In this image received on March 25, 2026, Union Culture Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhwat, centre, Managing Director of YouTube's operations in India Gunjan Soni, left, and Culture Secretary Vivek Aggarwal during the exchanging of an Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the Ministry of Culture and YouTube, in New Delhi. | Photo Credit: PIB via PTI Photo-

The culture ministry and YouTube on Wednesday signed an MoU under which the firm will equip Indian folk artists with essential digital skills that will help them document, digitise and share the country’s rich cultural heritage with both domestic and global audience.

The Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was exchanged between the Ministry of Culture and YouTube at the office of Union Culture Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhwat here.

Shekhwat said this initiative will play a “big role” in taking Indian culture to a global audience.

Indian music provides relief to people, more so in these challenging times, the Union minister said, adding, it will further “strengthen India’s role as a Vishwa Mitra”.

Focus on digital skills, visibility and creative economy

This collaboration with YouTube represents a significant step forward in “nurturing our creative economy and empowering our artists,” the ministry said.

“Our goal is to ensure folk musicians have the tools and platforms needed to achieve greater visibility, sustainability, and recognition both nationally and globally,” Shekhwat said.

He asserted that preserving and promoting India’s diverse folk traditions is a core mission for the ministry.

YouTube to act as knowledge partner

Gunjan Soni, Managing Director of YouTube’s operations in India, who was present on the occasion said, “We know that folk musicians are carrying forward our age-old cultural legacy. But, they face adjusting to new technology.” This initiative is aimed at bridging that critical digital gap or divide, she said.

Soni underlined that YouTube will step in as a “knowledge partner” under this collaboration.

“Together with ministry institutions, we want to embark on a mission to equip folk artists with really essential digital skills, educate them on important topics like (intellectual property) rights management.. and most importantly provide pathways for monetisation,” she said.

Training, partnerships and outreach initiatives

The YouTube team is looking forward to engaging with the Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts (IGNCA), Sangeet Natak Akademi, the National School of Drama (NSD), zonal cultural centres, and the Kalakshetra Foundation, Soni said.

“We will be hosting specialised training sessions and masterclasses on best practices,” the YouTube India official said.

Soni said through this collaboration, YouTube wants to “empower them to document, digitise and therefore share India’s rich cultural heritage with a wonderful and vibrant, both Indian and global audience”.

The shared aim is to encourage Indian folk artists so that they don’t just remain a patron of heritage, but also become successful entrepreneurs to take new flights, she said.

Strengthening ecosystem and career pathways

The ministry, in a statement said, the initiative is aimed at empowering the country’s rich community of traditional and folk musicians by providing them with access to digital tools, knowledge systems, and wider audiences.

“It focuses on strengthening the ecosystem of Indian traditional and folk music through digital skilling, awareness of intellectual property rights, enhanced collaboration opportunities, and sustainable career pathways for artists,” it said.

The ministry said it will provide strategic leadership and oversight for the programme, focusing on the folk music creative economy, with a “joint task force” guiding execution and impact assessment.

Infrastructure support and implementation plan

Through the ministry’s selected autonomous institutions of art and performance, this initiative will provide access to facilities, including recording equipment where feasible, and regional connections, and will also co-develop localised educational material and identify mentors, the statement said.

Under the MoU, YouTube will complement these efforts, by assisting the ministry and its affiliated bodies to facilitate training artists of folk, tribal and traditional on digital content creation best practices, channel management, monetisation strategies, copyrights management, and understanding audience insights through the platform’s analytics, it added.

Growing global reach of Indian content

Soni also said the intersection of the cultural capital of India and digital platforms is a “truly inspiring one”.

“We are seeing a strong trend towards regional music and folk artists starting to succeed,” she said.

“Last year, 15 per cent of the content created on YouTube in India was watched by global audiences, “ she added.

Union Culture Secretary Vivek Aggarwal said the ministry’s focus is on democratising access, so that folk artists from across the country can proudly uphold their culture and traditions, while growing into independent creative entrepreneurs.

Published on March 26, 2026