How community radio is poised to make waves in India

In a nation as diverse and populous as India, community radio is emerging as a powerful medium, amplifying the voices of local communities often overlooked by mainstream media. 

A platform for grassroots-level engagement, radio also gives a voice to regional languages, cultures, and stories while addressing hyperlocal issues like agriculture, health, education, and women’s empowerment.

The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (MIB) has in recent years taken several proactive steps enabling ease of doing business in the sector by making a complete online process for submission of applications. 

This has resulted in an increase in the number of Community Radio Stations (CRS) to 481 out of which 155 were added in the last two years. In the last 9 years, the sector has grown substantially and the number of CRS has increased from 140 in 2014 to 481 in 2023, as per Press Information Bureau’s data.

The impact of rising community radio stations 

Because of its comprehensive approach, community radio can also increase people's involvement in development programs. CRS are also a storehouse of regional folk music and cultural legacy in a nation like India, where each state has its own language and unique cultural character. 

Given India’s diversity. community radios will always be relevant as they have the potential to communicate in a language best understood by their communities, according to Neerja Sekhar, Additional Secretary, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Government of India. Being able to get information in your spoken language is empowering and encourages participation. 

Archana Kapoor, Founder of Radio Mewat and The Radio Festival, shared that community radios play an important role in democratisation of information and awareness-raising. 

It is a hyper local medium that talks about local issues to local people in a local language. Furthermore, it ensures the involvement and participation of the community, thus, playing an important role in democratisation, social struggles, and awareness-raising. 

“In a country like ours, that is built on the values of diversity and pluralism, we need media platforms like community radio to strengthen the identities of different populations,” she said. 

Moreover, traditional media has always been hegemonic in nature, so marginalised communities needed an alternative where they could own the media, share their narratives, challenge existing norms, and discuss their successes and failures, a space where their opinions would be free from fear and control, representing a true public sphere.  

Thus, the role of community radio was intended to be this space. In India, it is a catalyst in encouraging people to share their stories and contribute to bringing about a positive change in the communities and among people within which it operates. 

The hyper local and participatory nature of content creation in community radio has great potential to reduce the gap between the content creators and listeners making communities– especially the marginalised and vulnerable– active partners in the development process. 

The Gates foundation strongly believes in the power of community radios to influence social behaviour change and to promote health seeking behaviour. Pooja Sehgal, the Health and Gender Communications Lead, at Gates Foundation, India said, “We live in an era of personalised solutions and services and personalised content based on individual preferences. In this context, a medium like community radio speaks to that personal and relatable content that every individual seeks, so that they feel counted, heard, and relevant.”   

Given that community radio is hyperlocal, it belongs to the local community, and can share micro stories that matter to people on the ground, there is increasingly more recognition of the impact that such a medium can enable, Sehgal added.  

Industry stakeholders are also of the opinion that in the clutter of social media and the misinformation boom, radio becomes more relevant as it is accountable and credible. Radio was the most trusted source of information because the recall and retention is due to repeated messaging and not scrolling or 30 sec videos, which only causes more confusion 

The obstacles in its growth 

Even though the idea has a lot of potential to encourage open and active communication, it has to overcome obstacles including strict government regulations, a lack of technical know-how, and limited finance.  

Kapoor explained, despite the efforts of the government, particularly the Ministry of information and broadcasting, the process is still tedious and time taking. Besides since the spectrum fee is subsidised, and its reach is limited, neither the government nor the advertisers take community radios seriously.   

“Even within the government not many know about the potential of community radio. Even if they reach a population of say 3 lakh, they have the ability to saturate that listenership with information. Additionally, our effort is to reach the most underserved people- advertisers, who do not see value as our listeners do not have the purchasing power,” she added, noting that community radios end up as being the poor cousins of  the private and public radio.

Now that the government has announced the auction of 734 more radio stations in tier 2/3 towns, community radios will end up imbibing the commercial channels for sustenance. As it is, many among the 500 are surviving on commercials. Government’s support through advertisements or programming funds is almost negligible, added Kapoor.

Future of CRS in India 

Despite these hurdles, the demand for community radio stations is growing, especially in rural areas where access to information remains limited.  

Kapoor still believes in the medium- despite the challenges it has many advantages. But, if the government actually wants community radios to become sustainable, then the policy guidelines need to be revisited and restrictions of who can sponsor, who can fund will also have to be revisited. 

The fact that 450 out of 500 are functioning and robust indicates the desire of 140 million people to see this platform grow, she said. 

As India continues its journey toward digital inclusion, community radio holds the promise of bridging the communication gap, empowering citizens to take charge of their narratives and shaping the future of media in the country. 

Sehgal highlighted, “By speaking the language of the audience and meeting them where they are, this medium can create credible and trusted connections, which can go a long way in enabling understanding and adoption of desired behaviours.” 

“Community radios can play a major role in preserving the linguistic diversity of this country. And become a repository of folk songs, folk tales and local wisdom,” added MIB’s Shekhar. Kapoor concluded, "The more we as community radios invest in our community, the more sustainable and relevant we will become."