Lok Sabha Question No. 4457 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2025-08-20
Subject: Upgradation of Community Radio Stations and Doordarshan Kendras
Ministry: INFORMATION AND BROADCASTING
Asked by: Shri Jashubhai Bhilubhai Rathva, Dr. Vinod Kumar Bind, Shri Pratap Chandra Sarangi

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF INFORMATION AND BROADCASTING

## LOK SABHA

## UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 4457

(TO BE ANSWERED ON 20.08.2025)

## UPGRADATION  OF  COMMUNITY  RADIO  STATIONS  AND  DOORDARSHAN KENDRAS

## 4457. SHRI JASHUBHAI BHILUBHAI RATHVA:

DR. VINOD KUMAR BIND:

SHRI PRATAP CHANDRA SARANGI:

Will the Minister of INFORMATION AND BROADCASTING be pleased to state:

- (a)    the  number  of  Community  Radio  Stations  and  Doordarshan  Kendras  which have been established or upgraded after 2019 to strengthen grassroots communication;
- (b)    whether  any  impact  assessment  has  been  conducted  to  evaluate  the  effectiveness  of Government messaging through rural media channels; and
- (c)   if so, the details of findings and the follow-up actions thereon?

## ANSWER

## THE MINISTER OF STATE FOR INFORMATION AND BROADCASTING AND PARLIAMENTARY AFFAIRS (DR. L. MURUGAN)

- (a) to (c): Since 2019, a total of 264 Community Radio Stations have been commissioned across India  till  date.  To  further  strengthen  and  upgrade  the  existing  Community  Radio  Stations, financial assistance has been provided to 26 stations from the financial year 2020-21 to till date.
- 6 Doordarshan channels have been established and 17 existing Doordarshan channels have been upgraded after 2019.

The Government carried out an impact assessment of Community Radio Stations in the year 2017 and the report titled 'Study on Listenership, Reach  and Effectiveness of Community Radio Stations in India' was published on 23.08.2018.

As  per  report,  the  Community  Radio  has  played  prominent  role  in  fostering  community engagement, promoting local culture, and disseminating information in rural and remote areas. Link for the report: https:// https://mib.gov.in/ministry/our-wings/broadcating-wing.

For  Doordarshan  Kendras,  an  impact  assessment  study  on  the  publicity  campaign  was conducted  in  the  LWE  affected  areas  at  Raigarh  District  of  Chhattisgarh  in  Feb  2019. Awareness about jingles/spots broadcast from Akashvani Raigarh was recorded with 73.5 % listeners. Weekly reach to jingles/spots from Akasvani Raigarh was found at 67% listeners.

Government is continuously expanding and diversifying its rural media outreach to through multiple platforms:

- DD Free Dish (Free-to-Air Direct-To-Home) service has grown significantly - from 104 channels in 2019 to 510 channels at present.
- This  includes  92  private  channels,  50  Doordarshan  channels,  and  320  educational channels.
- 48 Akashvani radio channels, including FM Gold, Rainbow, and Vividh Bharati, are available on the DTH platform.
- In 2024, Prasar Bharati launched the OTT platform 'WAVES', a multi-genre digital streaming aggregator that integrates Doordarshan and AIR network channels.

These platforms are playing a key role in making information, education, culture, and news easily  accessible  to  all.  They  are  particularly  impactful  in  rural  and  remote  regions, including through educational programming and private channels.

*****