Reporters Without Orders Ep 282: Akashvani as Modi’s megaphone, India’s solar infra woes

This week, host Gurmehar Kaur is joined by Newslaundry’s Sumedha Mittal and Washington Post’s Karishma Mehrotra.

Sumedha reported that the national public radio broadcaster Akashvani – with arguably an unrivaled reach – has turned into the Modi government’s megaphone. She gave a peak into this “transformation”, delving into the radio’s news coverage packed with bulletins on Modi government, and the frustrations of its employees dealing with this “tectonic shift”. 

Karishma spoke about her reportage on India’s push for solar grids in villages. She explained how decentralised solar infrastructure is aiding those residing in remote areas, but the upkeep of these new-age systems is proving difficult for the government – resulting in abandoned panels and batteries far and wide.

Tune in.

Timecodes

00:00:00 - Introduction

00:01:42 - Akashvani

00:09:55 - Renewable energy

00:30:27 - Recommendations

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Produced and edited by Saif Ali Ekram, and recorded by Anil Kumar.