It was on June 8, 1936, that the Government of India named the former “Indian State Broadcasting Service” as “ALL INDIA RADIO” and thus gave it an all India status in the service of broadcasting. This was not the beginning of broadcasting in India. The first amateur radio club was formed at Madras on May 16, 1924. Later, a private concern set up stations at Calcutta and Bombay in 1927 which went into liquidation after three years. The Government of India then took up broadcasting as an experimental measure and it was only in 1936 that the success of this experiment led to the formation of All India Radio.

The development of broadcasting in India has not, however, been an uninterrupted one. The early fears of breakdown were followed by a period of determined organisation and settlement. The war gave an additional fillip but only in so far as the radio could serve the needs of Allied victory. New directions could hardly be looked for in those conditions.

At the time of Independence, AIR was left with six stations at Delhi, Bombay, Calcutta, Madras, Lucknow and Tiruchirapalli.

As in the case of other public services in the country, AIR felt the urge for expansion and progress. Today with 60 transmitters, the 28 radio stations of All India Radio reach out to 55 per cent of the entire population of the country and AIR’s development plans include early installations of 57 more transmitters so as to extend the broadcast coverage of the Home Services from 37 to 61 per cent of the area and from 55 to 74 per cent of the population. The bulk of the listeners will thus be able to get a satisfactory service all over the country.

Development has not been confined to physical expansion. AIR became a vehicle of the cultural renaissance that swept the country in the wake of Independence. It has not only sought to give expression to the awareness of the ancient heritage but also to new urges in the field of culture. AIR can well claim to have broken down the barriers that the court tradition had created between the people and the arts.

By providing a convenient and attractive medium for the rich and varied cultural forms of various parts of the country and by carrying them to the nationwide audiences, AIR has created a better understanding of the unity amidst the diversity of Indian culture. It has also provided a wider horizon to the cultural expression of each region.

The importance as well as the magnitude of the task is all the greater because of the fact that AIR has to broadcast not only in the 14 major languages of the country but also to give a proper place to the various dialects which are specially important in programmes directed to rural areas. Besides the 14 major languages mentioned in the Indian Constitution, AIR broadcasts in English, Dogri and Sindhi as also in 51 dialects and 82 tribal languages.

To achieve its objectives of entertainment, information and education, AIR has divided its programme activities into five different categories.

Located in the heart of a distinct social and cultural region, each station of AIR has today become an important centre of cultural activity. In fact, in many places AIR is the chief forum for creative talent and intellectual discussion. The REGIONAL SERVICES which are the major bulk of AIR’s programme include talks, dramas, music-classical, light and folk-features, discussions, literary items including poetry recitals and the like.

The second category of AIR programmes is what is called THE NATIONAL PROGRAMMES. These are usually planned centrally and relayed or broadcast by all stations and include national programmes of  music, of talks and discussions, plays, features and operas and of classical and contemporary literature.

The National Programme of Music presents weekly concerts of music both in the Karnatak and in the Hindustani traditions, one of its objects being to create appreciation and understanding of both the traditions all over the country. The National Programme of Plays draws upon the best plays in one of the regional languages specially adapted to the radio and presents it simultaneously in translations in all the other languages. The National Programme of Features gives vivid and dramatic accounts of developmental and reconstructions! activities.

Recognising that light entertainment is an important need of modern life, AIR has introduced a special light programme channel known as VIVIDH BHARATI. Now in its fourth year, this programme is broadcast practically throughout the day and serves as alternate listening to the Regional Services.

The third category of programmes is News and Current Affairs. AIR operates one of the largest News Organisations in the world. 97 news bulletins in 29 Indian and foreign languages are broadcast every day for listeners in India and abroad.

Besides, these programmes for general listeners, AIR has been broadcasting Special Audience Programmes addressed to rural listeners, industrial workers, women and children, school and university students, the armed forces and the adivasi areas. The programmes provide a judicious blend of entertainment and education to equip people in various walks of life to deal better with their own special problems.

A country-wide scheme of Radio Rural Forums was launched in 1949 under which special programmes on various aspects of rural life and problems with special emphasis on improved agriculture and animal husbandry practices are broadcast. Radio Rural Forums or clubs which are listening-cum-discussion-cum-action groups are set up in villages provided with community receiving sets and the queries received from the forums are answered in subsequent programmes.

Through its External Services AIR seeks to project India and the Indian point of view to listeners in other countries. Special programmes are broadcast for Asia, Africa, Europe and Australasia.

From its small beginnings, to its present country-wide network, AIR has attempted to express, satisfy and guide public taste and impart information as well as instruction in the widest sense. It has also tried to reflect the inner urges of our nation and to make our people realise their responsibilities and assist them in economic and cultural development.

The Posts and Telegraphs Department which has been closely associated with All India Radio all these years in the issue of radio licences, the provision of telecommunication facilities etc. deems it a privilege to issue today a commemoration stamp on the occasion of its silver jubilee.

The AIR has adopted as its motto the famous saying of Buddha “Bahujanahitaya-Bahujanasukhaya”-the good of the many-the joy of the masses.