The Indian radio industry evolved from the Radio Club of Bombay in 1923 to becoming All India Radio in 1936 under government control. Private FM stations were introduced in 1999 and have since grown, with phases 2 and 3 expanding FM coverage across India. Key events included the establishment of the Indian Broadcasting Company in 1926, taking over by the government in 1930 to form the Indian State Broadcasting Service, and transition to Prasar Bharati Corporation in 1997.

2.  1923 – Radio club of Bombay

3.  1926 – Indian Broadcasting Company (IBC) –
private company given permission to set up 2
stations
July 23, 1927 – Bombay station set up
August 26, 1927 – Calcutta station
followed
 Only 3000 licensed radio owners then

4.  March, 1930 – IBC liquidated
 April, 1930 – Govt took over and formed Indian State
Broadcasting Service (ISBS)
 2 years later, Govt started broadcasting BBC in India
 1932 - To supplement the earning of the Indian State
Broadcasting Service, the Indian Tariff (Wireless
Broadcasting) Act was amended leading to a sharp
increase in the duty on the wireless receiving set. The
possession of a radio set without a license was made
an offence.
 Lionel Fielden sent to India

5.  Zulfikar Ali Bokhari (Talks on “widow remarriage” &
“untouchability”, sound truck tours)
 Communal Radios set up
 Timers put in
 Number of licensed sets climbed to 100,000
 German broadcaster Dr. Faruqui beamed his short-
wave newscasts directly into India (Indians readily
listened to his anti-Britain talks)

6.  March 1935 - Office of Controller of broadcasting created
under the Department of Industries and Labour of the
Government
 August 1935 - Mr. Lionel Fielden assumed charge as the first
Controller of Broadcasting
 January 1936 - Delhi radio station was opened
 June 8 1936 - the ISBS was renamed All India Radio (AIR)
 1937 - AIR was transferred from the Ministry of Labour and
Industries to the Department of Communications.

7.  1938 - Nobel Laureate Rabindranath Tagore composed the
following poem entitled, "Akashvani", on the inauguration of the
Calcutta short-wave transmission:
"Hark to Akashvani up-surgring
From here below,
The earth is bathed in Heaven 's glory,
Its purple glow,
Across the blue expanse is firmly planted
The altar of the Muse
The lyre unheard of Light is throbbing,
With human hues.
From earth, to heaven, distance conquered,
In waves of Light
Flows the music of man 's divining
Fancy 'sflight,
To East and West speech careers,
Swift as the Sun,
The mind of man reaches Heaven 's confines
Its freedom won. "

8.  September 1939 - News bulletins were centralized in
all languages at Delhi.
 October 1, 1939 - External Service started and
directed to Afghanistan, Iran and Arab countries in
Pushtu (to counter radio propaganda from Germany)
 1939 - Controller Broadcasting Lionel Fielden was
succeeded by Professor A.S. Bokhari who remained
the head of All India Radio for six crucial years (In
1943, the designation, Controller of Broadcasting, was
changed to Director General)

9. A. S. Bokhari

10.  By 1939, in addition to the existing medium wave
transmitters, short wave transmitters had
also been Installed at Delhi, Bombay, Calcutta
and Madras. New stations with medium wave
 transmitters were opened at Lucknow and
Tiruchiraplli.
 In 194 1, AIR was again transferred to the
department of Information and Broadcasting,
which after Independence in 1947, became a
separate ministry by itself.

11.  BBC steps in – Fielden and Bokhari reorganise
BBC broadcasts to suit Indian sensibilities
 1940 – Shows for Indian troops (WW-2 around
the corner)
 1940 - Bokhari began broadcasting a daily ten-
minute Hindustani news commentary. Soon,
programmes in Gujarati, Marathi, Bengali,
Pushtu, Sindhi, Tamil, Telugu and Malayalam
followed.

12.  When Japan joined WW-2 in 1941, thus began
AIR's Burmese, Chinese, Japanese, Thai,
Malay and the Indo-Chinese languages
broadcasts.
(Today, AIR broadcasts in 16 foreign languages)
 1947 - total number of radio sets at that time
was about 275,000.

