Radio is the transmission of signals through free space by modulation of electromagnetic waves with frequencies significantly below those of visible light. Electromagnetic radiation travels by means of oscillating electromagnetic fields that pass through the air and the vacuum of space.
Information is carried by systematically changing (modulating) some property of the radiated waves, such as amplitude, frequency, phase, or pulse width. When radio waves pass through an electrical conductor, the oscillating fields induce an alternating current in the conductor. This can be detected and transformed into sound or other signals that carry information.
DEVELOPMENT OF RADIO BROADCASTING IN INDIA
The first radio programme in India was broadcast by the Radio Club of Mumbai in June 1923. It was followed by the setting up of a Broadcasting Service that began broadcasting in India in July 1927 on an experimental basis at Mumbai and Kolkata simultaneously under an agreement between Government of India and a private company called the Indian Broadcasting Company Ltd.
When India became independent, the AIR network had only six Stations located at Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, Lucknow and Tiruchirapalli with a total complement of 18 transmitters - six on the medium wave and the remaining on short wave. Radio listening on medium wave was confined to urban limits of these cities. As against a mere 2,75,000 receiving sets at the time of Independence, now there are about 132 million estimated radio sets in the country.
Now the broadcast scenario has drastically changed with 215 broadcasting centers, including 77 local Radio Stations, covering nearly cent-per-cent country's population.
The quick and dramatic changes of Indian radio are usually credited to Broadcasting Authority of India. The national television or the Doordarshan and All India Radio, or Akashwani networks had been state-owned and was controlled by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting. The news reporting through radio customarily presented the government`s point of view and there was hardly any public interaction. The newsreaders used to narrate their script and the audience would listen to the frequency according to their choice.
In 1990 V.P. Singh`s National Front government provided financial aid to the PrasarBharati (Indian Broadcasting) Act that was considered by Parliament. This act provided greater autonomy to Doordarshan and All India Radio. The changes that resulted in the scenario of Indian radio were limited. The bill allowed the establishment of an autonomous body to control Doordarshan and All India Radio. This unit operated under a board of governors, who were appointed for policy making and a broadcasting council to respond to the complaints. This was the start of interaction through radio.
With time the number of radio stations has increased from about 100 in 1990 to 209 in 1997. Indian radio now has tremendous reach and presents the best option for low-cost programming. Listenership of Indian Radio has reached a plateau. At times the listenership has risen in certain urban areas due to the recent time allotment to private companies on five FM stations. Film and other popular music constitute the main curriculum of such stations, contributing to an increase in commercial time radio and thus earn advertising revenues from Rs. 527 million in 1991-2 to Rs. 809 million in 1995-96.
The noticeable development in Indian radio has been the proper efforts that were taken to use radio for social change, like the state-supported radio rural forums for agricultural communication in the 1960s and promotion of adult literacy in the 1980s. The advent of regional radio in India popularized this medium even more. More recently NGOs have come together and initiated several broadcast programmes on women and legal rights, emergency contraception, and tele-serials that deal with social issues. Although Indian Radio saw almost no improvement in its initial years, in the present decade the functioning of regional radio channels have led to a massive network all across the country.
Local broadcasting, reflecting local issues of concern to the community is another development of Indian radio. Some communication experts believe that an increased and accelerated commercialization of radio will eventually cut down the costs of FM radio sets, thus making local radio even more available to the extreme rural areas of the country. Presently, radio broadcasting is done in 24 languages and 146 dialects all across India and there are 104 million radio households in the country, using approximately 111 million radio sets.
The inclusion of FM facility in mobile phones and portable pocket radios havepopularized this medium in every nook and corner of urban areas. Although the transmitters have not reached the extreme corners, developments assure quick installation; a recent survey shows that Indian radio reaches out to almost 97.3% of the country`s population and 91% of the country`s geographical area. A March 1996 survey, says that there had been around 186 radio-broadcasting centers, 148 medium wave transmitters, 51 short wave transmitters and 94 VHF/FM transmitters in India.
Indian Radio now enjoys equal importance as television and print media. The developments of radio in India was steady during the 1960s and 70s, but accelerated during the 1980s and 90s. Radio has now become an intimate form of communication and the FM channels like Red FM, Radio Mir chi, Power FM and others have contributed greatly in developing this strong network.
