AIR launches free SMS service to provide news updates
11 Sep 2013
Leveraging its massive network, All India Radio, yesterday launched a free SMS service to provide news updates to its subscribers. Information and broadcasting minister, Manish Tewari launched the service in New Delhi yesterday.
The service, started off as a pilot project six months ago and after gathering 2 lakh subscribers, is now being thrown open to the public and aimed to gather a 5-lakh subscriber base by the month end.
Subscribers are offered free messages with news and also public utility messages.
Persons who wish to subscribe need to send SMS 'AIRNEWS' 'their name' to 08082080820 or give a missed call to the mentioned number.
The recovery of the cost of sending messages would happen through ministries and departments that wanted to send their utility messages along with the news updates.
''The resource generated through such public utility schemes will enable the News Services Division of AIR to bear the cost incurred towards generating such SMSes,'' said an official statement.
Tewari yesterday also inaugurated the Bharat Nirman portal to provide an interactive digital platform on the UPA's initiatives.
The portal allows users to get information about Bharat Nirman schemes at a single place.
Speaking at the launch of the portal, Tewari said the aim was to ensure "I&B ministry has an institutionalized presence".
Bharat Nirman campaign aims to highlight the major achievements of the government in the run-up to the 2014 general elections. Last month saw the launch of the second phase of the campaign.
As part of the Bharat Nirman campaign, 32,612 audio-visual spots had been telecast in phase-I and over 36,000 in phase-II so far, with over 7.50 lakh subscribers reached via Twiter and Facebook, PTI reports.
The print space had also seen over 27,000 insertions in over 700 papers in phase I and II. Community radio had also been included under the campaign, Tewari said.
According to secretary in the ministry, Bimal Julka, they had created four new audio-video spots on government schemes like RTI, MNREGA, Aadhar and Food security which would be showed to cinema audience in tier II cities, PTI reported.
According to Tewari, AIR was able to access information from extremely remote parts of the country, adding that with the service, government wanted to ensure events taking place in northeast and other parts got mainstreamed.