266 Privat FM Radio channels in 92 cities

Ministry of I&B issues Notice Inviting Applications (NIA) for e-auction of 266 Private FM Radio Channels in 92 Cities in Second Batch of FM Phase III

Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Government of India today issued the Notice Inviting Applications (NIA) for e-auction of 266 FM Radio channels in 92 cities in the second batch of Private FM Phase III. The second batch consists of 227 channels in 69 new cities besides 39 channels in 23 existing cities. Out of 69 new cities taken up for auction in the second batch, 20 cities with 80 channels are having population of 3-10 lakh , 38 cities with 114 channels are having population of 1-3 lakh whereas 11 cities in border areas of Jammu & Kashmir and North Eastern states with population upto one lakh having 33 channels have also been included.

The Notice comprises the eligibility criteria, application procedures, reserve prices of channels, frequencies available for selection, auction rules, etc. and is aimed at inviting applications from the interested companies for participation in the forthcoming auction. Applications are required to be submitted latest by 5.00 PM on 1^st August, 2016. Based on the Applications, the Government shall pre-qualify Applicants who meet the eligibility criteria for participation in the auction.

The issuance of NIA for the second batch under Private FM Phase III will further the process of expansion of FM Radio broadcasting services through private agencies (Phase-III) that began with the notification of FM Phase III Policy guidelines dated 25.07.2011, read with its modified paragraph 31 dated 21.01.2015, and moved forward with the e-auction of the first batch of FM Phase III. E-auction of first batch, which commenced on 27th July 2015 and got over on 9th September 2015 resulting in selling of 91 channels in 54 cities. It also paved the way for migration (renewal) of 181 Phase II licenses to Phase III.

The first batch comprised vacant channels in existing cities only i.e. the cities where private FM operators were already present, hence the operationalization of channels in new cities taken up in the second batch will lead to actual geographical expansion of Private FM radio.

Amongst the 266 channels on offer, special incentives are being provided to 36 channels in 14 cities in J&K and North Eastern states.  By this, the FM Phase III policy exudes the Government’s thrust for concerted development of the North Eastern states and J&K. It provides much needed support to the FM radio broadcasting services in cities of North Eastern part of India as in the cities of Jammu & Kashmir and Island territories, with provision of annual fee of the channels in these areas at half the rates for first three years, besides provision of Prasar Bharati Infrastructure at half the lease rentals.

List of Cities alongwith number of Private FM Radio Channels put for e-auction in the second batch of FM Phase III is as under:

                                              

List of FM Channels put on Bid in the Second Batch of Phase-III of Private FM Radio Broadcasting

