MUMBAI: The Radio Festival, which was held on 13 February 2019 was a gathering of noteworthy people from the world of radio business, both All India Radio (AIR) and Private FM stations. Noteworthy names like Ministry of Information and Broadcasting Secretary Amit Khare, Joint Secretary Ministry of Information and Broadcasting Government of India Anju Nigam, RED FM COO Nisha Narayanan, BIG FM CFO Asheesh Chatterjee and some popular Radio Jockey from the country.

Organised by UNESCO on the occasion of World Radio Festival, this year’s festival shouted loud of the UN's theme of Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) - Leaving No One Behind. Secretary, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting Amit Khare addressed the audience with his powerful speech on how radio still remains the cheapest tool to reach the weaker sections of the society. He also spoke about the importance of community radio stations at the event.

The various panel discussions, held throughout the day, had industry leads questioning as well as bringing to light the importance of radio and issues the medium is still facing. RED FM COO Nisha Narayanan stressed on how Private players bear the cost of high licensing price. She also brought to light, why Private FM stations need more non-interactive music streaming license etc. The session also had a discussion on why private FMs cannot broadcast news in an unchanged format. Joint Secretary Information and Broadcasting Anju Nigam gave diplomatic answers while stating that the government has to weigh the pros and cons of any decision to be taken.

There was also a session on podcasting, internet streaming etc., where Padma Priya from Suno India spoke about Podcasting while clarifying the fact that they aren’t competing with radio. Another session on storytelling saw names like AIR’s Vinod Kumar, RJ Kartik from MY FM, RJ Jassi from BIG FM and others, who shared their art of storytelling and how they discovered it. Just A Minute session was one of the most entertaining sessions of the event, which saw spot-on performances by Radio Jockeys like Manoj Mainkar (AIR), RJ Vidit (Radio Mirchi) and others. Manoj’s art of creating as well as delivering a story in just one minute was applauded by the audience. His stories boasted of his years of experience.

The Radio Festival also saw community radio station owners and their RJs trying to voice their opinions amid the big names. Dalit rapper Sumeet Samos’s heart-felt struggle story brought to light how minorities are exploited in the country. His rap was equally noteworthy and was applauded by the audience. There were also other performances to entertain the attendees.

Well, The Radio Festival was indeed a learner’s hub, a medium of meeting as well as discussing issues and sharing ideas associated with the world of Radio. Every person, who attended the event was blessed with knowledge worth sharing!