Union Minister Prakash Javadekar presented the National Awards for Community Radio for 2018 and 2019 at a function organized at Dr. BR Ambedkar Bhawan, New Delhi today. The event was part of the ongoing 7th Community Radio Sammelan. He also released the booklet “Jan Connect: Clear Intentions, Decisive Actions” on key decisions taken by the Government in the first 75 days of its second tenure. The booklet has been brought out by Bureau of Outreach and Communication, Ministry of Information & Broadcasting.The Awards for the years 2018 and 2019 were given in the following five categories: Thematic, Community Engagement, Promoting Local Culture, Most Creative/Innovative and Sustainability Category. A detailed write-up about all the winners is attached below.Union Minister Shri Prakash Javadekar congratulated all the award winners and commended the stellar role being played by all the representatives of Community Radio Stations from all across the country. He said that the aim of the government is to increase the number of Community Radio Stations from 262 to 500 to give further fillip to the Community Radio Movement in the country. Stating that radio is the most powerful and reliable medium of communication, he highlighted the success of Mann ki Baat which has now become ‘Desh ki Baat’ and everyone’s ‘Dil ki Baat’. He urged the participants of the Sammelan to share their experiences and come up with suggestions for further bettering content and quality of programmes. He also requested them to write to him with suggestions for improvement. A compendium of all the programmes running on Community Radio Stations all across the country was also released during the event.
Prakash Javadekar said that the booklet “Jan Connect: Clear Intentions, Decisive Actions” presents the landmark decisions taken in the first 75 days of the second term of the Government. He stated that the decision to abrogate Article 370 was taken to ensure that the quality of life of local people improves through applicability of several laws and legislations like Right to Education, reservation benefits, among others. He said that while Indian Economy has moved from 11th to 5th pedestal from 2014 to 2019, the aim of making India a $5 trillion economy will help India reach the third spot. He also talked about the speed of passing legislations, stating that Rajya Sabha, which was once considered a speed breaker, has become a highway for passing legislations. Shri Javadekar also highlighted increase in spending on infrastructure development, key decisions like that on Triple Talaq, financial support for farmers, pension for workers in unorganized sector and businessmen etc, stating that all the decisions have been taken keeping the ultimate beneficiaries, the people in mind.Shri Amit Khare, Secretary, Ministry of Information & Broadcasting highlighted the importance of weaving together Sustainable Development Goals with the content of Community Radio. He also said that Community Radio acts as a vital link between national thinking and local issues and challenges.The event ended with a Vote of Thanks by Ms. TCA Kalyani, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Information & Broadcasting. Several senior officials of the Ministry and Media Units under the Ministry were also present on the occasion.