Community radio is a medium to strengthen the roots of democracy: HIRD Director Dr. Virendra Singh Chauhan

Chandigarh, February 20, 2026: A two-day regional conference, attended by representatives from nearly 100 community radio stations across North India, from Jammu and Kashmir to Uttar Pradesh, concluded in Chandigarh on Friday. The conference was organized by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Government of India, in collaboration with the Indian Institute of Mass Communication (IIMC), New Delhi.

Dr. Virendra Singh Chauhan, former National General Secretary of the Community Radio Association, said that during the conference, an informal meeting of representatives from all community radio stations in Haryana was also held, in which an agreement was reached to strengthen mutual coordination and cooperation. The meeting discussed local problems faced by Haryana's radio stations and concrete solutions to address them.

Senior officials from the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Government of India, and various ministries related to community radio participated in the conference. The officials established direct communication with community radio operators and program producers and held serious discussions to address their current issues. While the program openly discussed challenges, it also fostered positive dialogue on practical solutions.

Dr. Chauhan, as a representative of Radio Gramodaya, actively participated in the conference and prominently raised the demand for media accreditation for community radio representatives before officials of the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting. He suggested that the Ministry write to the state Public Relations Directorates to ensure the process of accrediting community radio representatives. It was informed during the conference that the Supporting Community Radio Movement in India scheme, operated by the Central Government for funding community radio stations, has been extended until 2031, and its revised guidelines will be released soon. Technical training and financial support to make community radio stations self-reliant were also discussed.

The final session of the program was addressed by Shilpa Rao, Director of Community Radio, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting. The conference was attended by Manish Yadav of Radio Aravali from Haryana, Pritam Singh from Dadri, Manmohan Singh from Yamunanagar, Bharat Sopari from Ambala Cantt, Rajpal, Imran, Preeti, Bharat, Diksha, Amit Bhatia, Himanshu Mehta, and other representatives.

In the closing session, Dr. Chauhan stated that community radio is a medium that strengthens the roots of democracy. Haryana's community radio stations will continue to amplify rural voices and communicate to the last person in society. He demanded that representatives of community radio stations be granted media accreditation by the state public relations departments and urged the central government to issue instructions in this regard by writing to the states.