NEW DELHI: President Pranab Mukherjee today said that "the good response to the successful and transparent bidding" for the first batch of private FM Radio for phase III "augurs well for the medium".

In his address to the joint sitting of both houses of Parliament on the first day of the Budget Session, the President said "radio has once again emerged as the people’s medium." He noted that establishment of new radio stations has received a fresh impetus. The bidding of the first batch of private FM Radio for phase III comprised 135 channels in 69 cities.