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Featured articleFunding the public broadcaster

Fund Akashvani and Doordarshan Fully and Directly

Akashvani and Doordarshan must be funded directly and completely by the Government of India. Nothing less will let the nation’s public service broadcaster do the job Parliament gave it.

Read the article By Joseph Martin C.J.
  • −5.5%Prasar Bharati’s regular grant: Rs 2,291.88 crore in the 2026-27 Budget, against Rs 2,424.55 crore in 2024-25
  • −30.89%Doordarshan’s commercial revenue in a single year, 2023-24 to 2024-25
  • Under Rs 16what the 2026-27 grant comes to for each Indian, for a whole year

The airwaves belong to you.

Friends of Prasar Bharati is a citizens’ forum that defends and promotes All India Radio and Doordarshan in their role as India’s national public service broadcaster: to inform, educate and entertain every citizen, in every language, wherever they live.

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Information as a public right

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Our vision statement

Friends of Prasar Bharati aims to defend and promote All India Radio & Doordarshan in its vital role as India’s National and Public Service Broadcaster, to inform, educate and entertain the public.

  • We demand, to serve its real purposes, All India Radio & Doordarshan should be completely and directly funded by the government.

  • We oppose all efforts to compromise its significance and independence by throwing it to the mercy of market forces (corporate forces).

  • We believe that, monopoly media and media consolidation is the worst that can happen to a democratic country like India.

  • We believe that equally strong National and Private Broadcasters can co-exist and that is essential for a healthy democratic country.

  • We believe that Public Service Broadcasting in the digital age will also involve many “non-linear” programmes such as online or on-demand content, and it is vital that Public Service Broadcasters are able to communicate on new platforms.

  • We declare that as citizens of this great country it is our legitimate right to have a National and Public service Broadcaster which is autonomous and not influenced by market forces.

Airwaves belong to you

Supreme Court of India, 9 February 1995. Ministry of Information and Broadcasting v. Cricket Association of Bengal, (1995) 2 SCC 161

The key points of the judgment that helped bring Prasar Bharati into being, in the Court’s own words.

  • Airwaves are public property

    “The airwaves or frequencies are a public property. Their use has to be controlled and regulated by a public authority in the interests of the public and to prevent the invasion of their rights.”

    Justices P.B. Sawant and S. Mohan, holding (i)

  • For the public good, not private profit

    “Airwaves constitute public property and must be utilised for advancing public good. No individual has a right to utilise them at his choice and pleasure and for purposes of his choice including profit.”

    Justice B.P. Jeevan Reddy, summary 1(b)

  • Information is a citizen’s right

    “The right to impart and receive information is a species of the right to freedom of speech and expression guaranteed by Article 19 (1)(a) of the Constitution.”

    Justices P.B. Sawant and S. Mohan, holding (ii)

  • No monopoly, by government or anyone else

    “Monopoly of this medium (broadcasting media), whether by Government or by an individual, body or organisation is unacceptable.”

    Justice B.P. Jeevan Reddy, summary 3(a)

  • Controlled by the public, not the government

    “The broadcasting media should be under the control of the public as distinct from Government.”

    Justice B.P. Jeevan Reddy, summary 3(b)

  • An independent authority to regulate them

    “The Central Government shall take immediate steps to establish an independent autonomous public authority representatives of all sections and interests in the society to control and regulate the use of the airwaves.”

    Justices P.B. Sawant and S. Mohan, holding (iii)

Read the full text on the Ministry of I&B websiteSee it on our original site

Nearly a century on air

Organised broadcasting in India turns 100 in July 2027. Public service has been at its heart from the start.

  1. 1927

    Bombay goes on air

    The Indian Broadcasting Company opens its Bombay station on 23 July, the date now marked as National Broadcasting Day.

  2. 1936

    All India Radio is named

    On 8 June the Indian State Broadcasting Service becomes All India Radio, later known across the country as Akashvani.

  3. 1959

    Doordarshan begins

    Television starts in Delhi on 15 September as an experimental educational service, growing into one of the world’s largest terrestrial networks.

  4. 1990

    The Prasar Bharati Act

    Parliament passes the Prasar Bharati (Broadcasting Corporation of India) Act to give AIR and DD autonomy. It receives the President’s assent on 12 September.

  5. 1997

    Prasar Bharati comes into being

    On 23 November the corporation takes charge of All India Radio and Doordarshan as India’s public service broadcaster.

  6. 2004

    Free television by satellite

    DD Direct Plus, now DD Free Dish, brings free-to-air satellite TV to homes with no subscription at all.

  7. 2024

    Public service streams

    Prasar Bharati launches WAVES, its streaming platform, alongside the NewsOnAir app for live radio.

  8. 2027

    A hundred years of broadcasting

    23 July 2027 marks the centenary of broadcasting in India. Help us make it a celebration of public service.

Take action

A public broadcaster is only as strong as the public that stands behind it. Here is where you can help, and what you can say when you do.

  • Tune in, and say so

    Install WAVES, Prasar Bharati’s streaming app, and use NewsOnAir and DD Free Dish too. Tell friends what you enjoyed. Audience numbers are part of the case for funding.

  • Write to your MP

    Ask your Member of Parliament to support full and direct funding for Prasar Bharati when its budget is debated, and to fill the vacancies that leave stations short of staff. Read our case for full and direct funding.

  • Respond to consultations

    The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting and TRAI invite public comment on broadcasting policy. A few citizen submissions in favour of public service make a difference.

  • Mark the days that matter

    Hold a talk or listening session in your school, college or station on Public Service Broadcasting Day, 12 November, or on National Broadcasting Day, 23 July.

  • Share a story

    A programme that changed your life, a station that needs attention, a transmitter that has gone quiet. Send it to us and we will raise it.

What you can say

Short lines you can post or forward. Copy one and add #FriendsOfPrasarBharati.

Reading room

More than 800 essays and news reports on All India Radio, Doordarshan and Prasar Bharati that the forum has collected over the years. Each one opens on its original page.

    Our email updates going back to 2011 are in the FoPB group archive.

    Join the forum

    Membership is free and open to anyone who cares about public service broadcasting in India. Members get our updates and a say in what we campaign on.

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    Tune in on WAVES

    WAVES is Prasar Bharati’s own streaming app. Live Doordarshan channels, Akashvani radio, classic serials, films and decades of archives, on your phone, computer or smart TV. It is free to download, and most of it is free to watch.

    Every install and every hour watched shows there is a real audience for public service broadcasting. Download it, use it, and tell your friends.

    More about WAVES from Prasar Bharati
    • 140+live TV channels, including every Doordarshan satellite channel
    • 200+Akashvani radio services, national and regional
    • 24,000+shows, films, documentaries and archive programmes
    • PM eVidyaeducation channels for school students