Humble radio at the centre of BJP’s northeast outreach

NEWDELHI: The BJP-led NDA government wants to ride the air waves to gain ground in the northeastern states.

With assembly elections coming up in four states in the region, the Centre is using the radio to build a communication highway to showcase its flagship schemes and position the BJP as a key contender in provincial polls.

After announcing a 90% subsidy for the N-E states to set up community radio stations, and a new Doordarshan channel — Aruna Prabha — dedicated to local content, the ministry of information and broadcasting (I&B) will expand the services of public broadcaster All India Radio (AIR) by offering programmes in 89 dialects. At present, it offers services in 28 dialects. Sops are being offered to private FM players operating in the region.

While 13 FM channels are already operational, 18 more have been proposed. The reserve price has also been capped at ₹5 lakh for cities that have a population of less than five lakh and the license fee has been halved.

Together with the public broadcasters, private radios with popular programmes will be used to relay the government’s regionspecific schemes, an official explained.

The BJP, which is already in power in Assam and wrested Manipur from the Congress in the assembly polls held in March, is eager to expand its footprint to Mizoram, Meghalaya, Tripura and Nagaland, all of which go to polls in 2018, and in Sikkim that will elect a new assembly in 2019.

The issue of a “communication gap” between the region and the mainland was flagged at an information ministers’ conference last year. Officials from the N-E states pointed out how AIR and DD programmes are mostly in Hindi, which is not spoken and understood in large parts.

Representative from Arunachal Pradesh and Meghalaya underscored the “sense of isolation” experienced by the residents in the absence of communication in the language they are familiar with.

On Tuesday, Union I&B minister M Venkaiah Naidu not only announced bolstering the communication mechanism, but also assured that skill development, leading to employment, would be a priority area for his ministry.

In the works is also a ₹200 crore Film and Television Institute of India in Arunachal Pradesh and the setting up of permanent campus of Indian Institute of Mass Communication (IIMC) at Aizawal at the cost of ₹25 crore.

THE I&B MINISTRY WILL EXPAND THE SERVICES OF AIR BY OFFERING PROGRAMMES IN 89 DIALECTS