The Union Budget 2026–27 marks a decisive evolution in India’s policy approach towards the Meetings, Incentives, Conventions and Exhibitions (MICE) sector. Moving beyond short-term, event-based interventions, the Budget lays the foundation for a long-term, institutionalised and platform-driven exhibition ecosystem.
Rather than treating exhibitions as isolated activities, the Budget focuses on building enabling frameworks—spanning governance, talent development, infrastructure, connectivity and compliance—to support repeatable and scalable growth across India’s MICE landscape.
Destination-Led Growth Through City-Level MICE Bureaus
A major highlight of Budget 2026–27 is the announcement of city-level MICE and Convention Promotion Bureaus, to be operational from 2026. These bureaus aim to address one of the industry’s long-standing challenges: fragmented coordination at the local level.
By offering single-window facilitation for organisers, exhibitors and international partners, these bureaus will enhance predictability, reduce execution bottlenecks and improve India’s competitiveness in hosting large-scale global exhibitions and conventions on a sustained basis. Verified local ecosystems and standardised processes are expected to significantly strengthen destination readiness.
Expanding Venues Through Heritage & Experiential Destinations
The Budget also proposes the development of 15 heritage and archaeological sites as experiential destinations, opening new avenues for curated, high-value event formats. This initiative supports destination-based exhibitions, cultural conventions and experiential trade showcases, aligning India’s heritage assets with the evolving expectations of global MICE audiences.
Building a Skilled, Future-Ready MICE Workforce
Talent development emerges as a core pillar of the Budget’s MICE strategy. The announcement of 15,000 AVGC and content labs in schools and 500 specialised labs in colleges will create a strong talent pipeline for exhibition design, audiovisual production, hybrid events and immersive experiences.
Complementing this, the establishment of a National Institute of Hospitality will promote industry–academia collaboration and help raise service standards across both established and emerging MICE cities.
Strengthening Organisers, MSMEs & the Supply Chain
To deepen market participation, Budget 2026–27 introduces targeted financial support measures:
- Up to ₹45 lakh assistance for organising domestic exhibitions
- ₹15 lakh support for MSME participation
- 100% reimbursement of space rental and airfare for select MSMEs at international trade fairs
- A ₹10,000 crore SME Growth Fund to scale high-performing enterprises
These initiatives strengthen the exhibition supply chain while enabling broader MSME integration into domestic and global trade platforms.
Regional Expansion Enabled by Connectivity & Compliance Ease
With UDAN connectivity expanded to 120 new destinations, the Budget encourages the decentralisation of MICE activity beyond metro cities. Improved air connectivity will facilitate exhibitions and conventions in Tier-2 and Tier-3 markets, unlocking new regional demand and venue potential.
Operational ease is further enhanced through the reduction of TCS on overseas tour packages to 2%, boosting outbound participation in international exhibitions, and the introduction of “Corporate Mitras” to simplify compliance, particularly for organisers and enterprises in smaller cities.
A Platform-Led Future for India’s MICE Industry
Taken together, Union Budget 2026–27 assembles the entire MICE value chain in sequence—institutions, infrastructure, talent, access and compliance. The result is a structural shift from event-led growth to platform-led expansion, offering greater visibility of exhibition pipelines and policy-backed momentum for organised MICE operators.
This Budget does not merely support exhibitions—it institutionalises them. By aligning destination readiness with talent, connectivity and financial flow, Budget 2026–27 creates the conditions for India to emerge as a consistently competitive global MICE hub.
