Jnanadhwani Community Radio @ 90.8 FM

Contact Person: Mr. N.R. Manjunath (Station Director), Dr. Panduranga Vittal

Broadcasting Language: Kannada

Genesis: Jnanadhwani 90.8 FM started broadcasting on 29 February, 2020. It is owned by Maharaja Education Trust, situated at Gopalaswamy Shishuvihara Institutions, Lakshmipuram, Mysuru. Gopalaswamy Shishuvihara was started by Dr. M.V. Gopalaswamy, Prof of Psychology, University of Mysore.  Dr. M.V. Gopalaswamy was a pioneer in radio, who established the first private radio in South India and gave it the name Akashavani. The CRS was established with his vision to improve the chances of education and provide guidance to village children and youth. The CRS started with just one staff and has grown into a dedicated team of three. Started during the COVID-19 pandemic, the CRS struggled to broadcast SSLC lessons by resource persons in the first year, but the programme was a success.  The CRS then started broadcasting programmes related to COVID-19 by inviting doctors, and counseling sessions for all sections of people enabling them to face the situation. The CRS continues to create pathbreaking impacts in our target community through different projects and effective intervention strategies. 

Thematic Focus:  The focus area of intervention of the CRS has majorly been quality education for children in our target community. It also focuses on girl child welfare, gender equality, professional and economic growth.

Sustainable Development Goals:  The SDGs that the CRS focuses on are 

SDG 3 Good Health and Wellbeing

SDG 4: Quality Education

SDG 5: Gender Equality

Primetime Programmes: The primetime programmes are Vanijyavihara, Vachanaveda, DVG Jnapaka Chitrashale and Neevomme Fail Agabeku. Vanijyavihara is a programme where current topics in economics are discussed. The staff makes quality content which includes inspirational stories, discussions about different fields of study, etc. Vachanaveda is the narration of Sri Ramakrishna’s life, focusing on the older generation and youth. In Jnapaka Chitrashale, the community gets a picture of the cultural scenario of the past. Experts from the field of education, medicine, and health are interviewed on Sundays to discuss career opportunities, scholarships, and other things that can guide the youth toward a better future. 

Innovations in format or any other way: Along with broadcasting, the CRS effectively uses narrowcasting at its educational institutions. The CRS is active on all major social media platforms where it shares regular updates with its audience. 

Core Team: The team includes a Station Director, a Station Manager, a panel of 3 teachers/educators, and 2 core members. The Station Director deals with the stakeholders and is the CRS’ key decision-maker regarding the projects it undertakes; the Station Manager looks after the content and technical assistance; the teachers’ panel provides guidance in curating the content that can help students; and, the core team takes care of content development.

Major Projects Undertaken: The CRS collaborates with leading educational NGOs across the country like CEMCA, Swami Vivekananda Youth Movement, etc., to run campaigns, and intervention projects in the community.  It was part of the Yoga Campaign in 2023, in association with CEMCA and the Ministry of Ayush. 

Sustainable Strategies:   The CRS receives technical and financial support from our parent organization Maharaja Education Trust, which is around 95 percent of its annual budget. Apart from this, the sustainable strategy is to be self-sufficient and meet at least 30 percent of the annual expenses by means of collaborative projects with leading NGOs and government departments.  

Number of listeners and Potential Outreach: The internet provider clocks a regular listener-base of around 1600.

12 villages – Bogadi, Mahadevapura, Gurur, Gejjagalli, Udbur, Parasayyanahundi, Dadadahally, Koodanahally, Kadakola, Hadajana, Dattagally, Tandya, and some areas of the city of Mysore fall within the broadcast range. As per the census reports collected from the local bodies, these villages have a total population of around 1,50,000. From this outreach potential, the CRS has an active listener base of around 2,000 people. 

Major concerns in the Community: Better educational and healthcare facilities should be made accessible to everyone in the community, irrespective of any barriers. The youth in the community should be supported through different initiatives to help them become capable individuals with a sustainable livelihood.