To mark the 75th year of its news service in Telugu, Tamil, Marathi and Gujarati languages, the News Services Division of All India Radio on Tuesday launched year- long celebrations and also honoured 14 veteran broadcasters.

AIR officials said it was on October 1, 1939, when the four language units started transmitting news in the wake of World War II. Before this, All India Radio used to transmit news in English, Hindustani and Bengali.As part of its celebrations, AIR plans to organise panel discussions, workshops, cultural programmes and print a souvenir with articles related to radio broadcasting written by eminent people.

Speaking at a function held here, Prasar Bharati CEO Jawhar Sircar said the contribution of 'Akashvani' was not just that of a radio station in the form of announcements or programmes, but a contribution towards cementing the "idea of India".

He asked those associated with AIR to write and submit anecdotes related to the institution and the eminent people that have worked there, so that these can be documented and contributions of many people can be made known to the country.

Director General (News) Archana Datta said the four language units, which started functioning before independence and have worked uninterruptedly till today, are themselves a part of the country's history.

She said there is a need to make some changes and improvements in the format, frequency and duration of the programmes.


 

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