SUMI SUKANYA, New Delhi, July 15
The content on FM and community radio will soon be monitored round the clock, with the Centre taking steps to attach these to the Electronic Media Monitoring Centre (EMMC) that now covers 300 television channels.
Officials said the need was felt because nearly 840 more FM channels are likely to come up in a few months after Phase III of FM radio services begins in 249 cities of the country.
"Currently, we do not have an archive of FM radio content. As it is likely that many of these channels will air news, apart from general entertainment and educational programmes, keeping tabs on them becomes imperative," a senior official in the information and broadcasting ministry said.
The ministry is spending Rs 50 crore for the purpose, officials said.
The EMMC now records and monitors content being broadcast on 300 television channels and reports violation of rules.
At present, the government does not monitor radio content but has issued advisories on some occasions to stick to the programming code. In February last year, for example, the government had warned private FM radio channels against making unsolicited calls to people and airing the conversations, after a prank call by Australian radio jockeys led to suicide by an Indian-origin nurse in the UK.
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