Ranchi University’s community radio to go on air by February ’18

Students of Ranchi University will soon get a chance to try their hands at being a Radio Jockey. The long pending plan to start a community radio at Ranchi University has finally materialised and its 'Radio Khanchi' has been provided its own FM bandwidth by the Centre. Director, community radio station of RU, Anand Thakur, on Sunday said, "We have been given the bandwidth 90.4 and we are hoping to go on air latest by February 2018. Anyone who will be present in the city will be able to access the radio on the given bandwidth." The main resource of the radio will be the students, teachers and the community as a whole. "Students will be given the opportunity to try their hand at being a radio jockey and running their own programmes on the radio. This will also act like a chance of skill development for our students," Thakur said. However, the university will be hiring technical persons, programme producers and at least one or two professional radio jockeys. After allotment of the bandwidth, the next step is to get the Standing Advisory Committee for Frequency Allocation (SACFA) clearance. "We have already applied for it online.

This is a 90-day procedure and will help us get a no objection certificate from five major ministries of the government of India, civil aviation, home affairs, defence, information and broadcasting and telecommunication and information technology," Thakur said. After getting the NOC, the university has to sign a Grant of Permission Agreement (GOPA) with the government of India in which they have to show that their transmission unit is ready which will enable the university to obtain an operation license. Radio Khanchi is based on the concept of infotainment. The community radio station will not just promote entertainment programmes but also provide information and notifications of RU. "The radio station will be functional all through the day and at all time as well. We will also promote our community activities like discussions and debates through this medium. Even the common public, who is interested in putting their programmes and advestisements on air will be given a chance here," Thakur said. The concept of Radio Khanchi was proposed in 2012 but was not pursued upon by the university.

Thakur said, "I would like to thank our present vice-chancellor, Ramesh Kumar Pandey, who took the initiative for welfare of students and helped the proposal become a reality."