Image Courtesy: imgci

This year’s Republic Day marked the launch of All India Radio’s first ever 24-hour satellite classical music channel ‘Raagam’. The channel is available via DTH and AIR’s mobile app (All India Radio Live). It can also be streamed online at www.airbengaluru.com.

This is for the first time in history, Prasar Bharati is having a 24X7 channel with classical Carnatic and Hindustani music programmes. Launched from Bengaluru, this channel is accessible all over the world and it  aims to cater to the global audience, who have profound love for Hindustani and Carnatic music.

All India Radio has built a strong repository of recordings of the old masters and contemporaries, which they are airing on this channel. About 58 per cent of the music played here is Carnatic and the rest of 42 per cent music is Hindustani.

The signature tune of ‘Raagam’ is composed by Bengaluru-based mridangist Anoor Ananthakrishna Sharma.

AIR and its presence in India

All India Radio, as known as Akashvani is one of the largest radio networks in the world. The Indian State Broadcasting Service (ISBS) began in 1930; in 1936 it was renamed as All India Radio.  It is the national public radio broadcaster of India and a division of Prasar Bharati. According to the latest information provided by the Minister of Information and Broadcast, AIR has been able to reach to 99 per cent of India’s population. AIR today has a network of 229 broadcasting centres and it covers 24 languages and 146 dialects in India.

About AIR’s global service

AIR reaches out to the world audience through its external services. These services begun during World War II, by the British Raj to counter the propaganda of the Nazis. The external services presently cover over 108 countries in 27 languages — 15 foreign and 12 Indian. It is the link between India and rest of the world, especially where there is high concentration of people of Indian origin.