Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw on Thursday, June 11, 2026, inaugurated a new 20 kW FM transmitter in Jaisalmer, Rajasthan, extending Akashvani broadcasting services across the desert district and its surrounding areas. The inauguration is part of a broader government push to strengthen public broadcasting infrastructure along India's western border regions.

Context

Jaisalmer is a strategically significant district in western Rajasthan, sharing a direct border with Pakistan. The region has historically been a priority zone for communications infrastructure, given concerns about signal coverage in sparsely populated desert terrain where reliable access to Indian public broadcasting is considered essential. The new transmitter is expected to improve both the reach and resilience of FM signals for residents of Jaisalmer and nearby areas.

Vaishnaw, who holds the Information and Broadcasting portfolio alongside Railways and Electronics and IT, framed the inauguration as part of a larger effort to 'establish robust infrastructure for Akashvani FM transmitters and Doordarshan centres across border regions.'

Policy Backdrop

Prasar Bharati, the autonomous public broadcaster that operates both Akashvani (formerly All India Radio) and Doordarshan, has been undertaking a phased modernisation and augmentation of FM and medium-wave transmitters since the 2010s. The programme has specifically targeted border states including Rajasthan, Gujarat, and Punjab, where terrestrial coverage gaps have long been identified.

Successive central governments have treated the expansion of public terrestrial broadcasting as a strategic priority in border districts, aiming to ensure that communities in these areas have reliable access to Indian public channels. Higher-power FM installations such as the 20 kW unit in Jaisalmer are designed to improve signal strength and coverage radius in challenging geographic conditions.

Stakeholders and Impact

The primary beneficiaries are residents of Jaisalmer district and the surrounding communities in western Rajasthan, many of whom live in remote, low-density settlements where terrestrial radio remains a critical source of news, emergency alerts, and public information. Improved FM coverage also supports local-language programming and government outreach in the region.

The upgrade is relevant to border security communications as well. Stronger public broadcasting signals reduce the dominance of foreign transmissions in areas close to the international border, a concern that has driven transmitter investments across the Jaisalmer–Barmer–Bikaner corridor for decades.

What's Next

The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting is expected to follow up with additional transmitter inaugurations across other Rajasthan and Gujarat border districts as part of the current phase of Prasar Bharati capital expenditure. The next Union Budget proposals for Prasar Bharati infrastructure will be closely watched for the scale of continued investment in border-region broadcasting. Vaishnaw's post signals that Doordarshan centre upgrades in these zones are also part of the ongoing rollout.