The ministry of information and broadcasting has set up a Live Events Development Cell (LEDC) to support the structured growth of India’s live entertainment industry and strengthen the country’s emerging concert economy, according to an official release.The LEDC will function as a single-window facilitation mechanism aimed at streamlining processes for the sector and positioning India among the world’s leading live entertainment destinations by 2030. The move comes at a time when the organised live events market has expanded rapidly, with the sector valued at Rs 20,861 crore in 2024 and growing at 15 per cent. It is expected to maintain a compound annual growth rate of 18 per cent, outpacing several traditional media segments.The cell was constituted in July 2025 under the directions of Union information and broadcasting minister Ashwini Vaishnaw. It brings together representatives from the Central and State governments, industry bodies and major event companies to coordinate policy support and sectoral expansion.The initiative follows Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s address at the WAVES Summit in May 2025, where he highlighted the live entertainment industry’s untapped potential as a driver of investment, tourism and cultural influence. According to the ministry, the sector currently supports over 10 million jobs, with a single large-format event generating more than 15,000 direct and indirect employment opportunities.Tier-2 and Tier-3 cities are increasingly emerging as key growth centres. Citing a BookMyShow report for 2025, the ministry said Visakhapatnam saw a 490 per cent rise in live entertainment footfalls, while Shillong and Guwahati recorded growth of 213 per cent and 188 per cent, respectively. Overall consumption across music concerts, sports and theatre rose by 17 per cent, with more than five lakh people travelling to other cities to attend events, reported news agency ANI.Industry participants say the presence of global artistes alongside large domestic tours reflects growing market maturity. To address infrastructure gaps and ease of doing business, the ministry has also formed a Joint Working Group with private stakeholders, including District by Zomato. The LEDC aims to double the sector’s size, generate 15–20 million jobs and place India among the top five global live entertainment hubs.

New Delhi: Delhi-NCR recorded the highest yearly average residential price rise at 23 per cent in 2025 — from Rs 7,550 square feet in 2024 to about Rs 9,300 per sq ft in 2025, according to a new report. 

On an annual basis, the collective average housing price rose by 8 per cent in the top seven cities – from Rs 8,590 per sq ft by Q4 2024-end to around Rs 9,260 per sq ft at Q4 2025-end, according to Anarock Research data.

The other major cities recorded single-digit price appreciation, ranging between 4-9 per cent in 2025 as against last year’s 13-27 per cent in 2024, the report mentioned.

Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR), Pune, Bengaluru, Hyderabad and Delhi-NCR, together, accounted for 90 per cent of overall sales in 2025 across the top seven cities.

“MMR saw the highest sales with approx. 1,27,875 units sold in 2025; declining by 18 percent against 2024. Pune saw approx. 65,135 units sold in 2025 – a yearly decline of 20 percent over 2024. Bengaluru also saw just a marginal yearly decline of 5 percent in housing sales, with approx. 62,205 units sold in 2025,” the report mentioned.

The top seven cities saw about 4,19,170 new units launched in 2025, against 4,12,520 units in 2024 – a 2 per cent annual increase. The key cities contributing to new supply during the year were MMR, Pune, Bengaluru, and NCR, which together accounted for 79 per cent of the total new unit additions.

On an annual basis, unsold inventory in the top seven cities rose 4 per cent by 2025-end, largely because of tapered demand and increased new supply in the year. About 5.77 lakh units are currently on the primary sales market in these cities.

“Notably, thanks to restricted new supply in the city, Hyderabad saw a marginal decline of 2 per cent in unsold stock in 2025 – from approx. 97,765 units by 2024-end to approx. 96,140 units by 2025-end,” said the report.

Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR) also witnessed a marginal 1 per cent decline in unsold stock. All other cities saw their unsold inventory rise over the year, with Bengaluru recording a significant 23 per cent increase.

The Indian Rice Exporters’ Federation (IREF) has called on the Union government to announce focused fiscal and policy measures in the Union Budget 2026 to strengthen India’s rice export ecosystem, covering both basmati and non-basmati varieties.In a representation to finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman, the federation underlined the importance of rice exports for the economy, rural livelihoods and global food security, reported news agency ANI. It flagged multiple challenges facing the sector, including ecological stress, rising costs and market volatility, and said targeted budgetary support could improve competitiveness while ensuring sustainability and better returns for farmers.“The rice sector faces ecological stress, notably groundwater depletion in major paddy belts, high fiscal costs of procurement and storage, and market and compliance volatility,” the federation said in its letter. It added that the Union Budget 2026 could help address these issues through “targeted fiscal and enabling measures” that strengthen sustainability and farmer outcomes.IREF outlined a series of priority demands aimed at supporting the entire rice value chain. One key ask is the introduction of tax and investment incentives linked to verified water-saving and low-emission farming practices. These include Alternate Wetting and Drying (AWD), Direct Seeded Rice (DSR), laser land levelling and the use of energy-efficient milling technologies. According to the federation, such measures would reduce environmental stress while improving long-term productivity.The exporters’ body also urged the government to encourage farmers to shift acreage towards premium basmati rice and GI-tagged, organic and speciality non-basmati varieties. This, it said, would help farmers earn higher realisation, promote market-led crop diversification and lower dependence on minimum support price-based procurement systems.To improve export competitiveness, IREF sought interest subvention on export credit to ease working capital pressures faced by exporters. It also called for targeted freight and port facilitation measures to reduce logistics costs, which remain a key concern for rice shipments.The federation further requested the continuation and appropriate calibration of the Remission of Duties and Taxes on Exported Products (RoDTEP) scheme for rice. Ensuring that embedded taxes are adequately refunded, it said, is crucial for maintaining India’s competitiveness in global markets.Another major concern raised was the need to strengthen export finance guarantees and upgrade compliance-related infrastructure. This includes better testing facilities, traceability systems and quality assurance mechanisms to protect India’s standing in premium international markets.“These measures will directly lower exporters’ costs, incentivise sustainability and encourage the scaling up of value-added shipments,” said Dr Prem Garg, national president of IREF, as per news agency ANI. He added that rice should be explicitly covered under budgetary initiatives related to export credit, logistics and trade facilitation.Citing industry data, the federation said India currently accounts for around 40 per cent of global rice trade, a level of dominance unmatched in any other commodity. Having met domestic food security needs, it said India is well-positioned to supply international markets at scale. In FY2024-25, the country exported about 20.1 million tonnes of rice to more than 170 countries, according to figures shared by IREF.