The history of Indian radio is the development of radio broadcasting in India since the establishment of a private radio station in Chennai in 1924. The Indian Broadcasting Company received a licence from the British government the same year to start radio stations in Mumbai and Kolkata. Later, when the business went bankrupt, the government assumed control of the transmitters and started the Indian State Broadcasting Corporation, which is now in operation. It was renamed All India Radio (AIR) in 1936, and the Department of Communications took over complete management of it.
After India gained its independence, All India Radio became an independent department. There are five regional headquarters for All India Radio, one in each of the following locations: New Delhi for the North Zone, Kolkata for the East Zone, Guwahati for the North-East Zone, Mumbai for the West Zone, and Chennai for the South Zone.
The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, which is in charge of Akashvani, renamed All India Radio to that name in 1957. Only six radio stations totaled the entire nation during the time of independence. However, All India Radio's network expanded to over 146 AM stations in the late 1990s. The Integrated North-East Service also concentrated on connecting with people in northeast India. In addition to Hindi, English, and many more regional and local languages, All India Radio broadcasts programmes.
Commercial radio services debuted in India in 1967. Vividh Bharati and Commercial Service, who have their main offices in Mumbai, took the initiative. Vividh Bharati gathered money via numerous sponsorships and ads. In the middle of the 1990s, 31 AM and FM stations were still broadcasting.
Around 85 FM stations and 73 shortwave stations connected the entire country by 1994. Broadcasting technology in India is largely local and covers a wide range of listeners, including farmers who need varied, updated agricultural information. The number of radio receivers multiplied dramatically—almost five times—between 1970 and 1994. The figure rose to a startling 65 million from the initial 14 million. The External Services Division of All India Radio offers broadcasting services from other nations. With the aid of 32 shortwave transmitters, about 70 hours of news and entertainment programming were aired in several languages in 1994.
Indian radio was seen as a crucial networking and communication tool after independence, largely due to the absence of other channels. Radio carried all the important social and political events of the day. Indian radio has contributed to the social integration of the entire country. The promotion of national consciousness and overall national integration were the key areas of attention for All India Radio.
The sole goal of organising and creating programming was to promote national political unification. This assisted in overcoming the pressing situation of political instability that was brought about following independence. Thus, the broadcasting of scheduled broadcasts assisted in political upgrading and progressive nation-building initiatives.
Additionally, All India Radio contributed to improving the nation's economic standing. Indian radio was specifically created and programmed to promote the social betterment process, which was a necessary prerequisite for economic improvement. The dominant theories of development at the time identified development-related issues as the main ones in developing countries.
The purpose of broadcasting opened the door for the explosion of new ideas. Later, as the nation became more modernised, television was introduced, and broadcasting attained a new level of prominence. But by that point, radio was an established form of media in India. Numerous shows, including comedies and uplifting music, were broadcast everywhere. One of the biggest radio networks in the world is still Akashvani, or All India Radio.
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