AIR to launch channel for cross-border listeners

All India Radio will launch a new channel "Akashvani Maitree" on Tuesday providing a common platform for participatory content creation for listeners in India and Bangladesh.
The Bengali language service channel, to be launched by President Pranab Mukherjee at a function in Kolkata, is going to be a maiden venture of AIR which aims at blending of content from both India and Bangladesh from the fields of art, culture, literature, music, sports and shared socio-economic issues.
Akashvani Maitree channel will source its content from state-owned Bangladesh Betar, according to concept theme note of the channel.
The concept of the channel emanates from a decision taken during the visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Dhaka in June last year, about exloring possibilities of content- sharing among the broadcasting organisations of the two countries.

To make its programmes popular and participatory in nature, Akashvani Maitree also proposes to produce and broadcast programmes like shows, music and quiz competitions, discussions where citizens from India and Bangladesh can join, said the theme note.
The content of the channel is expected to be oriented in a manner to make it useful for listeners on both sides of the border.
For example, India (particularly West Bengal) and Bangladesh belong to similar agro-climatic zone/region, hence knowledge and best practices in the field can be shared in programmes relating to agriculture.
Similarly, a large number of people from Bangladesh come for healthcare in India. So, a programme series profiling different premier medical institutes in India, super speciality treatments available here, procedures to be followed for availing these services, tentative costs, visa facilitation etc. Is also proposed to be broadcast by Akashvani Maitree.