S.No.	Name of City	State	Region	No of Channels for auction
Category “A”     (Cities with Population above 20 lakh)
1	Hyderabad	Telangana	S	1
Sub Total				1
Category “B” (Cities with Population above 10 lakh and up to 20 Lakh)
2	Asansol	West Bengal	E	2
3	Vijayawada	Andhra Pradesh	S	2
Sub Total				4
Category “C” (Cities with Population above 3 lakh and up to 10 Lakh)
4	Akola	Maharashtra	W	1
5	Alappuzha (Alleppey)	Kerala	S	4
6	Amravati	Maharashtra	W	4
7	Belgaum	Karnataka	S	4
8	Bellary	Karnataka	S	4
9	Bhavnagar	Gujarat	W	4
10	Dehradun	Uttarakhand	N	4
11	Devengeri	Karnataka	S	4
12	Dhule	Maharashtra	W	2
13	Erode	Tamil Nadu	S	4
14	Gulbarga	Karnataka	S	3
15	Hubli-Dharwad	Karnataka	S	4
16	Jamnagar	Gujarat	W	4
17	Jhansi	Uttar Pradesh	N	2
18	Kakinada	Andhra Pradesh	S	4
19	Kurnool	Andhra Pradesh	S	4
20	Malegaon	Maharashtra	W	4
21	Mangaluru	Karnataka	S	1
22	Muzaffarpur	Bihar	E	1
23	Muzaffarnagar	Uttar Pradesh	N	4
24	Mysuru	Karnataka	S	2
25	Nanded	Maharashtra	W	2
26	Nellore	Andhra Pradesh	S	4
27	Puducherry	Puducherry(UT)	S	1
28	Rajahmundry	Andhra Pradesh	S	3
29	Saharanpur	Uttar Pradesh	N	4
30	Salem	Tamil Nadu	S	4
31	Sangli	Maharashtra	W	1
32	Shahjahanpur	Uttar Pradesh	N	4
33	Siliguri	West Bangal	E	1
34	Tiruchy	Tamil Nadu	S	2
35	Tirunelveli	Tamil Nadu	S	2
36	Tirupati	Andhra Pradesh	S	2
37	Tuticorin	Tamil Nadu	S	2
38	Ujjain	Madhya Pradesh	W	4
39	Vellore	Tamil nadu	S	4
40	Warangal	Telangana	S	3
Sub Total				111
Category “D” (Cities with Population above 1 lakh and up to 3 Lakh)
41	Achalpur	Maharashtra	W	3
42	Agartala	Tripura	E	1
43	Aizwal	Mizoram	E	1
44	Barshi	Maharashtra	W	3
45	Bharuch	Gujarat	W	3
46	Botad	Gujarat	W	3
47	Burhanpur	Madhya Pradesh	W	3
48	Chhattarpur	Madhya Pradesh	W	3
49	Chhindwara	Madhya Pradesh	W	3
50	Damoh	Madhya Pradesh	W	3
51	Dahod	Gujarat	W	3
52	Durg-Bhillainagar	Chhatisgarh	W	3
53	Godhra	Gujarat	W	3
54	Gondiya	Maharashtra	W	3
55	Guna	Madhya Pradesh	W	3
56	Itanagar	Arunachal Pradesh	E	1
57	Itarsi	Madhya Pradesh	W	3
58	Jagdalpur	Chhatisgarh	W	3
59	Jetpur Navagadh	Gujarat	W	3
60	Junagadh	Gujarat	W	3
61	Khandwa	Madhya Pradesh	W	3
62	Khargone	Madhya Pradesh	W	3
63	Korba	Chhatisgarh	W	3
64	Mehsana	Gujarat	W	3
65	Mandsaur	Madhya Pradesh	W	3
66	Murwara (Katni)	Madhya Pradesh	W	3
67	Neemuch	Madhya Pradesh	W	3
68	Palanpur	Gujarat	W	3
69	Patan	Gujarat	W	3
70	Porbandar	Gujarat	W	3
71	Raigarh	Chhatisgarh	W	3
72	Ratlam	Madhya Pradesh	W	3
73	Rewa	Madhya Pradesh	W	3
74	Satna	Madhya Pradesh	W	3
75	Shivpuri	Madhya Pradesh	W	3
76	Singrauli	Madhya Pradesh	W	3
77	Surendranagar Dudhrej	Gujarat	W	3
78	Veraval	Gujarat	W	3
79	Vidisha	Madhya Pradesh	W	3
80	Wardha	Maharashtra	W	3
81	Yavatmal	Maharashtra	W	3
Sub Total				117
Cities with a population upto 1 lakh in Border Areas of J & K and NE states
82	Kargil	J & K	N	3
83	Leh	J & K	N	3
84	Kathua	J & K	N	3
85	Poonch	J & K	N	3
86	Bhaderwah	J & K	N	3
87	Dhubri	Assam	E	3
88	Haflong	Assam	E	3
89	Jowai	Meghalaya	E	3
90	Lung-lei	Mizoram	E	3
91	Mokukchung	Nagaland	E	3
92	Belonia	Tripura	E	3
Sub total				33
GRAND TOTAL				266