Minister of information and broadcasting and parliamentary affairs P R Dasmunsi has said the government has signed an agreement with Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU) to put in operation FM stations for education broadcast at 40 places.

The minister said in a written reply in the Lok Sabha today that out of the 40 FM stations, 26 are presently operational and the government had agreed to set up FM stations for educational broadcasts by IGNOU at 15 more places.

The FM stations set up by IGNOU, called Gyan Vani, are devoted exclusively to education and community development. These interactive participatory educational stations are aimed at great empowerment of the people particularly the disadvantaged sections of the society located in the remote and distant areas of the country.

The programmes include information relevant to students of pre-primary, primary, secondary and higher secondary, as well as enrichment programmes to build environmental awareness, womens empowerment, legal literacy, professional education and science education.