTube channel. According to data from creator-industry tracking site Tubefilter, the flagship music and entertainment channel continues to grow at an astonishing pace, adding over three million new subscribers in March 2025 alone. This surge brought its total subscriber count to well over 290 million, reinforcing its position as a dominant force in the global music and digital content landscape.