Janadhwani CRS @ 90.8 FM

Contact Person: Mr. Ningaraju

Broadcasting Language: Kannada

Genesis: Janadhwani CRS, a unit of the Swami Vivekananda Youth Movement (SVYM), was launched on February 24, 2012, and has since reached out to a potential population of 2.7 lakh people in 256 villages, comprising 39 Gram Panchayats in the HD Kote and Sarguru taluks, spanning a radius of about 35 kilometres. The inception of Janadhwani CRS aims to promote the welfare of the local community through interventions in different critical areas that deter their growth. The CRS strives to be a part of the daily lives of the community members and inspire positive change in their lives.

Thematic Focus: Janadhwani CRS’ primary focus areas include water sanitation and hygiene, maternal and child health, tele-rehabilitation of PwDs, health, yoga, education, folk songs, counselling, youth empowerment, legal empowerment, spirituality and devotion, and women empowerment. The CRS aims to drive the overall growth of the community through efforts in these focus areas.

Sustainable Development Goals: Janadhwani Radio aspires to work on all the goals and primarily focuses on the following:

SDG 9: Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure

SDG 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities

SDG 14: Life Below Water

Primetime Programmes: Janadhwani CRS has a large pool of programmes for its primetime slots. These programmes are designed in a variety of formats and focus on different issues to keep the audiences entertained and informed. The programmes are based on health, education, legal assistance, agriculture, addictions and abuse, addressing women’s struggles, among many others. The programmes include live phone-in interactions with government officials, doctors, and other experts, and also provide space for tele-rehabilitation. Different social and concurrent issues are also addressed through the programmes. Tribal communities also find a platform through the programmes to showcase their talent and voice their concerns. 

Divyanga Deepthi, Nammura Vaibhava, Kanoonu Salahe, special programs like Kalarava, Mussanje, Samanya Jnana, Janadhwani Phalashruthi, and Maneye Modala Paata Shale are some of the primetime programmes. 

Innovations in format or any other way: Janadhwani CRS organises phone-in programmes with government officials which are also telecast live through Facebook. The CRS organises concurrent radio programmes across different community radio stations and YouTube. The CRS also actively promotes community-based events like tree planting, rallies, and clean-up drives.

Core Team: The core team of Janadhwani CRS is constituted of five members that include the CEO, Director, Technical Advisor and Content Advisor, who are supported by the Programme Manager, M&E Officer, M&E Consultant, and a CRS production team of eight members. 

Major Projects Undertaken: Janadhwani CRS was a partner in ‘Shudhha Jala Swachha Nela’ initiative in association with the Rural Drinking Water and Sanitation Department (RDWSD), Government of Karnataka (GoK), and ‘Lekkada Katte, Lekkada Padasale’ in association with Radio Mathematics Programme, Department of Science and Technology (DST), Government of India (GoI).

Sustainable Strategies: Janadhwani CRS looks out for supporting awareness activities of various projects of Government and Non-Governmental Organisations. Janadhwani CRS is also planning to expand into other forms of awareness media such as social media, exhibitions, street plays, etc. 

Number of listeners and Potential Outreach: The outreach potential of Janadhwani CRS is nearly 2,70,000 and the CRS has an active listener base of approximately 54,000 listeners.

Major concerns in the Community:  Janadhwani CRS strives to offer a voice to the unreached indigenous tribal communities. These communities have been deprived of adequate rehabilitation measures after they were shifted to the fringes of the forest. Hence, the CRS focuses on their health, education, women and youth empowerment, etc. In order to address the issues of tribal and rural communities, the CRS conducts a phone-in programme with government officials. The CRS undertakes various initiatives such as providing timely and appropriate information to the community, sharing knowledge modules part of the education sector, sharing timely inputs for agriculture, sharing information on governance and general issues, empowering youth socially and economically, empowering women to address inequality by offering necessary knowledge input, promoting tribal and non-tribal development through continuous engagement of stakeholders, and conserving local culture and encourage local talent.