Wednesday, February 28, 2007

AIR DRM test txn's to Europe

Date : 27th Feb 2007 till 5th Mar 2007
Freq : 9950 kHz
Time : 1945 - 2230 UTC
Program : GOS IV service.
Target : Europe
Txer site : Khampur, Delhi
Power : 100 kW

Reports appreciated at : spectrum-manager@air.org.in

Wednesday, February 21, 2007

All India Radio Special Transmissions

24th Feb 2007

2130-2300 IST Direct relay of 261st Aradhana Festival of ShriNarayanatirtha from Thirupoonthuruthy.

26th Feb 2007

All India Radio will broadcast the direct relay of the presentation of Railway Budget-2007 in the Lok Sabha by the Union Railway Minister and the other special programmes on Rail Budget .
1130 -1155 IST An intro to Rail Budget (By experts) 15260,15185
1155 -1400 IST Direct relay of the presentation of Rail Budget by theUnion Railway Minister from Parliament followed by Special LiveDiscussion on the Railway Budget.

27th Feb 2007

Special Programmes on Results of Assembly Elections-2007.
0910-1400 IST A Special Composite Live programme
1105-1110 IST Additional News Bulletin in English
1200-1210 IST Additional News Bulletin in Hindi

28th Feb 2007

Coverage of Union General Budget- 2007.
All India Radio will broadcast the direct relay of the presentation of General Budget-2007 in the Lok Sabha by the Union Finance Ministerand other Budget related programmes on 28th February 2007.
1030-1055 IST Discussion on the Pre-Budget Scenario 15260,15185
1055-1230 IST Direct relay of the presentation of General Budget by theUnion Finance Minister from the Parliament House
1230-1245 IST Special Budget Bulletin in English
1245-1300 IST Special Budget Bulletin in Hindi
1300-1400 IST Special Live Budget Program.

Consequently there will be changes/ cancellations on above dates/times during News bulletins ,National Regional News Bulletins & GOS-II Service.

Sunday, February 04, 2007

BES EXPO 2007


Report on BES Expo 2007 is available at :
Right click on above link to download the pdf file.

Government has high hopes from community radio

Sunday, February 04, 2007
The Indian government is upbeat that its new community radio policy willopen up the airwaves to 2,000 to 3,000 low-powered and locally controlledradio stations in the next few years.Joint Secretary (Broadcasting) N. Baijendra Kumar told a nationalconsultation on community radio held here that it took 'almost a year' for agroup of ministers (GoM) to work out a 'slightly liberal' policy oncommunity radio. 'The interests of commercial FM radio has overtaken theneed for community radio a little bit,' he conceded. 'For the last few years(under the earlier 'community radio' policy) we managed to set up only 19 to20 stations which we called 'community radio' but were more of campus radiostations.'On Nov 16, 2006, the government rolled out a new community radio policy,which is still be readied for implementation.Kumar took a dig at the national 'priorities', saying he had been caught upwith issues like the 'mandatory sharing of cricket (television) feeds to thecountry' and 'Shilpa Shetty's win' in London had also become mediapriorities.'We hope to have at least 2,000-3,000 radio stations really owned bycommunities. Our task is very big. We need thousands of people like you, whoshare the same dream, and believe in (empowering the people) throughcommunication,' he told the meet.The official, speaking on behalf of the government, suggested that the'paranoia' against community radio stations was unjustified, and that thesecould meet the diversity and aspirations of the people in rural areas.Kumar suggested that community radio stations could be built inexpensively.'We don't need a Rs.1.2-million studio in a Rs.2-million building. Thesestations should be within the range of Rs.50,000 to Rs.5 million,' he said.'People should decide what they want.'He pointed to fears 'among some' about opening up community radio in'Naxalite' or border areas. 'But a vast country like this can withstand thepressures,' he said.Kumar said the government should avoid 'taking over' community radio, asthis could detract from its spirit. Community radio needed 'diversity andlocal content' and listeners knew the credibility of the people talking viait, being from the area, he said.Kumar suggested it was time for India to shift away form the 'voice from theheavens' (Akashvani, as the official broadcaster was known) and listen tothe 'voice of the people.'Organisations present suggested that voluntary organisations or trade unionswithout political affiliations could also be considered for being allowed torun community radio stations.Some suggested allowing mobile stations, to cater to sparsely populatedareas. Others stressed the importance of allowing news broadcasts too oncommunity radio stations. There were queries over why community radiostations should be charged spectrum fees, and why ultra-low poweredtransmitters-like a one-watt one, which reached just 300 metres-neededlicensing when more powerful tools were used without licenses in otherfields anyway.Kumar declined to allow community radio stations to play copyright musicwithout paying royalties, arguing that this would affect the creativity atthe grassroots.Incidentally, the ministry of information and broadcasting, in collaborationwith the United Nations, is planning a two-day workshop for potentialcommunity radio organisations early next month.

http://www.indiaenews.com/business/20070204/38108.htm