Akashvani Dahod FM Relay Station Project PM lays the foundation stone

Prime Minister Narendra Modi laid the foundation stone of Akashvani Dahod FM Relay Station project in Gujarat on 27 September 2023.

The foundation stone plaque of the 10 KW FM Relay Station along with other projects was unveiled virtually by the Prime Minister at an event in Bodeli, Gujarat.

• These projects mark a significant step forward in providing quality radio entertainment and information to a wider audience.

Broadcast will be up to 55 km:

• Akashvani Dahod FM Relay Station will be established at an estimated cost of Rs 11 crore.
• The station will strategically cover an area of approximately 55 kilometres. It covers about 75 percent of the tribal district of Dahod.
• Along with this, this transmitter will also partially cover the neighboring tribal districts of Madhya Pradesh including Alirajpur and Jhabua.

Benefits from Dahod FM Relay Station:

• The launch of Dahod station will provide access to high quality FM broadcasting to more than 25 lakh residents of Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh.
• This development will not only enhance the cultural and knowledge base of the region but will also provide better communication and connectivity to these respective communities.

Other development works being carried out by Prasar Bharati in this area:

• Prasar Bharati is also working on installation of FM transmitters at key locations including Bhuj, Bhavnagar, Dwarka, Radhanpur and Desa with different power capacities at a cost of over Rs 39 crore.
• These projects are part of the Broadcast Infrastructure Network Development Scheme funded by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting.
• Upon completion and commissioning of the projects, the FM coverage in the state will increase to approximately 65 percent area of the state. It will be possible to reach about 77 percent of the population.

Background:

• Prime Minister Narendra Modi had inaugurated 91 FM transmitters of 100 watts each in April 2023, strengthening the presence of Akashvani FM across the country.
• According to All India Radio, there are a total of 613 functional FM transmitters in India which provide FM radio services in about 59.2 percent of the country's area.
• These FM radio services serve about 73.5 percent of the population.
• With this, the Akashvani AM network operating on medium wave already covers 88 percent of the country's area and 95 percent of the population.

Akashvani (All India Radio):

• All India Radio is a public sector radio broadcasting service operated under the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting of India.
• All India Radio is a major public service broadcaster working under Prasar Bharati.
• Radio broadcasting in India started in the 1920s.
• The first program was broadcast by 'Radio Club' of Mumbai in 1923.
• After this, broadcasting service was established in 1927 from two privately owned transmitters in Mumbai and Kolkata.
• In 1930, the government took control of these transmitters and started operating them under the name of Indian Broadcasting Service.
• In 1936 its name was changed to All India Radio and finally in 1957 it came to be known as Akashvani.
• Established: 1936, Delhi
• Headquarters: New Delhi
• Owner: Prasar Bharati
• Director General: Dr. Vasudha Gupta (Principal Director General of All India Radio and All India Radio News Service Division)

Prasar Bharati: 

• Headquarters: New Delhi
• Established: 23 November 1997, New Delhi
• Subsidiary Company: Doordarshan
• Parent Department: Ministry of Information and Broadcasting
• CEO: Gaurav Dwivedi (21 November 2022–)
• Prasar Bharati is India's state-owned public broadcaster.
• It is a statutory autonomous body established by an Act of Parliament and comprises Doordarshan television broadcasting and Akashvani, which was earlier the media arm of the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting.