Union Cabinet Approves 730 New FM Radio Channels In 234 New Cities; Check Full List

The Union Cabinet on Wednesday approved expansion of FM Radio channels to 234 new towns and cities where no FM radio channels existed previously.

This initiative introduces 730 new channels at an estimated reserve price of ₹784.87 crore and intends to cater to the growing demand of FM radio, create employment and support the ‘Vocal for Local’ initiative.

This will bring local content in regional languages to a much larger audience whilst generating employment opportunities in these cities.

The decision includes the auctioning of 730 new FM radio channels, which will be distributed across the 234 newly covered cities. The projected cost of rolling out these channels is estimated to be ₹784.87 crore.

This move is expected to provide visibility to the local content, especially in the mother tongue, thereby serving the cultural and linguistic diversity of India’s vast population.