The Government has identified the live events sector as an important driver of economic growth, employment generation, tourism and cultural promotion.

To facilitate the sustainable growth of the sector and position India as a global hub for live events by 2030, the Live Events Development Cell (LEDC) was constituted in July 2025. It is chaired by the Secretary (Ministry of Information and Broadcasting), with representatives of Central Ministries and Departments, State Governments, industry associations and other stakeholders.

Four meetings of the LEDC have been held on 26.08.2025, 16.10.2025, 04.02.2026 and 30.04.2026, and has initiated several measures to strengthen infrastructure, simplify regulatory processes, promote ease of doing business and develop a robust ecosystem for the live events sector.

The major outcomes are as under:

• An Execution Framework setting out a comprehensive strategy for the growth of the sector has been prepared and circulated to all stakeholders.
• An online system for live event permissions has been developed and made operational on the India Cine Hub (ICH) portal. It provides a single digital workflow covering application, coordination, approvals, payments and inspections, with timebound processing, real-time tracking, escalation of delays, integrated digital payments and digital audit trails.
• 29 States/UTs have designated their Nodal Officers for Live Event permissions on the ICH portal.
• The "Model Executive Order for Streamlining Licensing and Permissions for Live Events in India, 2026" has been prepared by LEDC and circulated to all States and Union Territories on 13.03.2026. At present, 3 States/Union Territory have implemented it in their State.
• The Archaeological Survey of India has framed a Standard Operating Procedure for organising live events at protected monuments and has shared a list of 224 heritage sites for the purpose.
• A concept note on a Greenfield Venue Development Policy has been prepared and circulated to State Governments, sports authorities and industry stakeholders.
• A Skilling Committee has been constituted. The Indian Institute of Mass Communication, in collaboration with the Media and Entertainment Skills Council and the Event and Entertainment Management Association, has undertaken preparatory work relating to certificate and short-term courses in live events and elective modules in its existing programmes.
• The LEDC has identified issues relating to visa and FRRO facilitation for visiting artists and crews, use of sports and heritage venues, streamlining of music licensing, permissions for events beyond 10 p.m., taxation and access to finance, and has shared these with the concerned Ministries and Departments for their consideration.
• Upon recommendation of LEDC, Reserve Bank of India has dispensed with the requirement of furnishing a Bank Guarantee for advance remittances of USD 500,000 and above for the import of services under the Foreign Exchange Management Regulations, 2026, notified on 15th January 2026. The regulations shall come into force from 01.10.2026.

This information was provided by the Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting and Parliamentary Affairs, Dr. L. Murugan, in a written reply to an Unstarred Question in the Lok Sabha today.

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Mahesh Kumar/ Vivek Vishwash