SSC
In which year was the first radio programme broadcast in India?
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Answer: Option D — 1923
Detailed Solution
The first radio broadcasts in India were made in June 1923 by the Radio Club of Bombay, a private amateur radio club. Soon after, the Calcutta Radio Club (November 1923) and the Madras Presidency Radio Club (1924) also began broadcasting. These were small, private efforts with limited reach.
The history of radio broadcasting in India:
1923: The Radio Club of Bombay makes the first broadcast.
1927: The Indian Broadcasting Company (IBC), a private company, starts two stations at Bombay (23 July 1927) and Calcutta (August 1927) under an agreement with the government. 23 July is now observed as National Broadcasting Day.
1930: The IBC goes into liquidation, and the government takes over broadcasting under the name Indian State Broadcasting Service (ISBS), starting on 1 April 1930.
1936: The ISBS is renamed All India Radio (AIR) on 8 June 1936. Lionel Fielden, from the BBC, was the first Controller of Broadcasting.
1947: At independence, India had only six radio stations: Delhi, Bombay, Calcutta, Madras, Tiruchirappalli and Lucknow.
1957: All India Radio is given the name "Akashvani", a name first used by M. V. Gopalaswamy for his station in Mysore in 1936.
1977: The first FM broadcast in India begins in Madras (Chennai) on 23 July 1977.
1997: All India Radio and Doordarshan come under Prasar Bharati, an autonomous body set up under the Prasar Bharati Act, 1990.
"Mann Ki Baat", the Prime Minister's monthly radio programme, began on 3 October 2014.
Television: Doordarshan began as an experimental service in Delhi on 15 September 1959.
Worldwide, the first public radio broadcasts were made in the early 1920s; KDKA in Pittsburgh, USA, made a famous broadcast in 1920. The BBC was founded in 1922.
Why not the other options?
- ✗1927 is when the Indian Broadcasting Company started.
- ✗1936 is when the name All India Radio was adopted.
- ✗1947 is the year of independence.
Quick tip
Remember: Radio Club of Bombay = June 1923 (first broadcast); IBC = 23 July 1927 (National Broadcasting Day); AIR = 1936; Akashvani = 1957; Doordarshan = 1959.
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Firsts in India & World — Preparation
This question tests your understanding of Firsts in India & World, a key topic in the General Knowledge section. The detailed solution above uses a step-by-step approach to show the reasoning, and where available, a shortcut that helps you solve similar questions in under 90 seconds during the actual exam.
This topic covers the first persons and events in India and the world: the first Indian to win a Nobel Prize, the first woman to hold major offices, the first to climb Everest or reach space, and India's first institutions, newspapers, railways and satellites. It also covers the largest, longest, highest and smallest records in India and the world. These are pure memory questions, so revise them as short lists by theme: first women, first in sports, first in science and space, and first in governance. Be careful with the exact wording, such as 'first Indian' versus 'first person of Indian origin', or 'first woman President' versus 'first woman Prime Minister', since options are often designed to exploit this. Practise the firsts in India and the world questions below, written in the style of the general awareness sections of exams such as SSC, banking, railways, CUET GAT, MAH CET and CLAT. Each question comes with a detailed explanation that adds related facts, so every question helps you revise more than one point.