NEW DELHI: All India Radio is launching a new series – ‘Ankon ke khilari’ or ‘Magic of Numbers’ – as part of its program aimed at inculcating a scientific temper among the young.

The United Nation has declared 2013 as the “International Year of Mathematics for Planet Earth” and the year 2012 was celebrated by India as “National Year of Mathematics”.

The new Science Serial based on Mathematics and eminent Mathematicians has been produced in collaboration with Vigyan Prasar and the National Council For Science and Technology Communication (NCSTC) of the Department of Science and Technology.

The series in 26 episodes will commence from 6 October.

Besides Hindi and English, it will be produced in 17 Indian Regional languages and will be broadcast from 117 AIR Stations.

AIR Delhi will broadcast it on Indraprastha Channel MW 366.3 Meters - 819 Khz – in Hindi from 9.10 am to 9.40 am and in English on its Rajdhani Channel MW 450.5 Meters - 666 Khz - at 9.30 pm on Sundays.

Addressing a press meet, AIR Deputy Director General Laxmi Shankar Bajpai said this was fourteenth series in collaboration with Vigyan Prasar and NCSTC on various aspects, the last being ‘Grassroot inventions in science’. He said the aim of the present series was to create an interest in mathematics among children and make them aware of the importance of mathematics in all sectors of life, thus removing a fear of the subject often seen in children for this subject.

Answering a question, he said he appreciated the need to reach out to urban youth and therefore would attempt to put the series on FM Gold and FM Rainbow.

Programme Executive R S Yadav said the first two episodes would be like a documentary, but the rest were like a docu-drama with four members of a family and others who interact with them and learn various interesting aspects of mathematics. There will be some interesting anecdotes and highlights from the lives of eminent mathematicians down the centuries. It also aims at proving how everyday skills cannot be acquired without mathematics. The programme was aimed at 14 to 17 year olds.

The first two episodes are dedicated to Srinivas Ramanujam, highlighting his contribution to mathematics. A large number of other mathematicians have also been featured in various episodes.

Dr Subodh Mohanty of Vigyan Prasar said the aim was to de-mystify maths which was a science behind all sciences. Any science can be exact only when it can be addressed in mathematical terms.

Mr Bhanu Pratap Singh of NCSTC said the programme would strengthen the understanding of maths as India cannot afford to be left behind. He noted that 22 December last year had been observed as Mathematics Day as it was the 125th birth anniversary of Ramanujam.

Ms Ujjawala of NCSTC said a press kit had been sent to all children who had registered for the program, and prizes were being offered to children who asked or sent in the best questions. She also said that the program would be made available to community radio stations on demand.