All India Radio (AIR), known officially since 1956 as Akashvani, is the national public radio broadcaster of India. It functions as the radio division of Prasar Bharati, an autonomous statutory body under the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Government of India. Headquartered at Akashvani Bhavan in New Delhi, AIR is among the largest public broadcasting organisations in the world in terms of the number of languages served and the geographical spread of its transmissions.
| Type | Public radio broadcaster |
|---|---|
| Also known as | Akashvani |
| Parent organisation | Prasar Bharati |
| Owner | Government of India |
| Headquarters | Akashvani Bhavan, Sansad Marg, New Delhi |
| Founded | 1936 (as All India Radio) |
| Predecessor | Indian State Broadcasting Service (1930) |
| Renamed Akashvani | 1956 |
| Country | India |
| Ministry | Ministry of Information and Broadcasting |
Organised broadcasting in India began with private radio clubs in Bombay, Calcutta and Madras in the 1920s. The Indian Broadcasting Company began services in Bombay and Calcutta in 1927 but went into liquidation in 1930, after which the Government of India took over operations and ran them as the Indian State Broadcasting Service. On 8 June 1936, the service was renamed All India Radio. After independence, AIR became a department of the Government of India, expanding rapidly to provide news, educational, cultural and entertainment programming across the country.
The name Akashvani, meaning "voice from the sky", was officially adopted in 1956. The term had earlier been used by the broadcaster Mysore, founded by M. V. Gopalaswamy in 1936, whose station was absorbed into AIR. The signature tune of AIR, composed by Walter Kaufmann, has been in use since the broadcaster's early years.
AIR operates a three-tier broadcasting system consisting of national, regional and local services. Programming is carried in numerous Indian languages and dialects as well as in foreign languages through its External Services Division, which broadcasts to listeners abroad. The News Services Division, headquartered in New Delhi, originates news bulletins in multiple Indian and foreign languages each day.
The Vividh Bharati Service, launched on 3 October 1957, is among AIR's most popular streams, offering film music, light entertainment and sponsored programming. Other key channels include the National Channel, FM Rainbow and FM Gold. AIR also runs community-oriented and educational programming, including agricultural broadcasts and Yuv Vani for younger audiences.
The External Services Division of AIR broadcasts to audiences outside India, with programmes in languages including English, Hindi, Urdu, Bengali, Tamil, Arabic, Persian, Pashto, Dari, Russian, Chinese, Tibetan, Burmese, Indonesian, Nepali, Sinhala and Swahili, among others. These services were developed during and after the Second World War as a means of cultural diplomacy.
All India Radio has played a defining role in the public life of independent India, serving as a primary medium for the dissemination of news, government information, classical and folk music, and educational content. Live commentary of national events, parliamentary coverage, and Prime Ministerial addresses—including the monthly programme Mann Ki Baat—are carried on AIR. The broadcaster has been instrumental in promoting Indian classical music through the AIR Music Audition system and the annual AIR Sangeet Sammelan, and it maintains one of the largest sound archives in Asia.