Secretary, Ministry of Information & Broadcasting, Shri Chanchal Kumar, said today that India’s live events sector grew by 44 per cent over the past year, with around 34,000 events held across the country and the sector now supporting more than one crore livelihoods. Addressing the 5th meeting of the Live Events Development Cell (LEDC), he said the Government has set an ambitious target of doubling the sector by 2030, with the potential to generate 15–20 million direct and ancillary jobs. He described the LEDC as “one of the finest examples of cooperation between industry, States and the Centre”.

Shri Chanchal Kumar highlighted the LEDC brings together 14 Central Ministries and Departments, 10 States and UTs and 21 industry bodies, and has taken forward key reforms including the Model Executive Order, Single Window Portal on India Cine Hub, streamlined clearances and skilling initiatives. He noted that the number of States and UTs with designated Nodal Officers has increased from 16 to 29.

The meeting reviewed the implementation of the Single Window Clearances Portal for the live event industry on the India Cine Hub (ICH) portal. States and UTs were asked to designate Nodal Officers, nominate authorised officers from departments, integrate departmental and local licensing systems with the ICH Portal, route the complete licence lifecycle through the portal, onboard live event venues and notify live event licensing as a time-bound public service.

Further, it was informed that five States have so far adopted the “Model Executive Order for Streamlining Licensing and Permissions for Live Events in India, 2026”, which was shared with States and Union Territories on 13th March 2026. The state of Maharashtra, (LEDC member State) has adopted the MEO and made a presentation on its implementation. The remaining States and Union Territories were urged to expedite adoption. It was also informed that the Ministry of Home Affairs has streamlined FRRO re-registration requirements for short-term stays by foreign performers.

Central Ministries were requested to take forward sector-specific facilitation, including group visa provisions for artists and crews with customs duty exemption for show equipment by the concerned ministries; integration of live entertainment skills into the National Skills Qualification Framework (NSQF), training and certification centres and apprenticeship programmes by the Ministry of Skill Development & Entrepreneurship; promotion of India as a global hub for event-based tourism by the Ministry of Tourism; and financial incentives including GST rationalisation and CSR alignment, infrastructure financing through VGF and blended finance, and recognition of the live entertainment sector under MSME by the respective ministries.

Further, the LEDC deliberated on next-generation reforms, including a single national music licence with notified tariffs to replace overlapping demands from multiple rights societies, notified entertainment precincts under the Noise Pollution (Regulation and Control) Rules, 2000, and relaxation of caps on foreign remittances for payments to international artists.

On pre-approved venues, it was informed that the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) and the Sports Authority of India (SAI) have issued SOPs for organising live events at their assets, and major venues are to be pre-approved so that organisers need not seek the same venue-level permissions for each event.

The LEDC further reviewed the framework for “Brownfield and Greenfield Venue Development” to address the shortage of purpose-built venues. State Governments, industry stakeholders and sports authorities were requested to provide their formal feedback on the draft framework. Proposals discussed include identification and development of purpose-built venues by States, inclusion of live event and performance venues above a threshold capacity in the Harmonised Master List of Infrastructure Sub-sectors, and project support through the Viability Gap Funding scheme.

The Live Event Skilling Committee, chaired by the Vice Chancellor, Indian Institute of Mass Communication (IIMC), presented the progress on the skilling curriculum, including the MoU between IIMC, MESC and EEMA, and certificate and short-term courses in live events. Stakeholders were encouraged to adopt these modules through their skilling institutions. It was also proposed that Inclusivity Guidelines for Safety of Women and Divyang-jan at Live Events and Concerts and a Green Concert Protocol be launched at WAVES 2027 with the support of the industry.

The meeting concluded with the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting reaffirming its commitment to working closely with all stakeholders to foster a supportive and growth-oriented ecosystem for India's live events sector.

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Mahesh Kumar/ Aparajita Priyadarshini