India’s Information and Broadcasting Minister said the rollout of the third phase of FM expansion in the country is “on track and on time”.

The Minister, Prakash Javadekar was speaking to IANS on the sidelines of the inaugural session of The Big Picture Summit by Confederation of Indian Industry (CII).

E-auctions for 839 new frequencies across 294 cities in the country are expected to be completed by December.

The first two phases of FM expansion in the country auctioned 245 frequencies across metropolitan areas and medium-sized cities, while phase III will take private FM to some of India’s smallest cities and towns.

Javadekar also reiterated that private FM channels would be allowed to broadcast news from the national broadcaster All India Radio (AIR), free of charge.

Speaking to india.com, he said: “Whoever wants to use AIR news, can use that free. AIR gives a lot of news, we will work like a news agency where we will provide more news.”