Govt Gives ₹12.31 Crore to 128 Community Radio Stations
The Centre has extended its Community Radio Scheme till 2031 and provided ₹12.31 crore to 128 stations since FY24.
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Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting L. Murugan informed the Lok Sabha on Wednesday that the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (MIB) has extended financial assistance of ₹12.31 crore to 128 Community Radio Stations (CRSs) in the country since FY2023-24.
Answering an unstarred question on expansion of community radio services, Murugan said the assistance includes support to four Community Radio Stations situated at Gopalganj, Saharsa, Vaishali and Siwan districts of Bihar.
The minister also informed the Parliament that government has conducted a countrywide assessment of Community Radio Stations through a study titled “Listenership, Reach, Effectiveness and Financial Sustainability of Community Radio Stations in India” to assess the operational status, audience reach and financial sustainability.
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Scheme Extension:
The Centre, under its scheme “Supporting Community Radio Movement in India”, supports Community Radio Stations through financial assistance for purchase and replacement of equipment, capacity building and training to community radio operators.
The scheme has been extended for 5 more years from 2026-27 to 2030-31 with a total budget outlay of ₹50 crore, Murugan said.
“India has 565 commissioned Community Radio Stations at present,” minister said.
The existing policy guidelines specify that at least 50% of the content broadcast by Community Radio Stations should be produced with community participation. At least half of this should be for women’s empowerment with programmes preferably in local languages and dialects.
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The government also continues to organise workshops, seminars and regional and national community radio conferences to promote awareness, knowledge sharing and capacity building among operators. Such an awareness workshop was organised in Patna in January 2024.
The information came in reply to a question on the evaluation of stations supported under the Community Radio Assistance Scheme, the effectiveness of their programming and the government’s plans to expand community radio services, especially in socially and linguistically diverse areas such as Bihar’s Seemanchal.
