1,000 community radio stations in IITs, IIMs by 2003-end
Tuesday, 14 January 2003, 20:30 IST
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NEW DELHI: Admission to some of India's best educational institutions will soon come with an added perk - an in-house radio station in the campus to express one's creative side. Some 1,000 radio stations would be set up this year in the Indian Institutes of Technology, the Indian Institutes of Management and residential schools, Information and Broadcasting Minister Sushma Swaraj said at a function Tuesday. Swaraj asked radio engineers across the country to make the scheme possible in order to usher a nationwide revolution. The move follows a cabinet decision last month. Under the proposal, established universities, colleges and schools can apply for an FM transmitter as per availability of frequency. The station cannot be used for commercial purposes or for broadcasting news, current affairs, election and political content or advertisements. After the approval from ministries and departments concerned, 10-year licences would be awarded to run the radio station in the campus. The programmes have to have localised content, focussing on community development, education and environment. There is no ban on religious programmes under the head of social and cultural content, though the government has warned against misuse. The service, according to the ministry, would provide a platform for students and teachers to give vent to their creative energy by producing cultural and interactive programmes. It would also liven up the academic environment, said officials. Such community radios are a common feature in most foreign universities. Among the few existing community radio schemes is one by the United Nations Development Programme in Kurnool district of Andhra Pradesh. This radio has a privately funded transmitter with a range of 400 to 500 metres, with the weak signals usually impeded by walls, trees and bad weather.
Source: IANS
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