14.  At the time of Independence, 9 AIR stations
(also including Peshawar, Lahore and Dhaka)
 Sardar Vallabhai Patel was the first Minister
of Information and Broadcasting in
Independent India.
 AIR stations in Delhi, Madras, Bombay,
Calcutta, Lucknow and Tiruchirapalli.

15.  Bahujana hitaya bahujana sukhaya ( For the
benefit of many and the happiness of many)
 Emphasis on disseminating information,
education, music and drama.
 1952 – Vadya Vrinda or National Orchestra
with Pandit Ravi Shankar as the first music
conductor.

16.  In the 50s, Minister for Information and
Broadcasting Dr. B.V. Keskar, put a ban on
broadcast of Hindi film songs on AIR.
 Radio Ceylon became immensely popular.
 Binaca Geetmala and Amin Sayani. 
 1957 – Vividh Bharti started.

17. Sangeet Sarita Bhule Bisre Geet
Hawa Mahal Jaimala
Inse Miliye Chhaya Geetare
Bioscope Ke Baatein
Sargam Ke Sitare Celluloid Ke Sitare
Sehatnama Hello Farmaish

18.  Emphasis shifted to entertainment.
 Vividh Bharti extended to Medium Wave
which meant more listenership.
 1956- AIR officially called Akashvani.
 1959 – Satellite Television introduced which
later separated to form Doordarshan.

19.  1957 – Rural Radio Forums
 Arrival of Transistor – Low cost and mobile.
 1964 – Indira Gandhi becomes Minister of
I&B.
 Chanda committee.

20.  Headed by A.K. Chanda, former Comptroller
& Auditor General of India:
1. Convert AIR into a corporation run by a board
of Directors like BBC.
2. Separate Radio from TV.
3. Commercialize Vividh Bharti so that it earned
revenue.

21.  In 1967, Vividh Bharti was commercialized.
 In 1976, AIR and Doordarshan were
separated.
 Prasar Bharati Act.

22.  Prasar Bharati Bill passed by Parliament in
1990 but subsequent governments didn’t
finalize it.
 Act implemented in September 1997.
 Broadcasting Corporation of India with two
distinct bodies – Akashvani and Doordarshan
Source: www.prasarbharati.gov.in

23.  Functioned as a corporate with a Board of
Directors headed by a Chairman.
 Director General’s for both DD & AIR.
 Member of Ministry of I&B part of Board.

24.  Subject to the provisions of this Act, it shall be
the primary duty of the Corporation to organise
and conduct public broadcasting services to
inform, educate and entertain the public and to
ensure a balanced development of
broadcasting on radio and television.

25. 1.Free and objective broadcast of all matters of public
interest, national or international, and presenting a fair
and balanced flow of information including contrasting
views without advocating any opinion or ideology of
its own.
2.Paying special attention to the fields of education
and spread of literacy, agriculture, rural development,
environment, health and family welfare as well as
science and technology.

26. 3. Providing adequate coverage to the diverse
cultures and languages of the various regions of
the country by broadcasting appropriate
programs.
4. Providing adequate coverage to sports and
games so as to encourage healthy competition
and the spirit of sportsmanship.

27. 5. Providing appropriate programs keeping in
view the special needs of the youth.
6. Making specific programs for and about women,
tribals, children, handicapped, aged and vulnerable
sections of society.
7. Promoting social justice and combating
exploitation, inequality and such evils as
untouchability and advancing the welfare of the
weaker sections of the society.

28. 8. Promoting national integration by
broadcasting in a manner that facilitates
communication in the languages in India; and
facilitating the distribution of regional
broadcasting services in every State in the
languages of that State.
9. Providing comprehensive broadcast coverage
through the choice of appropriate technology and the
best utilisation of the broadcast frequencies available
and ensuring high quality reception.

29. 10. Promoting research and development
activities in order to ensure that radio and
television broadcast technology are constantly
updated.
For more information regarding make up and assets of Prasar
Bharati, you may visit their official website :
www.prasarbharati.gov.in

30. THE FM Wave

31. In 1995, AIR decided to open FM stations to
private players. Path of Indian Radio then
veered towards:
First Phase - 1999
Second Phase - 2006
Third Phase - 2010

32. PHASE 1

33.  Auctioning of FM bands to Private stations
begins
 21 stations commissioned across 12 cities
including New Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore,
Kolkata, Chennai, Hyderabad, Lucknow and
Jaipur.
 108 radio frequencies put up by the
Government across 40 cities.
 Stations to pay OTEF for 10 years.

