Empowering masses through community Radio

The sixth report of the Administrative Reforms Commission
titled, Local Governance, stressed on the need to strengthen the third tier of
governance by raising awareness of local bodies and Panchayati Raj institutions
through effective media campaigns. The Commission suggested that visual media
such as television would not survive due to lack of rural electrification, while
print media is still struggling to find its space in rural areas due to poor
literacy rate. Underlining the importance of radio broadcasting in rural India,
the Commission outlined that radio could be the only medium which is not always
dependent on electricity, and could effectively convey the message to masses.

However, the scope of community radio as an effective
medium did not only restrict to the rural masses but has been extended to even
tier-1 and tier-2 cities. Educational bodies such as Delhi University, Jamia
Milia Islamia University, JNU, and several engineering colleges across India
have their own community radio stations (CRS). The aim of such CRS in campus is
to connect with students, understand their concerns, and address their problems
through an effective channel. The focus of the CRS would be to encourage the
community members to speak out their needs and ideas, to create knowledge
content for students, and to act as a medium for teachers to develop knowledge
content relevant to their subjects.

Policies & Plans

The Government of India is planning to expand its CRS program to all states,
with the aim to connect the rural hinterland with the national mainstream.
During the current fiscal, the community radio network will focus on covering
states like Andhra Pradesh and Orissa, which have remained untapped so far. An
amount of Rs 3.25 crore has also been sanctioned for the entire Plan (2007-12)
period for information, education, and communication (IEC) for CRS.

Participatory development communication as a concept has
now started evolving with the governments CRS program plans on the anvil that
will give the underprivileged not only access to information but also their
involvement to use the media.

The Ministry of Information & Broadcasting issued twenty
letters of intent (LoI) by the end of 2009, totaling to 189 LOIs. Approximately
600 applications, including 250 applications from educational institutions, were
received from various organizations for setting up CRS. Around sixty-seven CRSs
are presently functioning in the country under the Ministrys initiative to
provide an opportunity to the local communities to express themselves and share
their views. Six state level consultations for community radio awareness were
also organized by the Ministry during 2009. This year, the Ministry signed grant
of permission agreements with M Kumaraswamy College of Engineering, Karur in
Tamil Nadu; the Energy Resources Institute in Uttaranchal; Central India
Institute of Science and Technology, Indore, Madhya Pradesh; and National
Institute for Visually Handicapped, Dehradun.

Tracking History

Indias first CRS became operational on February 1, 2004, at Anna
University, Chennai, after obtaining license by the Ministry of Information &
Broadcasting. The government then came up with the Community Radio Policy in
November 2006, after enacting the Right to Information Act which is considered
to bring transparency, ensure good governance, and empower people to access any
information. However, there were a lot of apprehensions and constraints when
such an initiative started. One was regarding the ability and willingness of
educational institutions to come forward for the social cause of upliftment of
the society and communities at large. Secondly, and most important being the
technical issues like efficient spectrum management, proper bandwidth usage, and
the receiver technologies that hold the key for growth of community radio in
India. Last, but not the least is the need for the self-regulation and
observance of the code of conduct for the content of programs to be broadcast.

A Link to Govt & Public

Interestingly, it is believed that the common service centers (CSC) being
created in the districts as ports of e-governance system in the rural areas, can
be tied up with the CRSs to utilize the infrastructure being created for CSC.

Dr M Alagar, director, EMMRC, Anna University says, "CRSs
are charitable business which seek to uplift the rural masses at the the
grassroots level to get monetary benefits. At Anna CRS 90.4 MHz, we air programs
which are related to education, healthcare, environment, female child
development." Most of the members and people who work here are slum dwellers.
This way they are not only informed about the happenings in the society but also
allows them to earn money on a daily basis. For example, at Anna CRS there are
seventy to eighty volunteers mainly the slum dwellers who are paid Rs 300 for a
fifteen-minute-program aired within a restricted location. The Anna CRS is
funded by the Anna University and seeks to educate the lower strata of the
society by airing programs on HIV AIDS, women upliftment, education, healthcare,
and environment.

Pinky Chandran, head, community initiatives & CSR, Radio
Active 107.8 MHz points out, "CRSs have given a scope to people who are not the
privileged section in the society. We have been airing content related to
disabilities where participants who are disabled speak their concerns and expert
panels help them to deal with certain situations. Similarly, we air program for
transgenders and also on HIV AIDS. The motive is to educate people on certain
topics which they have not even heard of."

Conclusion

Four key factors are essential for the success of a CRS. Firstly, the
physical requirements of equipment which should include a studio, transmission
system, antenna tower and electrical supply. Secondly, the content that is being
aired on the stations. A challenge here would be to produce content regularly
that will have appeal and would be relevant to the target audiences. Thirdly,
investment in the form of grants and loans is needed, however, a strategy aimed
at self sustainability is essential for long term success of the station, and
finally wider community investment and participation are also important for the
stations effectiveness as a catalyst.

PC Suraj

surajp@cybermedia.co.in