The current Narendra Modi-led Bharatiya Janata Party regime has axed one of the only forms of entertainment our soldiers posted at various high-altitude borders have access to—the radio.

An order dated January 3, 2019, from India’s public service broadcaster Prasar Bharati has directed the closure of National Channel of All India Radio (AIR) as well as five other Regional Academies of Broadcasting and Multimedia (RABM) located at Lucknow, Shillong, Ahmedabad, Hyderabad and Thiruvananthapuram. Set up under the Prime Ministership of Rajiv Gandhi on May 18, 1988, National Channel is the only channel available after most of AIR’s stations close in the evenings and is also one of AIR’s three-tier radio broadcast systems (local, regional and national). Its function and aim is to “broadcast programmes of entertainment and music with hourly News Bulletins for the entire country” every day from 6:50 pm to 6:12 am.

Because it’s broadcast via Short and Medium wave frequency, National Channel enables listeners—especially soldiers—located in the inaccessible regions of the country such as at the borders to tune in to the same radio station as the rest of the country and keep up-to-date with national news and programmes.

Back in 1988, an India Today article described the two-phase launch of National Channel as “ambitious” and “complex.” AR Shinde, AIR’s director at the time, had said: “No country in the world has a channel of this magnitude reaching out to the entire populace in every nook and corner. Maharashtrians living in the North-east and Hindi-speaking people in the South do not have programmes of their choice now. It’s a quantum leap.”

This vision seems to have become a reality over the course of time. Today, National Channel covers 65 per cent of Indian turf and 76 per cent of the country’s population (according to the AIR website). Given its phenomenal reach, as well as its USP of being able to penetrate airwaves at extremely high altitudes, it is strange that the government has chosen to shut down this tier of AIR’s broadcasting.

While the channel has been directed to shut shop, those of its programmes considered to be of “archival value” will be sent to the Central Archives in Delhi for digitisation (wherever necessary) so that it can be “preserved for posterity”. At the same time, the channel’s technical, programme, ministerial and other staff “may be posted as per the requirement of the organisation”.

The January 3 order directing National Channel to shut shop 

Newslaundry spoke to 63-year-old VK Sambyal, the former assistant director of National Channel between 2013-14 who retired two years ago. He describes the shutting down of the channel as a “hopeless decision”. “The main function of National Channel is to project the country’s culture via the radio,” he says. “Its benefit goes mostly to those posted at the border, such as soldiers … Fauji yeh channel ko zaroor sunte hai kyon ki unke liye TV ki suvidha nahi hai. Humare jawaan border ki raksha Tv dekhte hue kaise kar sakte hai (Soldiers definitely listen to this channel since they do not have the provision for a TV. How can they protect our border while watching TV)?”

Sambyal says during his tenure, there were numerous programmes done on the youth, senior citizens and civilians, as well as programmes on various festivals. According to him, the reason for the cost-cutting that has been cited by Prasar Bharati is nothing short of a farce. “Many new consoles and machines have been installed just last year at National Channel’s office in Delhi. In Rajouri and Jammu, they (AIR) are opening new stations while on the other hand, they are shutting down stations that already exist.”

The programmes of National Channel are radiated by a One Megawatt Transmitter from a centrally located place in Nagpur, Kolkata, and Delhi, as well as two SW (Short Wave) transmitters located in Bangalore and Aligarh, respectively. According to the 1988 India Today article, the Medium Wave transmitter at Nagpur had cost ₹10.74 crore at the time. But Sambyal points out that this transmitter was replaced just last year. Then why shut down the channel after incurring such heavy expenses?

“It is a hopeless decision to spoil the cultural and entertainment activities of our people,” he says. “After it (the channel) has come under the jurisdiction of Prasar Bharati, there has been cultural damage that has taken place. They (Prasar Bharati) are bent on spoiling the culture.”

DS Chauhan, the ex-director of National Channel who has now retired, says, “The setup for National Channel was different; Rajiv Gandhi wanted the channel to be established in such a manner so that listeners all over the world could be able to tune into Aakashvani programmes. All the broadcasts are done via Short and Medium waves, but the frequency of the Nagpur transmitter started becoming lesser and lesser due to it being really old. There was another transmitter in Aligarh, which has now been shut down, leaving only the Nagpur transmitter and one Short Wave and one Medium Wave transmitter in Delhi.”

Chauhan goes on to support Sambyal’s theory that the “cost-cutting” reason is a farce. “If cost-cutting does indeed need to be done, then how does Prasar Bharati manage to get kaju katlis and 5-star food during its meetings? They can easily cut down on costs here. America currently has 6,700 radio stations across the country, but our situation here in India is reversed.” He further says: “Yeh ek bohot bada khilvaad kar rage hai (This is a very big joke). Today if National Channel is shut down, the entire border area near Uttarakhand and China—where the channel is widely tuned into—won’t be able to listen to Aakashvani programs. Even the Naxalites in this area tune into it…”

As far as the shutting down of the RABMs are concerned, Sambyal says these training academies were very important for the young generation of radio enthusiasts since this is where they are trained fresh out of UPSC.

Speaking of the staff of the channel whose jobs are at stake, Sambyal says, “Permanent employees cannot be shunted out but those employed on a contractual basis can be. Casuals will not be relocated because they (Prasar Bharati) are trying to cut prices.”

Chauhan says the level and quality of training imparted at these academies did not evolve with changing times. “They have the same outdated schedule and teach one subject repeatedly to the trainees. There is no technique. They have not focused on the training aspect properly. Jab tak imandaari se kaam nahi kiya jaata , tab tak koi bhi kaam mein safalta praapt nahi ho sakti (Unless you’re honest in your dealings, you cannot hope to accomplish success in your endeavours).”

A senior casual announcer who has worked with National Channel on a contractual basis for the past 10 years, says: “The channel is also a good provision for those people who work through nights. Its broadcasts primarily revolve around Indian art and culture, and also have regional folk music-related programmes.Kashmir se leke Kanyakumari tak aur Assam se leke Gujarat tak, sab isko sunte hai (Everyone from Kashmir to Kanyakumari and from Assam to Gujarat listen to this channel).”  



The employee reiterates what Sambyal and Chauhan pointed out. “In the past year, everything from mics and desktops, consoles to other equipment, has been replaced. You have practically changed each and every wire in the control room. Why was any of this needed if the ultimate aim was to close down the channel? With all the new equipment that has come in, the channel would have been able to function smoothly for at least another decade…”



According to this employee, National Channel employs around 15-200 casual staff in various departments such as programming, technical and administrative. If the staff who work at the transmitter centres are also counted, the number of casual employees could be well above 200.

Newslaundry reached out to the current director of National Channel, Mrs Mahalxmi, who confirmed that the order had come in on Thursday asking for National Channel and the five RABMs to be shut down. “Further instruction is yet to come in from the Directorate. The casual staff can interview at our other channels if they want some kind of contractual engagement in the meantime.” She also says the Delhi office is still open and working as they await further instructions.