34.  Licenses for Community Radio also given
 Radio Mirchi amongst the first private FM
stations set up by The Times Group.
 India’s first Private FM station came up in
Bangalore.

35. Strict government policies, unviable high license fee and
lower advertisement flow led many companies to leave the
FM radio industry after the initial euphoria in 1999.
Fewer than 3% of the Indian ad-spend goes to radio. When
108 frequencies across 40 cities were auctioned in May
2000, the bids went through the roof as the loopholes in the
tender document allowed people to make bids without any
significant obligation to fulfill their promise.
The exorbitant bid amounts and the high annual license fee
resulted in only 21 stations getting off the ground across 12
cities in Phase-I.

36. PHASE 2

37.  338 frequencies for radio stations 91 cities
were on block
 The government awards 280 licenses for a
total sum of $205 million
 Sun, Adlabs, HT Music, ENIL emerge as the
leaders with nationwide footprint
 Government introduces new revenue-
sharing model

38. In 1999, the government opened up the industry to
private companies. While they established themselves in
India’s major cities, they couldn’t build a profitable
business because of the high license fee structure.
The government then changed the fee structure to make
FM radio a more viable business. And it authorized the
set up of FM radio in 91 cities across the country in a
“Phase II” rollout.
As a result, companies ranging from the obvious media
ones to unlikely real estate firms, bid and won Phase II
licences.

39. The Phase-II bidding process attracted greater interest
compared with the first phase in 1999. Phase I
participants, such as New Delhi-based Living Media
India Limited and Mumbai-based Midday Multimedia
Limited popularized FM in large metropolitan cities and
paved the way for Phase II.

40. The government had put total 338 frequencies in 91 cities
on the block as part of phase-II compared to 21 licenses
(currently operational) allotted in the first phase in 1999,
and all the 91 cities were classified in A-plus, A, B, C and D
categories. The private FM Radio companies bidding for
these licenses won 280 out of these 338 frequencies offered
for a total sum of $205 million (Rs. 907 crore) of one time
entry fee (OTEF). There were no takers for the remaining 60
frequencies. The government is expected to get $51.3
million (Rs. 227 crore) more from the migration fee also
from the existing players to shift their 21 licenses of first
phase in to Phase II.

41. A total of 85 private players, not only media companies but also some real
estate developers, were shortlisted for bidding, based on the pre-
qualification bids invited in September 2005 by the Information and
Broadcasting Ministry. After the all five rounds of bidding, south India’s
television network Sun Group bidding through its two companies—Kal
Radio Private Limited and South Asia FM Private Limited has managed to
win total 67 frequencies. It already has four operating stations taking the
total tally to 71. It, however, had to give up a good number of these
frequencies due to the maximum 15% restriction. Government norms
stipulate that no individual company should own more than 15% of the total
radio stations. That works out to no more than 45 radio station. Similarly,
Adlabs Films, a part of ADAE Group formed by Anil Ambani who broke
away from the largest private Indian company Reliance Industries, had to
surrender some of their 56 station licences won following the Phase II
awards.

42. PHASE 3

43.  Yet to take off.
 Government was expected to take up the
third phase of expansion in 2010 however, it
has been delayed.
 Govt. expected to open bid for over 700 new
stations, most of which in smaller towns.
 Third phase should see the Govt. allowing
broadcasting of news albeit it is sourced from
AIR or DD.

44.  Govt. to allow increase in FDI from 20% to
26%.
 It is also likely to see relaxation in the 15 per
cent limit on the number of channels an
entity can own in the case of Jammu &
Kashmir and the North-East.

45. Can you name some of India’s Private FM
stations?

46.  Radio City 91.1
 Big FM 92.7
 Red FM 93.5
 Radio One 94.3
 Hit FM 95
 Radio Mirchi FM 98.3
 Fever 104 FM 104