Community Radio Stations Unite in Guwahati to Celebrate Two Decades of Grassroots Broadcasting

Community Radio Stations Unite in Guwahati to Celebrate Two Decades of Grassroots Broadcasting

Posted On: 10 DEC 2025 5:49PM by PIB Guwahati

The two-day Regional Community Radio Sammelan (East) was inaugurated in Guwahati today. Organised by the Ministry of Information & Broadcasting, Government of India, in collaboration with the Indian Institute of Mass Communication (IIMC), New Delhi, the theme of the Sammelan is "Celebrating 20 Years of Community Radio in India." More than 65 Community Radio Stations from the Eastern and Northeastern region are participating in the event.

Welcoming the gathering, Dr. Pragya Paliwal Gaur, Vice Chancellor of IIMC, New Delhi said that it was an honour for IIMC to partner with the Ministry for this milestone gathering. She highlighted the growth of the Community Radio ecosystem, with over 550 stations now operating across India and more in the pipeline, including in the Northeast. Dr. Gaur spoke about the important role of Community Radio in promoting gender-sensitive communication, disseminating emergency information, involving students of media education, preserving folk traditions, and responsibly integrating AI in content development. She urged stakeholders to work together to strengthen community-led development through Community Radio.

Delivering his address, Shri L. Madhu Nag, Registrar, IIMC, highlighted the significant transformation of India's radio landscape—from mainstream FM broadcasting to the emergence of Community Radio as a powerful platform for local voices. Emphasizing the core pillars of strengthening CR stations, he underscored the importance of community-driven content creation, enhanced capacity building, and long-term financial sustainability. He noted that creatively produced, locally rooted content remains central to the success of Community Radio.

Ms Shilpa Rao, Director CRS, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting informed about the objectives of the Sammelan and mentioned that the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting is committed to the growth and reinforcement of the Community Radio sector in North East Region. She also appraised them about the initiatives taken by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting in this regard.

Shri Mahendra Meena, Under Secretary, Ministry of Information & Broadcasting, remarked that Community Radio stations have become indispensable for last-mile communication. He stated that CR stations amplify real community voices and help ensure accurate information reaches people during emergencies and developmental programmes. He reaffirmed the Ministry's continued support to the Community Radio movement.

Prof. (Dr.) Sangeeta Pranvendra, Convenor of the Sammelan, extended a warm vote of thanks to all participants for travelling to Guwahati and joining the collective celebration of two decades of India's Community Radio movement. She appreciated the commitment of CR practitioners and experts who continue to strengthen grassroots broadcasting across the region.

The first day of the sammelan featured several technical and interactive sessions. Deputy Wireless Advisor, Ministry of Telecommunications Shri Manish Sheelwant spoke in detail about transmitter replacement and migration to the SARAL Sanchar portal, along with guidance on applying for WoL renewal.

Prof. (Dr.) Kanchan K. Malik stressed on the relevance of gender based programming and the vital role of women in CRS programming and participation in the overall content management and broadcasting.

A panel discussion on the engagement of State Governments in promoting Community Radio across the eastern region, moderated by Shri Amit Dwivedi, Project Director CRS engaged with CRS practicioners from Bihar, Manipur, Assam, West Bengal and Odisha.

The first day also included an insightful session on 'Promotion and Preservation of Indigenous Languages and CRS' led by Prof. Uma Pappuswamy from the Central Institute of Indian Languages, Mysuru. She said that as the nature of the CRS is hyperlocal, indigenous languages can best be preserved and promoted through the CRS.

The day concluded with a session on community-based content, delivered by Shri N. A. Shah Ansari, Director, Radio Namaskar, Konark, Odisha. He spoke on the best practices to be adopted while creating community based content.

The Sammelan provides Community Radio practitioners a platform to share experiences, raise concerns, explore innovative approaches and collectively strengthen the future of grassroots broadcasting across the eastern and northeastern region

 

 

Press Release

Press Information Bureau

Government of India

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Alokesh Gupta

New Delhi, India

Govt Strengthens Last-Mile Outreach for Disaster Alerts and Welfare Schemes Through Prasar Bharati

Govt Strengthens Last-Mile Outreach for Disaster Alerts and Welfare Schemes Through Prasar Bharati

The Government recognises the importance of dissemination of welfare schemes, public advisories and disaster-related information, particularly in rural, remote and border regions.

Through its public broadcaster Prasar Bharati (Doordarshan and Akashvani), the Government ensures wide outreach using FM/MW/SW radio networks, terrestrial TV transmitters, DD FreeDish, digital platforms and mobile applications.

The National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), under the Ministry of Home Affairs, has implemented the Common Alerting Protocol (CAP) based Integrated Alert System for geo-targeted dissemination of disaster alerts.

The alerts are issued in regional languages through SMS, mobile apps, the SACHET portal, GAGAN/NaVIC satellite terminals and RSS feeds.

Additionally, NDMA is strengthening community preparedness through extensive awareness initiatives using electronic and print media, regional-language content, outreach vans, and street plays.

To further strengthen last-mile delivery, the Government has taken the following measures:

Expansion through DD FreeDish: Direct to Home (DTH) platform providing nationwide coverage, including rural and border areas. It carries all Doordarshan channels, 48 Akashvani channels, select private channels and 260+ educational channels.

