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Outlet profile

News On AIR

Indian state broadcaster (government-aligned)

Owned byOwned by the Government of India through Prasar Bharati, the public broadcasting corporation. Its news division, All India Radio (Akashvani), operates within the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting's portfolio. Prasar Bharati also runs Doordarshan TV.
FundingMainly central-government grants, plus some advertising and sponsorship revenue. Grants have made up roughly 40 to nearly 90 percent of Prasar Bharati's income since 2009.
On the administrationmostly neutral

Background

All India Radio (Akashvani) began in the 1930s and became a government-run service after Indian independence. In 1997 the Prasar Bharati Act turned it and Doordarshan into a statutory corporation meant to have more autonomy. In practice it has stayed financially dependent on the central government, and governments of different parties have been reluctant to give up influence over board appointments, funding and content. Critics and former officials say there is no effective editorial firewall, and that coverage of politically sensitive topics tends to favor the government of the day. The NewsOnAir app is Prasar Bharati's official mobile platform, with live radio and TV channels, text news in several languages, and audio bulletins in about 40 languages. Its Google Play listing shows more than two million downloads, and Prasar Bharati reports listenership of over 214 million. Its content is mostly official bulletins, government announcements and regional news, with little independent investigative reporting. This profile is based on a limited set of sources, and the U.S. administration stance is inferred from the outlet's domestic focus rather than a detailed review of its U.S. coverage.

Sources

  1. Prasar Bharati – Mobile Applications
  2. NewsOnAir – Apps on Google Play
  3. All India Radio – Wikipedia
  4. Prasar Bharati – Wikipedia
  5. Prasar Bharati – State Media Monitor
  6. Prasar Bharati was never independent. But employees didn't 'look over their shoulder' either – ThePrint
  7. All India Radio (AIR) – Britannica

Profile compiled 2026-11-01; refreshed when ownership, funding, or the administration changes.

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