NEW DELHI: With the Vividh Bharati channel of All India Radio being formally placed on FM mode tomorrow, the channel has been put on FM in all metros.

While it was on FM only in Kolkata earlier, it was put on this mode in Chennai on 21 February and in Mumbai on 17 March.

The Delhi channel broadcast hitherto on the traditional Medium Wave mode on 219.3 Metre, i.e. 1368 Khz, will also be transmitted on FM mode at 100.1 Mhz with a formal inauguration by Information and Broadcasting Minister Arun Jaitley.

The channel has been broadcast on this frequency on a trial basis for the past few days.

In Mumbai, Vividh Bharati is available on FM mode on 102.8 MHz in addition to medium wave. A dedicated 5 KW transmitter has been installed for the VB Service in Mumbai. In Kolkata, Vividh Bharati can be heard on 101.8 Mhz on FM and in Chennai on 100.5Mhz (in addition to MW 383.1/783 KHz).

Launched on 3 October 1957, the channel has been very popular over the past six decades but had seen a downfall in listenership with the introduction of the Frequency Modulation (FM) which is also available in car radios and on mobile phones.

While Vividh Bharati services were available across most parts of the country on FM mode, it was until recently transmitted only on Medium Wave in the four metros (with the highest population densities).

The 5 KW FM Transmitter in Mumbai will be upgraded to 20 KW FM in the near future and will cover a radius over 80 kilometres once installed and made operational.

Ministry sources said there are plans to take All India Radio to 65 per cent of the country through FM in the next two and half years. Presently, AIR FM covers nearly 45 per cent of the country.
       The I&B minister also said the Doordarshan's 'Kisan' channel could be launched in May. "We are looking for another date, most probably it will be in May. The preparations for the channel is at a fairly advanced stage," he added.

        Officials said mobile applications of all channels that are livestreamed by AIR like Vividh Bharati, FM Gold, FM Rainbow, Urdu service and several regional channels, will soon be shortly available.

         Prasar Bharati CEO Jawhar Sircar said that with the launch of FM transmission of Vividh Bharati in Delhi, the availability of the channel would increase by upto 20 times. Till today, the service was available only on medium wave receivers or radio sets but now it will be available on mobile phones, he said.Minister of State for I&B Rajyavardhan Rathore, Prasar Bharati chairperson A Surya Prakash, I&B secretary Bimal Julka and other senior officials were also present on the occasion.
PTI

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