Cabinet approves rolling out private FM radio for 234 uncovered new cities

New Delhi: The Union Cabinet on Wednesday approved a proposal to hold third batch of ascending e-auctions for 730 channels in 234 new cities under Private FM Radio Phase III Policy. The estimated reserve price has been pegged at Rs 784.87 crore.

Union Information and Broadcasting Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said here that the Cabinet also approved a proposal to charge an annual license fee (ALF) of FM channel as four per cent of gross revenue excluding GST. This will be applicable for 234 new cities / towns.