Radio Siddhartha @ 90.8 FM

Contact Person: Mr. Shivaji Ganeshan, Ms. Sulochana G.S

Broadcasting Language: Kannada 

Genesis: Radio Siddhartha was set up in 2009 by Sri Siddhartha Centre for Media Studies. The parent organisation is Sri Siddhartha Education Society, Tumakuru. The vision of Radio Siddhartha is to transform its target community in Tumakuru city and its neighbouring villages by educating them about areas that are critical to their well-being. 

The vision and mission of Radio Siddhartha is to promote and to bring awareness to the Community about education, health, agriculture, culture, women empowerment etc. People of Tumakuru city and surrounding villages are benefited by getting various programmes. 

Thematic Focus: Health, culture, women empowerment, and agriculture are the areas that Radio Siddhartha primarily focuses on. The CRS strives to bridge socio-economic gaps in the community by working on aspects like livelihood and education.  The CRS also focuses on preserving the rich local culture and traditions through its programmes. 

Sustainable Development Goals: The SDGs that Radio Siddhartha focuses on are:

SDG 3: Good Health & Wellbeing

SDG 4: Quality Education

SDG 5: Gender Equality 

SDG 6: Clean Water and Sanitation

Primetime Programmes: The primetime programmes broadcast by Radio Siddhartha are Shikshana Vani (an educational programme), Arogya (health-based programme), and English Kalike (programme to improve communication skills in English). In addition to this, the CRS also broadcasts programmes on hygiene and sanitation that aligns with the Swachh Bharat mission. The CRS also creates programmes that incorporate cultural and literary elements to preserve and promote them,  

Innovations in format or any other way: Through its narrowcasting endeavours, the CRS reaches out to the community members and creates awareness about various topics. Recently, it has been promoting sanitation and hygiene awareness in the community in collaboration with the Department of Rural Drinking Water Supply and Irrigation. 

Core Team: The core team at Radio Siddhartha includes the Director, Assistant Director, Station Incharge, Programme Coordinator, Programme Executive, and Programme Production Executives. 

Major Projects Undertaken: Radio Siddhartha has worked on Swachha Bharat Schemes in association with the Department of Rural Drinking Water and Sanitation, supported by the jilla panchayat. The CRS has collaborated with SMART and UNICEF for several initiatives including COVID-19 campaigns which were widely appreciated. Under the Drishti Project in association with the University of Mysuru, the CRS broadcast English learning programmes conducted by teachers for blind students. 

Sustainable Strategies: Radio Siddhartha is financially supported by its parent organisation, Sri Siddhartha Education Society, but is in need of more grants for sustenance. Community radios often lose projects because of the misconceived notion that it is no more effective in reaching out to the masses. The CRS aspires to be a part of more funded projects in the future.

Number of listeners and Potential Outreach: The CRS cover the Tumkur city and five gram panchayats that have a total population of more than ten lakh people.

Major concerns in the Community: The community needs better facilities and infrastructure in many areas including education, health, and sanitation. They need to be made aware of their fundamental rights and entitlements.