Parl panel seeks roadmap for pan-India live-event rules; 23 states adopt Centre SOP model

The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Communications and Information Technology has pressed the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (MIB) to lay out a roadmap for achieving nationwide adoption of a common regulatory framework for live events, signalling that Parliament wants the Centre's reforms for India's fast-growing concert economy to move beyond policy announcements to uniform implementation across states.

The intervention comes even as the Ministry informed the Committee that the Live Event Development Cell (LEDC) has operationalised its single-window permissions portal and that 23 States and Union Territories have conveyed their willingness to adopt the Centre's Model Executive Order (MEO) and Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) for organising live events.

The Committee, however, observed that the Ministry should now provide details of the states that are yet to adopt the framework and explain the follow-up mechanism it intends to use to bring the remaining jurisdictions on board.

The recommendation reflects Parliament's emphasis on creating a predictable regulatory environment for an industry that has consistently flagged fragmented state-level permissions as one of its biggest operational bottlenecks.

Panel shifts focus from policy creation to execution

The government's response forms part of the Action Taken Report submitted after the Committee's earlier recommendations on promoting India's live-events ecosystem.

The Ministry told the panel that the newly established Live Event Development Cell has made its single-window permissions and clearance portal operational through the India Cine Hub platform. The portal is intended to serve as a unified interface for obtaining approvals required to organise concerts, festivals and other live entertainment events.

According to the Ministry, work is already underway to expand the platform by integrating it with digital systems operated by multiple government agencies, including the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), the Sports Authority of India (SAI) and the Ministry of Civil Aviation's DigitalSky portal. The integration is expected to reduce the need for organisers to approach multiple departments separately for clearances.

The LEDC was conceived as a key institutional mechanism to support what the government has described as India's emerging "concert economy", a segment estimated to be growing at around 20% annually.

Uniform SOP still short of nationwide adoption

Alongside the digital portal, the Ministry informed Parliament that it had finalised a Model Executive Order and Standard Operating Procedure after consultations with industry stakeholders. The framework was circulated to all States and Union Territories on March 13, 2026. According to the Ministry, 23 States and UTs have indicated that they will adopt the model SOP.

Rather than treating this as the conclusion of the exercise, the Parliamentary Committee has sought greater accountability on the remaining jurisdictions. It has specifically asked the Ministry to provide:

• the names of States and Union Territories that have agreed to adopt the Model Executive Order and SOP;
• details of those that have not yet come on board; and
• the Ministry's strategy and follow-up mechanism to secure wider adoption across the country.

The observations suggest the Committee views regulatory harmonisation across states as critical to making the single-window clearance mechanism effective in practice. Without common adoption of the SOP, organisers could continue to face varying compliance requirements across different states despite the availability of a centralised portal.

 Parliament also tracks workforce development

The Committee also examined the government's efforts to build a skilled workforce for the expanding live-events industry.

 The Ministry informed Parliament that a Skilling Committee headed by the Vice-Chancellor of the Indian Institute of Mass Communication (IIMC), with representation from the Event and Entertainment Management Association (EEMA) and the Media and Entertainment Skills Council, has prepared recommendations for certificate programmes and short-term courses for the sector.

As part of the proposal, elective modules related to live events and event management will become part of IIMC's academic curriculum from the session beginning in August 2026.

The Committee was also informed that the proposed skilling initiatives could subsequently be extended through IIMC's regional centres to create a wider talent pipeline for the industry.

Panel seeks more granular details

While acknowledging the Ministry's progress, the Committee has sought further information before closing its recommendations.

Apart from seeking a state-wise status of adoption of the MEO and SOP, it has asked the Ministry to furnish details of the proposed certificate and short-term courses, including their objectives and the categories of students and professionals they are intended to serve.

The Committee's observations indicate that Parliament intends to closely monitor both pillars of the Centre's live-event strategy—regulatory reforms aimed at simplifying permissions and institutional efforts to create a skilled workforce capable of supporting the industry's long-term growth.

As India's live entertainment market expands with larger concerts, festivals and international touring acts, the Committee's latest recommendations underscore that the success of the Centre's reforms will ultimately depend not merely on launching digital platforms, but on securing regulatory convergence across states and ensuring the ecosystem has access to trained professionals.