In India, radio can reach about 97 per cent of the population with just a pencil cell (no dependency on power) and terrific mobility (no dish or license required). And it is something that, unlike TV, doesn’t distract you from your morning routine. It is a cheap and reliable way of getting across local information, mounting public awareness campaigns etc.

So why is news, as we know it, not allowed on radio? It may well be because all governments have actually understood its power. Its potential reach is what makes it tempting to retain their hold over it. Maybe it is precisely this power of radio that stands in the way of successive governments allowing it to be used by all in India. It is pretty much an old colonial government argument about what the ‘natives’ can or cannot hear. Till the absurdity of this argument in modern-day India sinks in, it is just Yeh Akashvani hai. As for the few private FM stations, they must rest content with blaring their ‘item numbers’.