MUMBAI: Prasar Bharati has no proposal to reduce the number of All India Radio (AIR) stations.

The information was given by information and broadcasting minister Priya Ranjan Dasmunsi in written reply to a question in Rajya Sabha today.
Prasar Bharati said that the number of AIR stations will not be reduced by setting up one powerful station for each State and thereby saving huge expenditure. Power consumption of a single powerful station is much more than that required by smaller stations to cover the populated area.

An All India Radio audience survey stated that there has been an increasing trend of listenership for the state-owned stations. From 310 million in 2003-04, the listenership has increased to 357 million in 2006-07. According to the survey, listenership in 2004-05 was 340 million.