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COMMUNITY RDIO STATIONS IN INDIA

What is Community Radio A Radio of the people ...by the

people .....for the people Extraordinary and invisible medium Gives voice to the voiceless A way to leverage communication for

development -greater reach- still localized A community resource and a storehouse

for traditional knowledge & Culture

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CR Policy in India India’s Community Radio Policy emerged

from a grassroots movement Supreme Court Judgment 1995 – Airways

are public property to be used for public good

First CR Guidelines in 2002 – Only educational institutions were eligible

Policy was broad based –New Policy 2006

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The CR policy (2006) ‘Non-profit’ organizations/educational

institutions registered for 3 years

Serving a specific well-defined local community

CRS ownership and management structure reflective of the community it will serve.

Programmes for broadcast must be relevant to the educational, developmental, social and cultural needs of the community

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CR Policy 2006 Contd.

Who are eligible !

– Registered Societies and Autonomous Bodies

– Public Trusts registered under Societies Act or any other such act.

– Educational institutions

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CR Policy 2006 Contd. Who are not eligible

– Individuals;– Political Parties and their affiliate

organisations; [including students, women’s, trade unions and such other wings]

– Organisations operating with a motive to earn profit;

– Organisations expressly banned by the Union and State Governments.

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Technical guidelines A CRS expected to cover a range of 10 - 12 km

Maximum transmitter strength of 100W ERP

Max. antenna height above ground = 30 meters

Min. antenna height above ground =15 meters

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Cost of setting up CRS Cost of setting up a CRS- 6 -10 Lakhs Fixed Cost

– Infrastructure for the studio excluding land cost -Rs 5 Lakhs

– Computers, Furniture etc.- 1 Lakh

– Transmitter/Antenna – 2-5 Lakhs

Recurring Expenditure varies • Salaries

• Content Generation

• Maintenance

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Funding & Sustenance Government does not have a scheme for

funding CRS

Agriculture Ministry funds KVKs

UNICEF/UNESCO have funded some CRS

Capital Cost and running expenditure to be borne by the CRS operators

Funding and Sustenance Main source of revenue for CRS –

Advertisements Advertising permitted for only 5

minutes per hour of broadcast. Rate for advt.- Minimum of Rs 1 per

second of Broadcast ( Rs 300 per hour ) Sponsored Programmes only by Central

& State Governments Revenue generated to be ploughed back

into primary objectives of NGO

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1. CRS Application

3. Presentation to Screening

Committee and Inter Ministerial

Committee

2. Clearance from ministries i.e

Defence, Home, HRD, Agriculture, Communication

and IT

4. Issue of Letter of Intent

(LoI)

5. Application for SACFA

Clearance & Frequency Allocation

6. Issue of SACFA clearance &

frequency by WPC

7. Application for Grant of Permission Agreement

(GoPA)

9. Application for Wireless Operating

License (WoL)

10. Issue of WoL

11. Commencement of CRS broadcast (Within 3 months of signing of GoPA)

8. Issue of GoPA

The CR application/Licensing process

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Fees & Levies Processing Fee = Rs 2,500/- Bank Guarantee = Rs 25,000/- Spectrum Fee = Rs 19,500/- per

annum No permission fee required

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Challenges Building a sustainable business model Involvement of women & marginalized Finding NGOs with the right philosophy Creating a relevant training & capacity building

process Building local support structures/networks Building local maintenance support

Ensuring community ownership

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Thank You