The number of Community Radio Stations (CRS) has grown from 140 in 2014 to 474 as of November 2023, registering a phenomenal growth of more than 300% in the sector in past nine years.
As per official records, of the 474 CRS presently functional in country, Uttar Pradesh has the maximum of 58 followed by 50 in Maharashtra, 45 in Tamil Nadu, 40 in Madhya Pradesh, 40 in Odisha, 27 in Rajasthan, 25 in Karnataka, 22 in Haryana, 21 in Kerala besides 15 each in Uttarakhand and Gujarat, 14 in West Bengal, 13 each in Bihar and Chhattisgarh, 11 in Andhra Pradesh, 10 in Telangana, 9 in Punjab, etc.
What is a Community Radio Station?
Community Radio Stations are low power FM Radio stations, having a broadcasting coverage in the range of 5-10 Kms. Permission to set up Community Radio Station in India, is granted to not-for-profit organizations which include NGOs, educational institutions, Krishi Vigyan Kendras (KVKs), etc.
Role of Community Radio
The CRS provides a platform to the community for broadcasting programmes on local issues concerning health, nutrition, education, agriculture, etc. It is required to generate at least 50% of content with the participation of the local community.
Financial Assistance for setting up of CRS
The setting up of Community Radio is a voluntary activity by eligible organizations. To increase the number of CRS in the country, Government has taken several measures including provisioning of Financial Assistance for infrastructure and awareness workshops especially in remote and far flung areas of the country.
The Community Radio Stations are set up by the permission holders using their own funds. However, the Government provides financial assistance amounting up to Rs 10 lakh (upto Rs 12 lakh for CRS in North Eastern States) to Permission holders towards setting up of infrastructure, once they setup and operationalize the station for at least 3 months. So far, a total of 119 CRSs have received financial assistance amounting to Rs 8.86 crores towards infrastructure building.
A maximum of 22 CRS in Uttar Pradesh have received financial assistance in past nine years followed by Maharashtra (12), Madhya Pradesh (11), Karnataka (10), Tamil Nadu (10), Rajasthan (7), 6 each in Haryana, Kerala and Odisha, Manipur (4), 3 CRS each in Gujarat and Uttarakhand besides2 stations each in Punjab, Telangana, Bihar, Chhattisgarh and Delhi.
One Community Radio Station each in Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Himanchal Pradesh, J&K, Ladakh, Nagaland, Puducherry, Sikkim and Tripura received financial assistance in the mentioned period.
Operational CRS and count of stations having received financial assistance
| State/UT | No. of CRS | Financial Assistance |
| Uttar Pradesh | 58 | 22 |
| Maharashtra | 50 | 12 |
| Tamil Nadu | 45 | 10 |
| Madhya Pradesh | 10 | 11 |
| Odisha | 40 | 6 |
| Rajasthan | 27 | 7 |
| Karnataka | 25 | 10 |
| Haryana | 22 | 6 |
| Kerala | 21 | 6 |
| Uttarakhand | 15 | 3 |
| Gujarat | 15 | 3 |
| West Bengal | 14 | – |
| Bihar | 13 | 2 |
| Chhattisgarh | 13 | 2 |
| Andhra Pradesh | 11 | – |
| Telangana | 10 | 2 |
| Punjab | 9 | 2 |
| Himachal Pradesh | 7 | 1 |
| Jammu and Kashmir | 7 | 1 |
| Assam | 5 | 1 |
| Chandigarh | 5 | – |
| Delhi | 5 | 2 |
| Manipur | 4 | – |
| Jharkhand | 3 | – |
| Arunachal Pradesh | 2 | 1 |
| Puducherry | 2 | 1 |
| Andaman & Nicobar | 1 | – |
| Ladakh | 1 | 1 |
| Meghalaya | 1 | – |
| Nagaland | 1 | 1 |
| Sikkim | 1 | 1 |
| Tripura | 1 | 1 |
| Total | 474 | 119 |
