IndiaPosted at: Oct 7 2026 7:41PM

New Delhi, Oct 7 (UNI) India’s live events sector has registered a 44 per cent growth over the past year, with nearly 34,000 events organised across the country and the industry now supporting more than one crore livelihoods, the government said on Wednesday.
Addressing the fifth meeting of the Live Events Development Cell (LEDC), Information and Broadcasting Ministry Secretary Chanchal Kumar said the government has set a target of doubling the size of the live events sector by 2030, with the potential to generate 15–20 million direct and ancillary jobs.
Kumar described the LEDC as “one of the finest examples of cooperation between industry, States and the Centre”, noting that the platform brings together 14 Central ministries and departments, 10 States and union Territories and 21 industry bodies.
The meeting reviewed the progress of several measures aimed at simplifying approvals and creating a more conducive ecosystem for concerts, festivals, exhibitions and other live events.
A key focus was the Single Window Clearances Portal on the India Cine Hub (ICH). States and UTs were urged to appoint nodal officers and authorised officials, integrate departmental and local licensing systems with the ICH platform and ensure that the entire lifecycle of live-event licences, from application to approval, is processed through the portal.
They were also asked to onboard live-event venues and notify event licensing as a time-bound public service.
The government said the number of States and UTs with designated nodal officers has increased from 16 to 29. Five States have so far adopted the Model Executive Order for Streamlining Licensing and Permissions for Live Events in India, 2026, which was circulated to States and UTs on March 13.
Maharashtra, a member of the LEDC, has already adopted the model order and made a presentation on its implementation. Other States and UTs were urged to expedite its adoption.
The meeting also took note of steps by the Ministry of Home Affairs to streamline FRRO re-registration requirements for foreign performers undertaking short-term stays in India.
Several sector-specific measures were discussed with Central ministries, including group visas for artists and crews, customs duty exemptions for show equipment, integration of live entertainment skills into the National Skills Qualification Framework, training and certification centres and apprenticeship programmes.
The Ministry of Tourism was urged to promote India as a global destination for event-based tourism, while measures such as GST rationalisation, CSR alignment, infrastructure financing through viability gap funding and blended finance, and recognition of live entertainment under the MSME framework were also discussed.
The LEDC also considered a set of next-generation reforms, including a single national music licence with notified tariffs to replace overlapping demands from multiple rights societies.
Other proposals included notified entertainment precincts under the Noise Pollution (Regulation and Control) Rules, 2000, and relaxation of caps on foreign remittances for payments to international artists.
To reduce repetitive permissions, the meeting discussed the development of a system of pre-approved venues. The Archaeological Survey of India and Sports Authority of India have issued standard operating procedures for hosting live events at their assets, while major venues are proposed to be pre-approved so that organisers do not have to seek identical venue-level permissions for every event.
The LEDC also reviewed a framework for brownfield and greenfield venue development to address the shortage of purpose-built infrastructure for large events.
The Live Event Skilling Committee, chaired by the Vice Chancellor of the Indian Institute of Mass Communication (IIMC), also presented its progress on developing training curricula. This includes an MoU between IIMC, Media and Entertainment Skills Council (MESC) and Event and Entertainment Management Association (EEMA), besides certificate and short-term courses in live events.UNI PWS AAB