Indian Radio

Indian Radio is presently one of the most lucrative mediums of entertainment and communication. Indian broadcast media started first with the All India Radio; however, today Indian radio is more popular for its FM channels and frequencies heard all across the country.

The history of Indian Radio states that broadcasting began in India with the development of a private radio service in Madras (presently Chennai) in 1924. Later, British colonial government approved a license to a private company, the Indian Broadcasting Company, to inaugurate Radio stations in Bombay and Kolkata. The company almost went bankrupt in 1930 but the colonial government took away the two transmitters and the Department of Labour and Industries started operating them as the Indian State Broadcasting Corporation. In 1936, this very Corporation was renamed All India Radio (AIR) and was controlled by the Department of Communications. When India became independent in 1947, AIR was separated as a Department under the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting.

The development of Indian radio symbolises the quick and dramatic changes of the Broadcasting Authority of India. The national television or the Doordarshan and All India Radio, or Akashwani networks had been state-owned and was controlled by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting. The news reporting through radio usually presented the government`s point of view and there was hardly any public communication. However, with time Indian Radio has become a prime entertainment and music medium for the audience.

The local broadcasting of Indian Radio reflects local issues of concern. Presently, radio broadcasting is presented in 24 languages and 146 dialects all across India and there are 104 million radio households in the country, using approximately 111 million radio sets. All India Radio (AIR) initiated regional radio services in India. A variety of programmes broadcasted in AIR caters to different regions and languages across India. Regional radio in India has reached almost all the states individually. The Punjabi radio channels, Bengali radio channels and others strictly cater to their colloquial audience. Similar channels are transmitted in other Indian states as well.

Community radio in India is a type of radio service that caters to the interests of a particular area in need of mass awareness. The broadcasting material of community radio is usually popular with the local audience but can be a secondary issue for more powerful broadcast groups. In India, the campaign of Community radio started in the mid 1990s, only with the educational (campus) radio stations under somewhat strict conditions.

Indian radio personalities are the connoisseurs of some of the most significant changes in the audio media of the nation. Lately, the radio organizations are made up of copywriters, producers, compeering executives and most importantly radio jockeys. The RJs or the radio jockeys have been serving the Indian radio proficiently for almost a century. Earlier they were known as the radio announcers, who were newsreaders or hosts and later with the advent of FM channels the Radio Announcer were referred to as Radio Jockey or RJ. Nowadays being a radio jockey has become a desired career option due to its profitable future and icon status. They deliver Indian Radio Programmes of interesting topics that are aired on various radio channels of India to entertain the Indian audiences all across the nation. These programmes on Indian radio not only entertain, but talk about important issues related to social welfare as well.

The national radio stations in India have brought about an easy and portable way of entertainment across the country. This intimate mode of entertainment and recreation are present in other states as well. The Kannada radio channels and Malayalam radio channels thoroughly entertain the audiences in the south.

Internet radio in India is a radio service which conducts its transmission through the internet. It is also known as web-casting, online radio, streaming radio, e-radio, net radio and web radio. It comprises streaming media which presents the listeners with a constant stream of audio. Similar to the traditional broadcast media, it cannot be typically replayed or paused. However the difference lies in terms of on-demand file serving. It also bears distinction from podcasting as the latter involves downloading instead of streaming. Various services are offered by internet radio such as talks, sports, news and music of varied genres. Some of the services are also linked with corresponding traditional (terrestrial) radio station or radio network. The concept of internet radio was introduced by Carl Malamud.

Technology of Internet Radio : Internet radio can be accessed from anywhere on the globe as the only requirement for the service is a suitable internet connection. One can listen to the broadcast of a specific country from another country as well. This feature has made this service exceptionally popular amongst the expatriate listeners. However there are some major networks that pose restrictions listening to in-country owing to advertising and licensing issues. Internet radio ideally serves special interests which are not encompassed by the local radio stations.

Devices for Internet Radio : Internet radio can be enjoyed on a personal computer or a similar device. An embedded player program located on the website of the respective station is required. However, nowadays special devices resembling and creating an experience similar to a traditional radio receiver have also been developed. Several applications have also arrived for smartphones, tablets and other similar platforms for enjoying a number of internet radio stations.

Broadcast of Internet Radio : Distribution of Internet radio is largely dependent upon streaming technology which typically uses a `lossy audio codec`. Formats for streaming audio include MP3, HE-AAC, RealAudio, Windows Media Audio, Ogg Vorbis and others. Continuous and serial transmission of audio data occurs over the local network or internet in UDP packets and TCP which are then reassembled at the receiver and are played moments later. This delay is termed as lag which is introduced in various stages of digital audio broadcasting.

Deccan Radio : Deccan Radio is a popular South Indian internet radio station which operates 24x7. The name has been derived from Deccan Plateau which is a large plateau encompassing the major portion of the South India. In addition to English and Hindi, Deccan Radio broadcasts in all the South Indian languages. It started functioning on 6th July 2008. It utilizes SHOUTcast technology and broadcasts a number of interactive programs.

MyOpusRadio.com : MyOpusRadio.com is the first internet radio station of India, based in Bengaluru, for broadcasting international music. It was launched in October 2008 for serving local as well as international bands. MyOpusRadio.com also provides customized music players and radio channels for websites associated with music and events. Another unique feature is the live streaming from the venues of various events. One can enjoy MyOpusRadio.com by streaming it on mobile phones as well.

