India's First Radio Program To PM's 'Mann Ki Baat', Reminiscing The Journey On World Radio Day

Radio is a powerful medium for celebrating humanity in its diversity and provides a platform for democratic discourse. It remains one of the most popular media platforms globally. Radio can shape a society's diversity experience because of its unique capacity to reach a large audience and serve as a platform for all voices to be heard and represented. The radio stations serve diverse communities, offer a variety of programs, opinions, and content, and reflect the diversity of their audiences through their organizations.

According to several international studies, radio is still one of the most trusted and used media worldwide. Therefore, the theme of the 2022 edition of World Radio Day has been decided to be "Radio and Trust".

In honour of World Radio Day 2022, UNESCO calls on radio stations worldwide to commemorate the 11th edition of this event and more than a century of radio. The sub-themes of World's Radio Day are- Trust In Radio Journalism, Trust and Accessibility and Trust and Viability of Radio Stations.

Initial Phase Of Radio In India

The Radio Club broadcasted the first radio program in India in June 1923. The daily broadcasts included music and discussions for two or three hours each day.

Nevertheless, the stations were forced to close in 1927 due to a lack of financial support. The next step was establishing a broadcasting service, which began broadcasting in Bombay in July 1927 and Calcutta a month later under an agreement between the Government of India and the Indian Broadcasting Company Ltd.

India's first radio station was established in Delhi on June 8, 1936. The term 'All India Radio' was coined by Sir Lionel Fielden on June 8, 1936. A former senior BBC producer, he worked as a broadcasting controller in India for five years and was one of the prominent people to establish All India Radio (AIR).

India's national public radio station, All India Radio (AIR), is officially known as Akashvani. It is the largest radio network in the country and the world and offers a variety of programs such as the Drama Section, the FM Section, the National Service, etc.

All India Radio Signature Tune

A new trademark melody was also introduced that same year. AIR's signature tune was based on Raag Shivaranjini and was composed by Walter Kaufman, a Czech Jew who fled Europe in fear of the Nazi onslaught. In 1934, he came to India and lived in Bombay for twelve years, where he worked in the music department of AIR. While there, he conducted extensive research on Indian music and even worked on Hindi films.

AIR- Largest Media Organization

AIR has become one of the largest media organizations in the world, thanks to its phenomenal growth. With a network of 262 radio stations, AIR reaches nearly 92% of the nation's population and almost all of its area. The popularity of the radio station only grew with time. PM Modi's 'Mann Ki Baat' is now available on AIR.

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