New Delhi, Feb 13 (IANS) Public service broadcaster Prasar Bharati Thursday announced that it will strengthen its FM services all over the country and Vividh Bharti will be made available on FM in many centres.
Addressing a function here on World Radio Day, Prasar Bharati chief Jawhar Sircar said that as a part of expansion of FM services, AIR FM Gold and FM Rainbow will be extended to all metros and other cities by the end of this year.
He said that Vividh Bharti channel will be made available on FM in four metro centres along with 40 other centres.
Sircar also added that besides setting up more FM local stations in the country to provide local news, primary and secondary services of AIR will also be made available on FM mode, a statement said.
He said that 20 more channels of AIR will be added to the direct to home bouquet within six months. Sircar said there were plans to put the rich archives of AIR, including speeches by leaders, online.
AIR News Director General Archana Datta said it is high time that radio should meet the challenges faced today in the wake of movement of people within and outside the country due to expansion of educational and employment opportunities.
She said that radio should provide a comprehensive package of news in various languages to cater to the information need of people away from home and living in different time zones. Datta also informed that the news services division will bring out a specific guideline in vernacular for its regional news units very soon.
A style book in Hindi “Samachar Nirdeshika”was also released by Sircar during the programme. The book is a compilation of guidelines in Hindi for news professionals and its regional news units.
–Indo-Asian News Service
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