♦ National Broadcasting Day is observed every year in India on July 23. On July 23, 1927, the Indian Broadcasting Company (IBC) came into existence as the country’s first radio company. This was followed by the launch of All India Radio (AIR) in April 1930 as the Indian Broadcasting Service.

♦ By the time of India’s independence in 1947, the country had six AIR radio stations in Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, Lucknow and Tiruchirappalli. The name of AIR was changed to Akashvani in 1956. Today, AIR has 262 radio stations that broadcast nearly 650 news bulletins in 90 languages.