10 cities, towns in Telangana among 234 areas to get private FM radio; Cabinet approves proposal

Hyderabad: Ten cities and towns from Telangana are among the 234 uncovered areas in the country for rolling out private FM radio.

The 10 cities and towns in Telangana are in Adilabad, Karimnagar, Khammam, Kothagudem, Mahbubnagar, Mancherial, Nalgonda, Nizamabad, Ramagundam and Suryapet.

On Wednesday, the Union Cabinet, chaired by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi, approved the proposal for conduct of 3rd batch of ascending e-auctions for 730 channels in 234 new cities with an estimated reserve price of Rs.784.87 crore under private FM radio phase III policy.

The Cabinet also approved the proposal to charge Annual License Fee (ALF) of FM channels as 4 per cent of Gross Revenue excluding Goods and Services Tax (GST). This will be applicable for 234 new cities and towns.

The private FM Radio rollout in 234 new cities and towns will fulfil the unmet demand for FM radio in these cities and towns, which still remain uncovered by Private FM radio broadcasting and bring new and local content in mother tongue.

It will lead to creation of new employment opportunities, boost to local dialect and culture and ‘vocal for local’ initiatives. Many of the approved cities and towns are in aspirational districts and LWE affected areas. Setting up of private FM Radio in these areas will further strengthen Government outreach in these areas.