NEW DELHI: Even though the government does not provide any financial support to set up Community Radio Stations (CRS), a new scheme is under consideration in the12th Plan to provide financial and other aid to CRS.

Addressing the parliament on 18 March, Information and Broadcasting (I&B) Minister Manish Tewari mentioned that a total of 418 applications for setting up community radio stations have been cleared by his ministry after getting the green signal from the Home and Telecom ministry. Grant of permission to organisations to set up CRS is a continuous process.

The ministry grants permission to Educational Institutions, Registered Societies/NGOs and Krishi Vigyan Kendras etc. to set up CRS.

The government says there are 144 operational community radio stations, and another 400 had been given licence of intent and 250 more were trying to enter.

The government had initially launched the scheme for educational institutions in the government sector, but soon opened it up for non-governmental not-for-profit organizations.

Ministry sources said the government has set a target of setting up 4,000 CR stations in the future. However, this initiative can only be implemented if content, funding, manpower and licensing concerns are addressed in a manner whereby local communities are empowered to operate independently with minimum support from and reliance on the government.