The Government aims to give the Community Radio movement a fresh impetus, and would be providing Rs. 100 crore in the XII Plan. During the Plan period, it was proposed to set up 500 new Community Radio Stations (CRS) as well, according to the Minister for Information & Broadcasting Manish Tewari.
The I&B Ministry has identified key benchmarks for the Plan period whereby a roadmap would be prepared to provide assistance for operating Community Radio Stations. Elaborating on the proposal of the Plan fund, the Minister said that Rs. 90 crore has been proposed for providing financial support, while Rs. 10 crore was being proposed for training, capacity building and awareness activities of Community Radio Stations. Provisions have also been made for providing grants in this sector, for research and innovation. Taking into account the role and relevance of such interventions, the Minister further added that the Ministry has also made a provision for Emergency Grant for CRS. The Minister further mentioned that in order to encourage the working of such stations, several key proposals and initiatives were being looked into that included Peer Review of Community Radio Stations, capacity building of community radio operators, as well as a Code of Ethics for self-regulation of content by Community Radio Stations.
Mr. Tewari also elaborated on the efforts being made by the ministry in coordinating relevant issues with the Ministry of Communications & IT with regard to better frequency allocation plan for the CRSs. He mentioned that it was likely that the Department of Telecom would announce the spectrum waiver decision shortly. The need to facilitate a vibrant business model was in the offing to ensure the sustainability of the movement. He said that the ministry had taken the initiative to promote the streamlining and simplification of Community Radio empanelment through the DAVP, thereby ensuring that the empanelled stations got a fair share of government advertisements.
