The demand for launching 24X7 national channels of All India Radio has become louder following the report by The Pioneer that the country’s public broadcaster does not have a dedicated national radio service broadcasting to the whole country. “I was shocked when I read that AIR does not have a countrywide national channel.
Since the national channel of Doordarshan is available across the length and breadth of the country, AIR too should launch a round-the-clock national service,” Arvind lavakare, veteran journalist and one of the pioneers in broadcast journalism told The Pioneer over phone from Mumbai. But the country’s top space scientists are of the view that the AIR could launch its 24X7 national channels if it so desires without much investment.
lavakare pointed out that the radio broadcasting took a back seat during the 1980s while television made big strides with the setting up of a series of studios and transmitters all over India. “The AIR failed to match the speed with which television services grew in India,” said lavakare, a close friend of AFS Talyarkhan, the legendary radio personality of yesteryears.
Both lavakare and Radio Koya said India does not have a brand of its own in international radio broadcasting. “While countries like China, Pakistan, Sri lanka, Britain and the USA are identified with their national broadcasters, Akashwani and AIR are yet to get that status irrespective of the claims made by AIR authorities,” said Koya.
lavakare said that AIR should launch a service in the short wave band like the British Broadcasting Corporation, Voice of America, Radio Beijing and Radio Moscow. “A 24X7 national channel in Hindi will attract a lot of listeners and the status of the national language too will go up in the minds of the youngsters,” said lavakare.
A senior official of AIR News told The Pioneer that there was an attempt in 2013 to launch a 24X7 national channel. “Some initial works were done but we do not know what happened to the project,” said the official.
G Madhavan Nair, space scientist and former chairman of the Indian Space research Organisation (ISRO) said it is possible and feasible for the AIR to launch any number of national channels. “The ISRO has the technical expertise to make it happen. The Doordarshan national channel reaches your drawing room through the transponders provided by ISRO.
If AIR wants to launch such a service, ISRO should be able to help them,” said Dr Nair. He pointed out that if AIR and Doordarshan join hands, the national channel services could be made available all over the country through Direct To Home Services as well as cable operators without much additional investments.
Thiruvengadam, former director, AIR, said the country is badly in need of national radio channel. People in Tamil Nadu do not get Hindi news bulletins or any of the Hindi programmes broadcast by the AIR. “Once you have national channel broadcasting in Hindi and English direct to the listeners, this handicap could be avoided,” he said.