In 1990 V.P. Singh`s National Front government provided financial aid to the PrasarBharati (Indian Broadcasting) Act that was considered by Parliament. This act provided greater autonomy to Doordarshan and All India Radio. The changes that resulted in the scenario of Indian radio were limited. The bill allowed the establishment of an autonomous body to control Doordarshan and All India Radio. This unit operated under a board of governors, who were appointed for policy making and a broadcasting council to respond to the complaints. This was the start of interaction through radio.
With time the number of radio stations has increased from about 100 in 1990 to 209 in 1997. Indian radio now has tremendous reach and presents the best option for low-cost programming. Listenership of Indian Radio has reached a plateau. At times the listenership has risen in certain urban areas due to the recent time allotment to private companies on five FM stations. Film and other popular music constitute the main curriculum of such stations, contributing to an increase in commercial time radio and thus earn advertising revenues from Rs. 527 million in 1991-2 to Rs. 809 million in 1995-96.
The noticeable development in Indian radio has been the proper efforts that were taken to use radio for social change, like the state-supported radio rural forums for agricultural communication in the 1960s and promotion of adult literacy in the 1980s. The advent of regional radio in India popularized this medium even more. More recently NGOs have come together and initiated several broadcast programmes on women and legal rights, emergency contraception, and tele-serials that deal with social issues. Although Indian Radio saw almost no improvement in its initial years, in the present decade the functioning of regional radio channels have led to a massive network all across the country.
Local broadcasting, reflecting local issues of concern to the community is another development of Indian radio. Some communication experts believe that an increased and accelerated commercialization of radio will eventually cut down the costs of FM radio sets, thus making local radio even more available to the extreme rural areas of the country. Presently, radio broadcasting is done in 24 languages and 146 dialects all across India and there are 104 million radio households in the country, using approximately 111 million radio sets.
The inclusion of FM facility in mobile phones and portable pocket radios havepopularized this medium in every nook and corner of urban areas. Although the transmitters have not reached the extreme corners, developments assure quick installation; a recent survey shows that Indian radio reaches out to almost 97.3% of the country`s population and 91% of the country`s geographical area. A March 1996 survey, says that there had been around 186 radio-broadcasting centers, 148 medium wave transmitters, 51 short wave transmitters and 94 VHF/FM transmitters in India.
Indian Radio now enjoys equal importance as television and print media. The developments of radio in India was steady during the 1960s and 70s, but accelerated during the 1980s and 90s. Radio has now become an intimate form of communication and the FM channels like Red FM, Radio Mir chi, Power FM and others have contributed greatly in developing this strong network.
EDUCATIONAL RADIO
The radio is the cheapest and the most easily accessible of all these means.No doubt, its potential audience is very large in comparison to the audience of other mass media. It caters to the people of different ages and levels of maturity ranging from a primary school child to its grandfather. It has a pedagogically strong reason for its use in education and that is its versatility, leading itself to serve different purposes. For instance, while it provides learner with new joys of learning, it can develop their command over vocabulary, promote concentration and critical listening, and improve fluency and confidence in speech and discussion. It can be used for formal and non- formal education. Its broadcasts can be designed to supplement the formal school subjects.
SCOPE OF RADIO IN INDIA
ROLE OF COMMUNITY RADIO IN INDIA-
A community radio (CR), in essence is a type of radio service that caters to the interests of a certain area, broadcasting material that is popular to a local audience but is overlooked by more powerful broadcast groups. It is usually established by the efforts of a specific community, operated by the community and for the community’s welfare. In India, CRs were governed by strict regulations, which were finally amended in 2006. The Cabinet has now started allowing non-profit organizations to apply for broadcast licenses thus expanding the eligibility criteria to parties such as civil societies and voluntary organizations, State Agriculture Universities (SAUs) institutions, KrishiVigyan Kendra’s and Registered Societies/Autonomous Bodies/Public Trusts registered under Societies Act. The guidelines regarding the ownership and content of a community radio in India, however, are still very strict. For a highly populated and predominantly rural country like India, the edutainment of the masses is essential. This can be achieved by utilizing the concept of a CR more effectively. The government has in fact recognized this potential, and has planned to set up over 4000 community radios in various areas across the country over the next few years. However, there is still a long way to go in ensuring the sustainability of these stations. Government policies need to be relaxed further, to perhaps allow corporations to set up Community Radios as a part of their CSR activities. Limited and restricted advertising can be allowed in as it will provide an alternate source of revenue, as has been seen in some models in existence in other countries. Charges can be introduced for local messages and announcements on the radio. Along with this, a micro-credit system should be put in place to encourage the setting up of community radios.Despite this, there have been various successful programmes run in India.
