Campus radio stations

In December 2002, the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting released its ‘Community Radio Guidelines’. Though nominally ‘community’ radio, the policy restricts the radio licenses under this scheme to ‘well-established educational institutions’. The licensing process proved so cumbersome that India’s first campus-based community radio station was launched only by 2004 (Anna University’s 90.4 Anna FM).

Against optimistic projections of 1000 campus stations coming up in a year, only 75 odd educational institutions have applied for a campus radio licenses so far, and of these, 15 stations have become operational.

Most of the campus licenses have gone to universities, engineering colleges and mass communications institutions, along with a Despite rapid developments in communication technologies in the last few decades, radio broadcasting remains the cheapest mode of mass communication in India that can benefit rural and deprived communities with low literacy rate and little excess to education sprinkling of well-heeled schools. Transmitting over a range of 5-10 kilometres, their FM radio stations are expected to serve the community beyond the campus walls, and to produce programmes ‘on issues relating to education, health, environment, agriculture, rural and community development’, according to the government’s Community Radio Guidelines (www.mib.nic.in).

Needless to say, the campus stations that try to live up to this confused mandate – and many of them do – sound very much like the public service broadcaster on which they seem to be closely modelled.