a) whether any provision is being made for setting up of community radio service at district level for providing information to farmers about regional crops, agriculture and weather;
b) if so, whether there is any provision of seeking help from Aakashwani Kendras and Agricultural University for this purpose; and
c) if so, the details thereof?
THE MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF INFORMATION AND BROADCASTING [COL RAJYAVARDHAN RATHORE (Retd.)]
(a) to (c): As on date, there is no provision for setting up community radio service at district level.
As per policy guidelines for setting up Community Radio Stations in India, permissions for setting up Community Radio Stations are inter-alia granted to State Agriculture Universities (SAUs), ICAR institutions and Krishi Vigyan Kendras (KVKs) besides educational institutions & ‘Non-profit’ organizations. Furthermore, as per policy guidelines, the permission holder has to broadcast programmes of immediate relevance to the community with emphasis on developmental, agricultural, health, education, environmental, social welfare and cultural programmes. The programming should reflect the special interests and needs of the local community.