Revenue model for community radio in NE

Community Radio Stations (CRS) play a crucial role in empowering communities through radio broadcasting, targeting communities, and allowing them to articulate local voices on policies, socio-economic development schemes, and programmes. It also enables communities to promote local culture, provides an easily accessible platform to demonstrate individual creative talent, and aids in relaying disaster-related communication. Such advantages make CRS an ideal platform for the Northeast region. Ironically, despite its multiple advantages, fund constraints have posed hurdles in the expansion of community radio services in India. A mid-term appraisal of the Central Sector Scheme “Supporting Community Radio Movement in India” has brought to light that financial assistance provided by the government for supporting new organisations in setting up CRS is inadequate. The scheme provided a one-time lump sum financial assistance of Rs. 12 lakhs to an organisation in the Northeast region. This assistance was 60% of the cost of equipment estimated at Rs 20 lakh in 2021-22 at the time of the announcement of the scheme. For the rest of India, the assistance is 50% of the equipment cost. The mid-term appraisal shows that the cost of equipment has surged to Rs. 30 lakh and financial assistance needs to be enhanced so that more organisations come forward to set up CRS covering more communities and more areas. It is heartening to know that the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting has proposed to increase the financial assistance to the tune of 70% of the new estimated cost of equipment, which comes out to be Rs 21 lakhs for the Northeast region and 60% for the rest of India, which comes out to be Rs 18 lakhs. The Ministry has undertaken a laudable initiative of proposing additional financial assistance to CRS having 50% of Governing Body Members as women to encourage more women-led organisations to set up CRS. The Ministry has proposed that the government may provide those CRS one-time financial assistance in the tune of 80% of the total equipment cost, which comes out to be Rs 24 lakh for the region, and 70% for the rest of India, which comes out to be Rs 21 lakh. The proposal has brought fresh hopes for setting up more CRS in the region and a huge opportunity for women in the region to spearhead the community radio movement. The scheme creating a space for states in the region for providing financial assistance to not-for-profit organisations, including women’s organisations, to support them to pay the remaining amount of the equipment cost will go a long way in the fast expansion of community radio services in the region. The scheme also includes financial assistance for renewal and replacement of equipment. The organisations running CRS can apply for such assistance after five years of operation. For the Northeast region, 90% of the cost of renewal and replacement of equipment is reimbursed, subject to a ceiling of Rs 7.5 lakh. The sustainability worries of a CRS do not end in just availing the financial assistance to cover the equipment cost. Each CRS having a robust revenue model is critical to the production of quality programs and long-term sustainability. As CRS caters to a focused audience of local communities within a radius of 5–10 km, it presents both challenges and opportunities for revenue generation. Revised policy guidelines for setting up CRS notified in February prohibit transmission of sponsored programs except programs sponsored by central and state governments and other organisations to broadcast public interest information. In addition, limited advertising and announcements relating to local events, local businesses and services, and employment opportunities are allowed, but the maximum duration of such limited advertising is to be restricted to 12 minutes per hour of broadcast. The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India recommended to the government that the Ministry may actively pursue with central and state governments to sponsor more programs on CRS for sustainability. It was also recommended that all central and state universities may be provided budgetary support to establish and operate CRS. Poor revenue base of CRS in the region limits the staff strength, due to which managing technical operations, producing programs, and mobilising the community members to take an active part in program production and revenue generation become challenging tasks. The CRS staff running pillar to post for sponsorship and meeting government officials for releasing sponsored programs comes in the way of quality program production. The Ministry facilitating delivery of sponsored program content online and sparing the CRS staff from physically meeting officials and authorities by mandating the entire processing online will help CRS to devote more time to quality content generation. States in the region adopting policies for responsive mechanisms for adequate release of sponsored programs will take away the worries of new organisations about revenue generation. The policies adopted for expansion of CRS services have so far remained focused on assistance for equipment. It is high time the states in the Northeast focused on the revenue model of CRS.