New Delhi: Odisha is set to have around eight community radio stations with the Information and Broadcasting (I&B) Ministry giving its nod for their operation. They will be low-power, hyper-local broadcasting stations.
According to information available from I&B Ministry, eight new radio stations have signed the grant of permission agreement (GOPA) with it for opening new community radio stations in the state.
The ministry said it had received 69 applications for launching community radio stations in the state. Most of these had come from the Krishi Vigyan Kendras (KVKs) situated in different parts of the state. Other requests were from private educational institutions, voluntary organisations and trusts among others.
However, there had been no change in the number of community radios in the state since 2016. Officially, 11 community radio stations have been operational with broadcasting for a few hours covering a limited area with the aim to empower the local population.
Community radios belong to the third tier radio broadcasting system in India. The other two are the existing public broadcaster All India Radio (AIR) and private FM channels started in 2006. Community radio is meant to be hyper-local to serve the local community. It is assumed to be run by local people. It differs from other radio stations in terms of content, transmission power, reach and objectives.
The ministry restricts granting permission to opening such stations to NGOs, charitable organisations, Krishi Vigyan Kendras and educational institutions. They are low cost, low power transmitters and broadcast for limited hours in a day.