Radio Dum Dum : Radio Dum Dum is the first Malayalam internet radio of the world, based in Kerala. In a very short span of time it has managed to earn great popularity among the Keralites throughout the world. The main contents of Radio Dum Dum include all types of Malayalam music and related programs. It is the only Malayalam radio that uses Spodradio, GPRS and Spodtronics technologies and can be enjoyed from anywhere in the world. It was launched in September 2005 by a group of youngsters in Cochin belonging to diverse fields of entertainment and information technology.

Radio Maska : Radio Maska is accredited as the first live internet radio station of the country featuring live radio jockeys who play Bollywood music 24x7. Broadcasting from New Delhi, the station serves both Indian as well as NRI listeners. It has a huge popularity all over the globe and has 40 percent listeners from India while the rest 60 percent are the Indians dwelling outside India. Software such as Winamp, iTunes, RealPlayer and Windows Media Player can be used to stream Radio Maska, in addition to other mobile applications.

RadioJoyAlukkas.com : RadioJoyAlukkas.com is another Malayalam internet radio website which caters non stop entertainment to the Malayalees, 24x7. It is operated by the Joy Alukkas group and broadcasts a variety of programs like exclusive interviews with celebrities, live breaking news, comedy shows, songs in Hindi and Tamil and many more fun filled programs. It was launched on 6th November 2007.

RadioVeRVe : RadioVeRVe is another popular internet radio station which operates from Bengaluru and is dedicated only to the independent music from India unlike other FM and internet radio stations. It started functioning from 1st June 2006 and since then has served Indian classical, regional language, heavy metal, rock and other genres of music.

Categories of the Awards of All India Radio Following are the Categories of the Awards of All India Radio:
• Radio Plays
• Musical Productions
• Documentaries
• Innovative Programmes
• Programmes on Family Welfare
• Programmes on Farm and Home

In every category, two prizes are awarded for the Producer and Production Team. Trophies are also given to the Stations winning the first prize in each category of programmes.

Following are the different Awards of All India Radio:
• There are special prizes for "Yuva Vani", "Special Topic Documentary" and the "Lassa Kaul Award" for programmes on National Integration, "The K. L. Sharma Award" carrying a First and Second prize for the Best Correspondent of the Year.
• There are the awards for Children Choral Singing groups (Junior, 5-12 years and Senior, 12-17 years). The First and Second prizes are awarded yearly on the base of competitions held all over the country.
• An award namely "Dr. Rajendra Kumar Talib Award" was instituted in 1987 for the Best Commercial Broadcasting Service Centre of the year to support the spirit of contest and as acknowledgment of the special efforts by the centres in boosting commercial profits.
• Also Akashvani introduced a unique Award for the Best Marketing Division in 2002, to promote the advertising and returns growth in today"s stiff competition.
• The Award for Audience Research Surveys/ Reports was instituted in 1995, in which first and Second prizes are given for brilliant survey reports.
• Gandhian Philosophy and Public Service Broadcasting Awards were instituted in 2001. The first one is as a celebration of Mahatma Gandhi"s first visit to the Broadcasting House and the second one is to promote programming on issues of public concern and relevance.
• To encourage the use of Hindi in authorized work, four awards have been introduced in 2003 for work in different linguistic zones.
• Four new categories of awards were instituted for the Best Trainer (Programme), Best Training Institute (Programme), Best Regional News Unit and Best News Editor of the Year from the year 2005. The award for Best Part Time Correspondent Award of the Year was introduced in the year 2008 and Award for the Best women"s Programme was added in 2009.

Awards of All India Radio are the target of excellence by which radio professionals, consumers and advertisers be familiar with, reward and celebrate the outstanding content and resourcefulness.

Indian Radio Programmes are some of the interesting audible slots of the day, aired on various radio channels of India to entertain the Indian audiences all across the nation. These programmes on Indian radio not only entertain, but discuss important issues related to social welfare as well.

There are numerous Indian radio programmes broadcasted in the Indian Radio Stations, both national and the private channels. The Indian radio programmes deals with various kinds of subjects lately. In the previous years, news programmes were presented in a plain manner through news reading. However, with passage of time, these news programmes on radio have become equally interesting and interactive as the one`s on Television. Radio Mirchi presents their news show in each of the cities following the similar pattern, but the names vary according to the city. For instance, it is `Hi Delhi` in New Delhi and `Hi Kolkata` in Kolkata.

The Indian radio programmes of comedy are miscellaneous in content and aim at crunchy entertainment in short durations all through the day. Some Indian radio programmes also discuss films and cultural activities of the country and update their audience with the happening cultural activities of their respective cities. Although majority of the Indian radio programmes revolves around music, instrumentals and super hit songs, the curriculum, of such programmes never seem bland, rather come up with surprising twists every time they are presented. The Indian radio programmes often focuses on relationships, personal problems, women activities and charitable activities. Many promoting shows on Indian Radio make the slogans of the local charitable organisations vocal. Such programmes aim at much higher profit that just entertainment and Indian radio has sufficed every requirement of the Indians. Whether it is enjoyment, or winning prizes, or debates and even contributing to some social work, the Indian radio programmes have devised enough opportunities for the audiences.

Some interesting regional radio programmes of India, promotes the tradition and culture of the respective state through discussions with the experts. These Indian radio shows often call upon social activists and experts to their studios, discuss about various issues, and awaken the audience of the same.

The Indian radio programmes have become popular with passing years and is believed to be one`s closest and most personal mate that offers numerous options to an individual`s choice and preferences.