India 2018

422 India 2018
the country are the Local Radio stations (LRS). Recently, the community
radio has become very popular among different electronic media available
in the country. All India Radio has also set-up Community Radio Service at
five places in the North Eastern India as the voice of the local tribal
population.
Regional Channels
Regional Channels are located mostly in the state capitals and in the major
linguistic-cultural regions of every state. Altogether 128 such channels are
spread over 29 states and 6 UTs of the country. The public service
broadcasting arm of AIR, the Regional Channels put out infotainment
programmes with the objective of enriching the lives of their listeners. The
Regional Channels, broadcast largely on the Medium Wave frequency,
follow a composite programming mix. They also promote art and culture
with a major emphasis on Indian classical music. Around 40 per cent of the
total broadcast on primary channels comprises music, which includes
classical, light, folk, film and the music of various other languages. News
and current affairs programmes constitute 20 to 30 per cent of the broadcast
time. Radio plays and drama, health and family welfare programmes,
programmes for women and children, farm and home programmes aimed
at empowering rural masses are the other important segments of the
primary channels. These channels being the most accessible of all the AIR
channels, strive to reach their audiences in the language most understood by
all.
Local Radio Stations
At present 86 Local Radio Stations (LRS) are located across the country.These
stations are serving the local population of the area, providing utility
services and reaching right into the heart of the community.
Community Radio Stations
Community radio centres were set up at 5 places in the North Eastern
Region to serve the local tribal population.
FM Rainbow
FM Rainbow channel of All India Radio was launched at a time when radio
listening was declining especially in big cities. FM radio filled this gap
effectively by ensuring disturbance-free high quality music to its listeners.
Even the presentation style of the compere on FM channel was transformed
to suit the changing needs of listeners. Inter-personal chatting style of the
comperes caught the pulse of youth and allured them to come closer to their
radio. In its round-the-clock broadcast, the listeners were served with a
recipe of whole new gamut of entertainment. Soon FM radio acquired the
status of modern radio because it was speaking in their style and providing
them the listening pleasure. The old glory of radio was restored once again
at least in terms of listening percentages.