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NEW
DELHI: The government on Tuesday said that it is studying
the recommendation by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of
India (Trai) that private FM radio channels should be permitted
to broadcast news.
In
a written reply in the Lok Sabha today, Information and Broadcasting
minister Priyaranjan Dasmunsi noted that the Trai has recommended
that FM broadcasters may be permitted to broadcast news from
All India Radio, Doordarshan, authorized television news channels,
and news agencies United News of India (UNI) and Press Trust
of India (PTI).
He
said in another reply that All India Radio has been permitted
to set up around 65 FM channels in 24 states, keeping in view
the proposals received from private parties for setting up
such channels.
Meanwhile,
the number of operational FM channels in the country has gone
up to 187, with 31 new radio channels getting commissioned
during January, even as President Pratibha Devisingh Patil
announced that the number is slated to rise to 266.
The government also received a sum of Rs 99.42 million as
licence fee from the private FM radio broadcasters during
January, 2008.
The newly commissioned FM radio channels are: Oolala (by Positive
Radio) for Agartala and Shillong; S FM (Kal Radio) for Pondicherry,
Rajahmundry, Trishur, Trichi, Varanasi and Vijaywada; BIG
FM (Adlabs Films) for Jodhpur, Mangalore, Puducherry and Rourkela;
My FM (Synergy Media) for Jodhpur and Raipur; Best FM 95 (Asianet
Communications) for Kannur and Trishur; Mango FM (Malayala
Manorama) for Kannur; Club FM (Mathrubhumi) for Kannur; Tomoto
FM (Pudhari Publications) for Kolhapur; Hello FM (Malar Publications)
for Pondicherry and Trichy; Radio Dhamaal (B.A.G Infotainment)
for Ranchi; Mantra FM (Shri Puran Multimedia) for Ranchi;
Radio Mirchi (ENIL) for Raipur and Thiruvananthapuram; Radio
City (MBPL) for Sangli; Kushal Global for Ajmer; Muthoot Finance
for Chennai; PCM Cemments for Siliguri and Syntech for Siliguri.
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