Abstract
THE task of providing an efficient radio broadcasting service in the Indian Empire is beset with many problems which are peculiar to that country and which other broadcasting organizations in Europe and America have not encountered. India is a country of relatively great distances and a vast population, most of whom have a rather low standard of living. Nearly thirty times the area of England, the population numbers more than 300 millions, speaking some 200 different languages, of which about 16 are in common use. From a technical point of view India is subject to a frequent and very high atmospheric disturbance level, and this calls for special consideration in the choice of wave-length and power of the transmitting stations, if a satisfactory programme service free from interference is to be obtained. Furthermore, it was clear many years ago that a broadcasting service could not be built up out of licence revenue as was done in Great Britain. These and other problems have occupied the attention of the Government of India over the past thirteen years, since the first broadcasting station was opened at Bombay by Lord Irwin in July 1927. In his speech on this occasion the Viceroy indicated that India offered special opportunities for the development of broadcasting, and that although it was then in its infancy, he had little doubt that, before many years had passed, the numbers of its audience would have increased very considerably and that this new application of science would have its devotees in every part of India.
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Broadcasting in India. Nature 146, 709–711 (1940). https://doi.org/10.1038/146709a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/146709a0