The Vice President of India, M. Venkaiah Naidu today inaugurated Nellore All India Radio FM Station in Andhra Pradesh and asserted that radio broadcasting has made a comeback in the era of continuous bombardment of visual content by myriad channels.Addressing the people of Nellore in Telugu and in English after the launch, Shri Naidu said that apart from broadcasting entertainment programmes in Telugu, the FM station would provide important information to farmers and other sections.Shri Naidu also said that the FM station would provide a platform to locals by broadcasting voice casts in local flavor. This will encourage the locals to showcase their talent in music and other areas, apart from enabling them to keep abreast of current affairs, he added.The Vice President said that radio has increasingly proved itself to be a favored companion. Radio gives clean, soft and assuring entertainment along with hard news and honest analysis of events, he said.Observing that the proposal to setup an FM station was conceptualized when he was Information & Broadcasting Minister, the Vice Prsident lauded Prasar Bharti, All India Radio and the Government of India for their collective efforts in realizing the dream of Nellore people.
Stating that Community Radio has been playing a crucial role in taking development to every corner of the country, Shri Naidu said that in times of natural disasters, radio often becomes the savior-- communicating critical information about relief and rescue when other mediums become ineffective.Calling Radio an important medium to communicate with crores of people, Shri Naidu said that it has gained new identity with Prime Minister Narendra Modi's monthly address of 'Man Ki Baat.The Minister for Municipal Administration, Andhra Pradesh, Shri Ponguru Narayana, the CEO of Prasar Bharti, Shri Shashi Shekhar Vempati, the Director General, AIR Shri F. Sheheryar and senior officials of I & B ministry were present during the launch.Earlier, the Vice President inaugurated a Medical Camp organised by Basavatarakam Cancer Institute at Muppavarapu Foundation Knowledge Centre, Sardar Patel Nagar in Nellore.Addressing the gathering he stressed the importance of regular medical check-ups to enable early detection of cancer.Referring to International Mother Language Day today, the Vice President asked people to take a pledge to preserve and promote their mother tongue. He said there was a need to strengthen the campaign for preserving mother tongue and wanted the mass media and cinema to play a leading role in promoting mother tongue.
Shri Naidu appealed to all state governments to make respective mother tongue a compulsory subject upto primary school.