All India Radio launches live streaming of Urdu service

In a bid to carve its own social media niche, the All India Radio (AIR) yesterday launched live streaming of its Urdu service, FM Gold, on YouTube and an Android-based mobile phone application for its news service, reports PTI.

The services were launched by information and broadcasting minister Manish Tewari.

Speaking on the occasion, Tewari said the advent of AIR on social media platforms is an important step for extending its outreach across the country.

With the use of social media, the content of AIR could now be accessed in any part of the globe, he added.

According to a statement released by the ministry in New Delhi, the initiative would also allow listeners of AIR to access the archives at the click of a button.

The Android-based mobile application had been developed for accessing news stories from the AIR News Network, the report said.

Apart from catering to news and information needs of audiences both domestic and external, Tiwari said, the innovative technology would enhance the profile, content and reach of AIR's national and regional bulletins in regional languages in the audio form.

The statement said that the integration with mobile applications would address the communication needs of the youth and the audience that followed new technologies.

The official AIR News app would bring stories from AIR News network in India, helping users to access the latest news, national as well as regional from Prasar Bharati, India's public service broadcaster. The official AIR News Android app would also bring India's regional news bulletins along with special news-based programmes.

The Android device used needed to be Android version 2.2 or higher for users to be able to run the app, which was a mere 1.9 MB, to download.

The app, which can be downloaded from Google Play store app, has been very well received.          

The Android market is flush with a variety of radio apps offering both local as also international stations. According to experts, in the smartphone era, access to radio was taken for granted but it remained a rarity, especially in high-end smart phones and AIR had done well to fill the need.