Union Minister for Information and Broadcasting, Prakash Javdekar on Friday announced that 118 new Community Radio Stations (CRS) would be set up soon across the country.
The approved list of applicants having been granted Letter of Intent, for setting up CRS includes 16 from Left Wing Extremism (LWE) affected districts, six from most LWE affected districts, 25 from coastal districts, 17 from aspirational districts, three from North-East and two from Jammu and Kashmir.
"Community Radio is a great way to communicate with the public and to give opportunities to local artists. We are going to expand community radio to many other areas which will start in a few months", Javdekar said while addressing the media.
"The licenses for such stations for educational institutions and aspirational districts and Maoist affected areas will help in strengthening the local folk culture and social relations. We are going to expand community radio to many other areas which will start in a few months", he added.
It is expected that these community radio stations will become operational within the upcoming six months. Applications from NGOs, Educational Institutions - both private and public, and Krishi Vigyan Kendras have been granted approvals for the same.
Community radio stations act as an essential communication channel for enhancing last mile outreach of the government. Plans are underway to ensure the expansion of the community radio network to cover each district of the country.
Community Radios are small (low power) FM radio stations with a coverage area of 10-15 Km radius, depending on the geography of the region. They play a very significant role in the dissemination of various kinds of information pertaining to agriculture, government schemes, weather forecast etc.
There are more than 260 CRS across India, broadcasting in various languages including local dialects, which provides the marginalised communities with a platform to make their voices heard with an opportunity to express their opinion.
( With inputs from ANI )