Election Details
The Association of Radio Operators for India (AROI), the apex body representing private FM broadcasters, held its Annual General Meeting on 10 August 2026. At this meeting, Mr. Vijay Garg, Chief Financial Officer of MY FM – the radio division of the Dainik Bhaskar Group (D B Corp Ltd.) – was elected President, taking over from Ms. Anurradha Prasad, Chairperson and Managing Director of BAG Network (Radio Dhamaal), who had led the association for fifteen years.
Industry Context
AROI represents hundreds of private FM stations across metros and Tier 2‑3 cities, reaching more than 200 million listeners each week in over a dozen languages. The body regularly engages with the Ministry of Information & Broadcasting, the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) and other authorities on policy and regulatory matters affecting the radio and audio sector.
Policy Priorities
The newly elected President highlighted four key reforms the industry is seeking:
1. News Parity – permission for private FM stations to broadcast independent news and current‑affairs programmes, aligning radio with other media platforms.
2. Phase III Licence Extension – continuation of the 4 % Adjusted Gross Revenue (AGR) licence‑fee model, already approved by the Union Cabinet, for new cities.
3. GST Rationalisation – reduction of the Goods and Services Tax on radio from the current 18 % to 5 %, bringing it in line with the print media rate.
4. FM Chip Activation – conversion of the 2023 Ministry of Electronics & Information Technology (MEITY) advisory into a mandatory directive that requires FM receiver chips to be installed in every mobile phone sold in India.
Vijay Garg Profile
Mr. Garg is a Cost and Management Accountant (ICMA) and a graduate of the University of Delhi. He brings close to thirty years of financial and business leadership in the media sector, with more than two decades specifically in radio. His career began in corporate finance at Oberoi Hotels & Resorts, followed by a stint as CFO of Red FM. He joined the Dainik Bhaskar Group’s radio business in 2007 and now serves as CFO for the group’s radio operations and several other businesses. Under his stewardship, MY FM has expanded from a regional network to one of the country’s largest FM footprints, currently operating 44 stations across eight states – Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Haryana, Punjab and Chandigarh.
Statements
On his election, Mr. Garg said, “Radio is India’s most local, most inclusive and most cost‑efficient mass medium … Yet the sector today carries a cost structure built for a very different era. My focus as President will be simple and unrelenting: secure media parity for radio, make the economics of the licence sustainable, correct the tax anomaly, and get FM chips switched on in every phone sold in this country. If we get these right, radio will not merely survive — it will power the local economies of Tier 2 and Tier 3 India for the next decade.”
He also praised Ms. Prasad’s tenure, noting that it gave the industry a united voice and placed radio’s case squarely before the Government, and pledged to build on that foundation.
About AROI
The Association of Radio Operators for India is the official representative body for private commercial FM broadcasters nationwide. Its members operate stations spanning metros and Tier 2‑3 cities, collectively reaching over 200 million weekly listeners. AROI’s mandate includes policy advocacy, regulatory engagement and promoting the long‑term growth of the radio and audio industry in India.