Photo Source: Twitter|@PMOIndia
New Delhi: In a boost to radio connectivity in the country, 91 new 100W FM transmitters were inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi via video conferencing today. These transmitters have been installed in 85 districts across 18 States and 2 Union Territories. A special focus of this expansion has been on enhancing coverage in ‘Aspirational Districts‘ and in border areas.
The Prime Minister touched upon the dimension of linguistic diversity and informed that FM transmission will take place in all the languages and especially in the regions with 27 dialects.
The States and Union Territories which are covered include Bihar, Jharkhand, Odisha, West Bengal, Assam, Meghalaya, Nagaland, Haryana, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Andhra Pradesh, Kerala, Telangana, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Ladakh and Andaman & Nicobar Islands.
With this expansion of AIR’s FM service, an additional 2 crore people will now be covered who did not have access to the medium. It will result in the expansion of coverage in about 35,000 sq km area.
Modi said that today marks a significant step in the expansion of FM services by All India Radio in the direction of becoming All India FM. He underlined that the beginning of 91 FM transmitters by All India Radio is like a present for 85 districts and 2 crore people of the nation.
Listing out the benefits of FM transmitters, Modi mentioned relaying important information on time, community building efforts, weather updates related to agricultural practices, information on food and vegetable prices for the farmers, discussions about the loss incurred by the use of chemicals in agriculture, pooling of advanced machinery for agriculture, informing women self-help groups about new market practices and assisting the entire community during times of a natural calamity. He also mentioned the infotainment value of the FM.
He emphasized that the tech revolution taking place in the country in the past few years has fabricated radio and especially FM in a new form. Noting the rise of the internet, the Prime Minister pointed out that radio has come to the fore in innovative ways through podcasts and online FM. “Digital India has not only given new listeners to the radio but a new thought process as well”, he said as he underlined that the same revolution can be witnessed in every broadcasting medium. He noted that the services of DD free dish, the largest DTH platform in the country, are being provided to 4 crore 30 lakh homes where real-time information about the world is reaching the doorsteps of crores of rural households and areas nearing the border.
– global bihari bureau
