NEW DELHI: Information and Broadcasting Minister Manish Tewari has said the government is exploring the possibilities of having a dedicated 24 hour FM news channel and wanted the public broadcaster to leverage the unique opportunity provided by the telecom revolution that made access to All India Radio easy.

Addressing a function to present the Akashvani Annual Awards in New Delhi last evening, he said the required clearances have been taken for the auction of private FM channels.

Noting that almost everybody carries a mobile, he said this made access to FM radio easy. “There is a need to leverage this unique opportunity. I have been working with both Prasar Bharati CEO Jawahar Sircar as well as Secretary I&B to explore the possibility of whether without expanding too much of resource we can have a dedicated 24 hour FM news channel,” he said.

Tewari recalled the significant contribution made by AIR and Doordarshan in the promotion of national integration. He called for creating a culture of gender equity as more young women from low and middle income groups are entering the country's workforce.

Tewari presented the awards for outstanding contribution by professionals in respective fields this evening. The best news editor award went to D Suprasanthi Devi and the best correspondent to Manikant Thakur. Vinay Raj Tiwari was conferred the bold and courageous award for reporting and News Unit Hyderabad adjudged the best for Regional News Unit. Awards were also presented for best production in Drama, Feature, Science Programming and Engineering services.

I&B Secretary Uday Verma and Sircar were present on the occasion.