MUMBAI: The sweeping changes seen in the radio sector in India has led to Radio Jockeying and other professions in the radio industry as the "In-thing" amongst the youth of India. Govt of India's FM Phase II met with a huge response as more than 336 frequencies were auctioned in 96 different cities. Out of them many radio stations have started operations, while only a handful are on the verge of doing so. Certain frequencies not taken by anyone or given back, are soon to be auctioned again. With the coming of FM Phase III around next year, the growth of the radio industry seems phenomenal.

"We are very happy with the response of the Government and good days seem to ahead for the industry", says an FM Radio operator in a small city. On one side the industry is growing by leaps and bounds but, on the other side there is a severe shortage of trained talent that is the backbone of the industry.

"There have been many cases when we have had to take people even from the print media to fill up some of the positions, so desperate is the scene", remarks a Programming Head at a radio station. There for sure is a huge demand for trained talent, who can take control of the programming and with the highly talented people that India has, this should not be an issue, provided they are trained in the most professional way. "We are doing our best to reduce this gap, by providing industry-standard training to our students who have excelled wherever they have gone and today more and more youth are thinking of taking it on as a full time profession", remarks Hardeep Chandpuri, the Founder of Academy of Broadcasting, India's oldest and largest Radio Jockey training institute. So one thing is certain, that with the coming up of such professions, there will be a major shift from traditional careers like Doctors, Engineers, Architects etc.