INTERNET RADIO-
| Internet radio is one of the latest web based applications, which is gaining popularity along with the AM/FM kind of radios in India. A lot of audio material is available these days on the net ranging from music to education. Its use in distance education is also worth a mention. While an old-fashioned radio has its own limitations in terms of access to the number of radio stations, for an internet radio a sound card and an internet connection can give access to an unbelievable variety of programmes, any- where in the world. In this concept paper an effort has been made to project the possibility of using Internet Radio as one of the mediums of imparting value based education by Educational Institutions in India | |
| SATELLITE RADIO Satellite radio is one of the fastest-growing entertainment services in the world and it is making its presence felt in a small but a positive way in India. A satellite radio is basically a digital unit that receives signals broadcast by communications satellite. This allows a person with a set to follow his favourite stations anywhere in the country unlike the terrestrial radio (AM and FM) whose signals are limited to a certain area depending on the power of the station. Some of the advantages of a satellite radio are that the sound is of digital quality and there are no commercials. But it is not for free, it is available on subscription for a fee. In this country it is largely limited to connoisseurs of music who don't like commercials. With an aim to reach out to the masses. DIGITAL RADIO- There is a huge scope for digital radio in India said Motorola. | |
India's public safety system and network expansion is set to double every three years, especially, with the arming of police with digital radio sets, said a senior Motorola executive."We are experiencing strong demand for radio-based systems from India's police force as well as private sectors such as oil and gas industries, coal mines and industrial production centers," said Balbir Singh, vice president, sales and operations at Motorola Solutions Asia Pacific.
The growth is driven by rising security concern across the country, Singh said while projecting more than double-digit growth for Motorola's digital radio-based communication systems in India.
These radio sets are more effective in allowing communication between various locations and command centres, helping the police manage any emergency, he said in Global Security Asia 2011 conference and exhibition being held in Singapore from March 15-17.
ETHICS OF BROADCASTING
Broadcasting is dissemination of information through audio or video. Broadcasting- comprising both radio and television- constitutes a very large part of mass media. In India, radio broadcasting (All India Radio) started in the year 1936 and television broadcasting(Doordarshan) was introduced in the year 1959. For a long time, broadcasting in India was under the control of Government till PrasarBharathi (Broadcast Corporation of India) Act, 1990 was framed to provide autonomy to All India Radio and Doordarshan. A change in the policy of the Indian Government in the early 1990s resulted in mushrooming of private television channels and cable television network(Regulation) Act, 1995 was framed to regulate them.
The PrasarBharati (Broadcasting Corporation of India) Act, 1990 is an act to provide for the establishment of Broadcasting Corporation for India, to be known as PrasarBharati, to define its composition, functions and powers and to provide for matters connected therewith or incidental thereto. The ethics of broadcasting are as follows
1. Subject to the provision of this Act, it shall be the prime duty of the Corporation to organize and conduct public broadcasting services to inform, educate and entertain the public and to ensure a balanced development of broadcasting on radio and television.
2. The corporation shall, in the discharge of its functions, be guided by the following objectives, namely:
(a) Upholding the unity and integrity of the country and the values enshrined in the Constitution;
(b) Safeguarding the citizen’s right to be informed freely, truthfully and objectively on all matters of public interest, national or international, and presenting a fair and balanced flow of information including contrasting views without advocating any opinion and ideology of its own;
(c) Paying special attention to the fields of education and spread of literacy, agriculture, rural development , environment, health and family welfare and science and technology;
(d) Providing adequate coverage to the diverse cultures and languages of the various regions of the country by broadcasting appropriate programmes:
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