Industrial feedback on the delhi budget by Samit Garg (President EEMA)

EEMA’s Perspective: The Way Forward

As the apex body representing the events and experience ecosystem, EEMA views this budget as a foundational step-but not the finish line.

1. Establish a True Single-Window Clearance System

Time is the biggest cost in our industry.

We strongly recommend:

• A digitized, time-bound approval system
• Integration across police, civic bodies, fire, licensing

Without this, the concert economy and event tourism cannot scale.

2. Create a Dedicated “Experience Economy Task Force”

Tourism today is not passive-it is experiential.

Delhi must actively invest in:

• Immersive shows
• Cultural districts
• Night-time economy zones
• Riverfront and heritage activations

This requires cross-sector collaboration and not siloed execution.

3. Policy Support for Large-Scale Events & IP Creation

India needs homegrown global IPs.

We recommend:

• Viability gap funding for flagship events
• Incentives for international collaborations
• Support for export of Indian experiential IPs

Delhi can become the launchpad for globally scalable formats.

4. Rationalization of Licensing & Music Rights

Currently, multiple licensing bodies create friction and cost ambiguity.

A unified licensing framework will:

• Reduce compliance burden
• Encourage more events
• Improve ease of doing business

5. Data-Driven Tourism & Event Strategy

We need to move from intuition to intelligence.

• Visitor analytics
• Event impact measurement
• Spend mapping

This will enable sharper policy decisions and investor confidence.

The Bigger Picture

If executed with intent and precision, Delhi can evolve into:

• South Asia’s live entertainment capital
• A global cultural and experiential hub
• A city where tourism is driven not just by history – but by happening, living, evolving experiences

This budget opens the door.But unless policy, process, and private sector collaboration align with speed and seriousness, the opportunity will remain underleveraged.

The experience economy is not a support industry anymore, it is a primary economic engine.

Delhi has taken the first step.
Now we hope that it stayscommitted to the journey.

Authored by –
Samit Garg (President EEMA)