iWorld
Shemaroo makes key hires to boost business
MUMBAI: Shemaroo Entertainment is all set to strengthen its leadership team with appointments in new products and digital marketing.
Vaibhav Goyal has been appointed as general manager, head of products in new media & technologies and Omprakash Singh joins as digital marketing lead. The appointments are Mumbai-based and are expected to help drive the company’s growth in its new transitional phase.
Commenting on the recent hires, Shemaroo Entertainment director Hiren Gada said, “It is an exciting time for us at Shemaroo and we are pleased to have Om and Vaibhav on board. In line with our accelerated growth plans, we have hand-picked all the three experts from some of the best organisations in the media and entertainment space. We look forward to scale our brand and offerings with the new hires.”
Vaibhav Goyal has over 13 years of experience in media & entertainment and telecom. An alumnus of IIT Madras, he joins from Reliance Jio, where he was a senior product manager working on JioTV. In the past, he has worked with Hungama, Nokia and TCS. At Shemaroo, he will lead the digital products development and strategy.
Omprakash Singh has 11 years of experience and joins from Law & Kenneth Saatchi & Saatchi, where he was the digital business head on Renault India. A bachelor of computer application, Singhalso co-founded a creative digital start-up Tiki Tech and was part of it for over five years before he moved to Everymedia Technologies. At Shemaroo he will be heading all the digital marketing initiatives.
iWorld
Govt pushes live events sector to Rs 196 billion by 2028
LEDC roadmap targets 15–20 million jobs and global hub status by 2030
MUMBAI: India’s live events story is getting louder and this time, it’s policy turning up the volume. The fourth meeting of the Live Events Development Cell (LEDC), chaired by Chanchal Kumar, was held on 30 April 2026 at Vigyan Bhavan, bringing together representatives from nine Central Ministries, six States and 12 industry stakeholders to chart the sector’s next phase of growth. The numbers already tell a compelling story. India’s organised live events industry was valued at Rs 145 billion in 2025 and is projected to grow at 10 per cent to Rs 196 billion by 2028 making it one of the fastest-expanding segments within the media and entertainment ecosystem.
Set up in July 2025 by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, the LEDC is tasked with turning that momentum into a structured growth engine. Its long-term ambition is ambitious, position India as a global live events hub by 2030 while generating an additional 15–20 million jobs.
At the meeting, officials emphasised the sector’s multiplier effect spanning tourism, employment and allied industries while underlining the need for coordinated execution. A key update was the rollout of a single-window clearance system for live event permissions via the India Cine Hub portal, aimed at simplifying approvals and improving transparency.
States have been urged to adopt the system, alongside implementing the “Model Executive Order for Streamlining Licensing and Permissions for Live Events in India, 2026” by 31 May 2026. The framework seeks to standardise what has long been a fragmented and time-consuming regulatory process.
Beyond permissions, the discussion also turned to infrastructure and talent. A draft concept for greenfield venue development was tabled, alongside plans to build a skilled workforce. The Indian Institute of Mass Communication, in collaboration with industry bodies MESC and EEMA, is set to introduce certificate courses tailored to the live events sector.
Chanchal Kumar stressed that alignment across stakeholders is already in place, with the next challenge being execution at scale. The government, he noted, remains committed to creating a facilitative and transparent ecosystem for organisers.
For an industry once seen as fragmented and event-driven, the message is clear, India’s live events business is no longer just about the show, it’s about building an entire stage for growth.
