Radio Sugar @ 90.8 FM

Contact Person: Mr. Uday Godbole -Station Head

Broadcasting Language: Marathi

Genesis: Radio Sugar is the community radio station of Kasegaon Education Society, which is an initiative of RIT. The broadcast of Radio Sugar started on 20 August 2021. The CRS broadcasts educational and entertaining content for young people, kids, women, seniors, teachers, farmers, etc. Additionally, Radio Sugar invites regional artists to take part in and contribute to its programmes. The motto of Radio Sugar is to encourage community members by celebrating their accomplishments and promoting their well-being. As a result, Radio Sugar has become very popular in the community in a short span of time. 

Thematic Focus: Though Radio Sugar is run by an educational institute, it is the only radio station in the city, and therefore the programmes produced are focused not only on students but all sections of the community, i.e. women, youth, farmers, senior citizens, children etc. 

One of Radio Sugar’s main areas of focus is agriculture. The primary agricultural product of the area is sugarcane, and there are numerous sugar factories in the area. However, cultivating sugarcane requires a lot of water. Water conservation is therefore a key focus area. By introducing farmers to modern irrigation methods, Radio Sugar encourages them to adopt environmental-friendly practices in their farming. 

Sustainable Development Goals:  Radio Sugar broadly focuses its work on the following SDGs:

SDG 4: Quality Education

SDG 13: Climate Action 

Primetime Programmes: Some of the primetime programmes of Radio Sugar are Meethi Morning, Maitrin.com and Nammo Annadata. Meeti Morning is a daily talk show where the radio jockey discusses the latest news, developments, motivational messages and stories with the community. Maitrin.com is a women-oriented programme that discusses many topics like beauty, healthcare, career etc. The show also provides a platform for female community members to share their experiences with the community. Nammo Annadata is an agricultural programme that informs farmers about the most recent irrigation and cultivation methods as well as weather predictions. The farming community has found this programme to be of great help. 

Innovations in format or any other way: Along with conventional broadcasting and narrowcasting, Radio Sugar makes a special effort to connect with the community and maintain that connection. For this, a number of activities like quiz contests, social gatherings, live shows, and competitions are organised. As the CRS is an ancillary of an educational institution, it organises a variety of activities for the student community as well, such as essay-writing competitions, drawing contests, etc., and maintains contact with them through online or in-person activities. 

Core Team: Radio Sugar has a strong team that helps it function efficiently and cater to the needs of the community. It has five staff which include the Station Manager, Programme Manager, Sales Manager and two radio jockeys, and they are assisted by a team of 9 volunteers. 

Major Projects Undertaken: Radio Sugar has worked on numerous national and regional projects with UNICEF, CRA, SMART, and CEMCA in the areas of fact-checking, addressing climate change, and celebrating International Yoga Day.

Sustainable Strategies: At present, Radio Sugar is completely funded by its parent organisation. The CRS also derives revenues from the externally funded projects that it engages in. 

Number of listeners and Potential Outreach: The active listener base of Radio Sugar is nearly 10,000 people and more than a thousand people tune into the programmes through the means of Web Radio. 

Major concerns in the Community: Most of the people in the region belong to the farming community. They require regular, accurate weather forecasts and other information. The CRS tries its best to offer all the information they require. 

Women listeners are very enthusiastic and always eager to participate in programmes, but the lack of radio sets becomes a barrier to reaching the community.