New Delhi, June 25: The government has finalised an ambitious plan to usher in a radio revolution in the country by inviting bids for more than 100 Frequency Modulated (FM) stations within the next six months as part of the second phase of FM radio expansion.
Well-placed sources in the information and broadcasting ministry told The Pioneer that a task force will be set up within a fortnight to prepare the details for taking FM radio to every part of the country. Leading lights of the business world, technical and legal experts will also be nominated to the task force, which is to submit its report within two months. Bids will be floated thereafter, and the radio stations will become operative within six months. Sources said that, depending on the availability of bandwidth, at least 100 frequencies will be offered to private players. "This is a very conservative estimate. We will try to provide frequencies for setting up as many as 200 channels," said a senior ministry official.
The ambitious plan which is likely to be formally announced within days, will mark the second phase of the FM era in India, and cover small cities and state capitals. "It will ring in a radio revolution in the country and also add to the usefulness of the radio as a service provider other than being a mere source of entertainment," the official said.
Some of the channels being offered are planned as topic-specific in order to provide a wide variety of choice to listeners. For example, a few FM stations may exclusively air classical songs, educational programmes, news and current affairs etc.




Ministry officials were cautious about licence fees and said it would vary from city to city."The licence fee for big cities with more prospect for advertising revenue will be higher in comparison to smaller cities. The details are being worked out," one official said.



The licence fee issue is expected to dominate the discussions between investors and ministry officials. According to an estimate, the private radio industry has suffered a huge loss of Rs 121 crore during the last couple of years alone. "We are aware of the difficulties being faced by the private radio industry. But we are sure that things will change for better," the official said. "With FM radios becoming popular every day, more advertisement revenue will flow to the radio. In the long run, private radio industry certainly become profit-oriented," he added.