Live Events Sector Grows 44 Per Cent in a Single Year

Concerts, festivals and stage shows are now a measurable slice of India’s economy. At the 5th meeting of the Live Events Development Cell (LEDC) on 7 October 2026, Shri Chanchal Kumar, Secretary in the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, said the sector had grown by 44 per cent over the past year, with roughly 34,000 events staged across the country, and that it now supports more than one crore livelihoods.

The target for 2030

The Government wants the sector doubled by 2030, which it believes could yield 15 to 20 million direct and ancillary jobs. The Secretary called the LEDC one of the best examples of the Centre, the States and industry working together. The Cell draws in 14 Central Ministries and Departments, 10 States and Union Territories and 21 industry bodies, and has already pushed through a Model Executive Order, a single window portal, simpler clearances and skilling work. The count of States and Union Territories with designated Nodal Officers has risen from 16 to 29.

Licensing through India Cine Hub

The meeting reviewed the Single Window Clearances Portal for the industry built on the India Cine Hub (ICH) platform. States and Union Territories were asked to name Nodal Officers, nominate authorised officers from departments, connect their own departmental and local licensing systems to the portal, route the full licence lifecycle through it, bring venues on board and notify live event licensing as a time-bound public service. Five States have so far adopted the Model Executive Order for Streamlining Licensing and Permissions for Live Events in India, 2026, circulated to States and Union Territories on 13 March 2026; Maharashtra presented how it has done so. The Ministry of Home Affairs has also eased FRRO re-registration for short stays by foreign performers.

Reforms under discussion

The Cell took up a single national music licence with notified tariffs, to end overlapping demands from several rights societies; notified entertainment precincts under the Noise Pollution (Regulation and Control) Rules, 2000; and easier caps on foreign remittances for paying international artists. The Archaeological Survey of India and the Sports Authority of India have issued standard procedures for holding live events at their properties, and large venues are to be pre-approved so organisers need not seek the same venue clearance each time.

Venues, skilling and safety

A draft framework on Brownfield and Greenfield Venue Development was reviewed to fix the shortage of purpose-built venues; proposals include putting venues above a threshold capacity into the Harmonised Master List of Infrastructure Sub-sectors and backing projects through Viability Gap Funding. The Live Event Skilling Committee, chaired by the Vice Chancellor of the Indian Institute of Mass Communication, reported on a curriculum and an MoU between IIMC, MESC and EEMA. Inclusivity Guidelines for the safety of women and Divyang-jan at live events, and a Green Concert Protocol, are proposed for launch at WAVES 2027.