Focused public-information programming: Doordarshan and DD News broadcast dedicated programmes, documentaries and reports on Government schemes and disaster advisories through daily bulletins and shows such as Charcha Mein, Aapda Ka Samna, Cabinet Ke Bade Faisle and Cyber Alert.

Strengthening digital access: Prasar Bharati uses its social media outreach to disseminate information. 260+ Akashvani stations are also available on the 'NewsOnAir' app on Android and iOS.

WAVES OTT platform: Prasar Bharati has launched WAVES, which provides live streaming of Doordarshan and Akashvani channels, along with selected private news and entertainment channels, further widening access for citizens

The following Five Akashvani FM stations are currently operational in Kosi and Purnia divisions:

Sl. No. Location of Station District Division

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1 Bathnaha (10 kW)     Araria       Purnia

2 Katihar (100 W)        Katihar      Purnia

3 Kishanganj (100 W) Kishanganj Purnia

4 Purnia (10 kW)         Purnia       Purnia

5 Saharsa (100 W)      Saharsa    Kosi

Dr. L. Murugan, Minister of State for Information & Broadcasting and Parliamentary Affairs, shared this information in the Lok Sabha today in response to a question raised by Shri Rajesh Ranjan.

Press Release

Press Information Bureau

Government of India

Major Boost for Public Service Broadcasting: Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs approves Central Sector BIND Scheme with an outlay of Rs.2,539.61 crore up to 2025-26

Major Boost for Public Service Broadcasting: Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs approves Central Sector 'Broadcasting Infrastructure and Network Development (BIND)' Scheme with an outlay of Rs.2,539.61 crore up to 2025-26.

- FM Coverage of AIR to increase to cover more than 80 per cent of the country's population

-  8 lakh DD Free Dish DTH Set Top Boxes (DTBs) to be distributed to people living in remote, tribal, Left Wing Extremism (LWE), border areas and aspirational districts

04 Jan 2023 4:07PM by PIB Delhi

The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs approved the proposal of the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting regarding Central Sector Scheme "Broadcasting Infrastructure and Network Development" (BIND) at a cost of ₹2,539.61 crore for infrastructure development of Prasar Bharati i.e. All India Radio (AIR) and Doordarshan (DD). The "Broadcasting Infrastructure and Network Development" scheme of the Ministry is the vehicle for providing financial support to Prasar Bharati for expenses related to expansion and upgradation of its broadcasting infrastructure, content development and civil work related to the organization.

Prasar Bharati, as the public broadcaster of the country, is the most important vehicle of information, education, entertainment and engagement for the people especially in the remote areas of the country through Doordarshan and All India Radio. Prasar Bharati played a stellar role in communicating public health messages and awareness to the public during the covid pandemic.

The BIND scheme will enable the public broadcaster to undertake a major upgradation of its facilities with better infrastructure which will widen its reach, including in the LWE, border and strategic areas and provide high quality content to the viewers. Another major priority area of the scheme is the development of high-quality content for both domestic and international audience and ensuring availability of diverse content to the viewers by upgradation of capacity of DTH platform to accommodate more channels. Purchase of OB vans and digital upgradation of DD and AIR Studios to make them HD ready will be also be done as part of the project.

At present, Doordarshan operates 36 TV channels including 28 regional channels and All India Radio operates more than 500 broadcasting centres. The Scheme will increase coverage of AIR FM transmitters in the country to 66% by geographical area and 80% by population up from 59% and 68% respectively. The Scheme also envisages free distribution of over 8 lakh DD Free Dish STBs to people living in remote, tribal, LWE and border areas.

In addition to enhancing the scope of public broadcasting, the Project for modernization and augmentation of broadcast infrastructure also has the potential to generate indirect employment by way of manufacturing and services related to supply and installation of broadcast equipment. Content generation and content innovation for AIR & DD has the potential of indirect employment of persons with varied experience of different media fields in the content production sector including TV/Radio production, transmission and associated media related services. Further, the project for expansion of the reach of DD Free Dish is expected to generate employment opportunities in the manufacturing of the DD Free Dish DTH Boxes.

Government of India reiterates its commitment to the development, modernization and strengthening of Doordarshan and Akashvani (Prasar Bharati) infrastructure and services, which is a continuous process.

Press Release

Press Information Bureau

Government of India

TOP 10 DX of the Year Contest

For those, who take it seriously !

The TOP DX RADIOCLUB invites you to the annual TOP 10 DX OF THE YEAR contest.

Starting from 1st December 2025.
All details can be found on website: https://topdx-radioclub.com/top10dx.html

China Selects DRM to Boost Audio Quality and Emergency Alerts

China Selects DRM to Boost Audio Quality and Emergency Alerts

China has moved decisively to modernize its radio network by adopting the Digital Radio Mondiale (DRM) standard for mediumwave and shortwave

bands. The government published the national "Chinese DRM Standard in MF and HF Band" on July 29. As a result, officials aim to improve audio quality, emergency alerts, and nationwide coverage.

Full story at :

 
https://rymmagazine.com/china-selects-drm-to-boost-audio-quality-and-emergency-alerts/