Information and Broadcasting Minister Arun Jaitley has said the Phase-III auctions of FM Radio would provide a new roadmap for the radio broadcasting sector in the country. He said it would give fillip to the expansion of radio services across 294 cities and 835 channels.<br/><br/>The Minister was addressing the Consultative Committee of his Ministry in New Delhi to discuss the issues of All India Radio and DD News. Mr. Jaitley said the FM expansion would help radio news reach out to smaller towns and cities and provide quality information to the audience. <br/><br/>On Prasar Bharati, the Minister said it provides content with a public service mandate, keeping aside profit motives. He cited the recent example of Kisan Channel saying the new channel meets the communication needs of the farming community. He also informed the members that edu-entertainment format was being introduced to add variety to the platform. <br/><br/>Regarding new initiative of the Ministry, Mr. Jaitley mentioned that in view of Talkathon having a visible impact, this could be taken up as a regular format for government communication more frequently in the future. Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting Col. <br/><br/>Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore was also present in the meeting. During the meeting, a presentation was made by Directors General of AIR (News) and DD(News) giving an overview of the two platforms, programming reach and content and related matters. On the occasion, members of the committee gave suggestions to enhance the reach especially in areas that required quality information dissemination and programming.

Information and Broadcasting Minister Arun Jaitley has said the Phase-III auctions of FM Radio would provide a new roadmap for the radio broadcasting sector in the country. He said it would give fillip to the expansion of radio services across 294 cities and 835 channels.<br/><br/>The Minister was addressing the Consultative Committee of his Ministry in New Delhi to discuss the issues of All India Radio and DD News. Mr. Jaitley said the FM expansion would help radio news reach out to smaller towns and cities and provide quality information to the audience. <br/><br/>On Prasar Bharati, the Minister said it provides content with a public service mandate, keeping aside profit motives. He cited the recent example of Kisan Channel saying the new channel meets the communication needs of the farming community. He also informed the members that edu-entertainment format was being introduced to add variety to the platform. <br/><br/>Regarding new initiative of the Ministry, Mr. Jaitley mentioned that in view of Talkathon having a visible impact, this could be taken up as a regular format for government communication more frequently in the future. Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting Col. Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore was also present in the meeting.<br/><br/>During the meeting, a presentation was made by Directors General of AIR (News) and DD(News) giving an overview of the two platforms, programming reach and content and related matters. On the occasion, members of the committee gave suggestions to enhance the reach especially in areas that required quality information dissemination and programming.