AIR covers 99.37% of India's populace, the largest democracy in the world with over one billion inhabitants. AIR maintains approximately 200 broadcasting centres around the country and transmits in 24 different languages. In spite of recent penetration by other media such as Cable TV, AIR remains the most common means of gaining access to information and entertainment, as the radio receivers are relatively cheap and affordable.
AIR has many different services each catering to different
regions/languages across India. One of the most famous services of the
AIR is the "Vividh Bharti Seva" (roughly translating to "Multi-Indian
service"). This service is the most commercial of all and is popular in Mumbai and other metropolitan cities of India. This service offers a wide
range of programmes including news, film music, comedy shows, etc.
Vividh Bharti operates on the MW band frequency of 1188 kHz on station Mumbai 'C'.
Some programs broadcast on the Vividh Bharti:
- Binaca geet mala (later renamed to Cibaca geet mala) - featuring Hindi film songs.
- Hawa-mahal - skit based on some novels/plays
- Santogen ki mehfil - jokes
External links
www.allindiaradio.org - All India Radio web-site.
