Monday, August 1 2005 15:36 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

New Delhi: Seventy-six radio stations are proposed to be set up in different cities during the Tenth Five Year Plan, subject to approval and availability of resources, the Rajya Sabha was informed today (Aug 1, 2005).

Currently, 99.13 per cent of population of the country is covered by the primary grade signals of All India Radio and after completion of the schemes under the Tenth Plan, 99.49 per cent of the population of the country is expected to be covered, Information and Broadcasting Minister S Jaipal Reddy said.

• "FM: A total of 336 channels in 90 cities will be made available for bidding in Phase II of FM radio broadcasting under private sector," he said.
  
  
• "Regulator: The Government is contemplating the establishment of an autonomous Authority to regulate content on TV channels," Reddy said adding a draft Bill was under preparation.
  
  
• "RNI: The number of titles registered with the Registrar of Newspapers of India as on March 31, 2005 is 60,374 with those in Hindi topping the list with 24,000 and Kashmiri at the bottom with only one title," the Minister said.
  
  
• "Buddha: The Government is working out detailed plan to commemorate the 2550th anniversary of Lord Buddha's Mahaparinirvana in 2006, "Reddy said.
  
  
• "Professional Institutions: A draft Bill for regulation of admission and fixation of fee in private professional educational institutions has been prepared and is being circulated to all the state Governments, concerned Ministries and other stakeholders to elicit their views," Minister of State for Human Resources Development M A Fatmi said.