 MOP FM 91.2
 March 12, 2005, will be a red letter day for the MOP Vaishnav College for Women, Nungambakkam, Chennai, as it launches a community radio station, 'MOP FM@ 91.2', said to be the first-of-its kind for a private college in the country. A Rs 50 lakh state-of-the-art studio has been set up in the college campus for the purpose.
The college, which has many firsts to its credit, is the first private college in the country to have been granted an operating licence for running a community radio station, said its secretary P Haridas, and principal, Dr K Nirmala Prasad. This is in accordance with the Union government's decision to grant Community Broadcasting Licences to well-established educational institutions/organisations recognized by the Central government or the state government. The licence is granted for an FM transmitter of the power of 50 watts.
 The community radio station will be launched by Dr. Arun Nigavekar, Chairman, University Grants Commission, New Delhi. 'Yuvashakthi'. a fortnightly newspaper of the college, will also be released on the same day by Prof S P Thyagarajan, Vice-Chancellor, University of Madras.
MOP FM is set at 91.2 frequency and covers the city of Chennai, Haridas said. The programmes will be broadcast from 6.30 a.m to 7.30 a.m with a repeat broadcast from 6 p.m. to 7 p.m. The programmes will be in English, Tamil and Hindi and will be entirely based on public interest, the main objectives being community service, education, entertainment, information and development, he added.
Issues relating to education, health, environment and rural development will be highlighted. The content will reflect the local flavour and fragrance. A wide array of programmes ranging from interviews, documentaries, and docu-dramas to plays and other interactive programmes will be broadcast. These are conceptualised and produced by the students themselves, said Nirmala
Prasad.
An audio studio with state-of-the-art technology aids this venture. "The community radio station aims to channelise the youth power in the right direction for the benefit of society," says Chitra, who heads the project team.
Nirmala Prasad said the students had worked on the material, interviews and post-production. They had done the interviews and the jingles too, she pointed out. However, there will be no film songs or commercial ads in the programmes though film personalities may be used in putting out relevant messages for the benefit of the youth, in particular. The programme duration could be extended in future, depending on the response.
The programmes can be heard clearly within a 7.5 km radius in the city, though it could be heard 10 to 15 km away too, with a slightly diminished level of quality.
 Yuvashakthi, the college newspaper, is also a student venture targeted at the youth.
It serves as a forum for students to express their views and bring to light issues that are of concern to the youth. The newspaper will cover events of various schools and colleges.
It will include inspirational stories of student achievers and informative and interesting articles on various topics. "Today's younger generation has great creative imagination and infinite energy. They need to focus their potential in a productive way. I am sure that this endeavour will reach the youth through the youth themselves," emphasises Vyjayanthi, coordinator of the Yuvashakti project.
MOP Vaishnav College for Women was instituted in 1992. It was the first self-financing college in the country to have been granted autonomy. The college has also been accredited by NAAC. It believes in empowerment of women and aims at making learning an enriching experience.
The FM and the newspaper are yet another step towards the achievement of this goal. The college has already been moulding fresh talent for the media industry by running courses such as B.Sc. Visual Communication, B.Sc. Electronic Media, B.A. Journalism, M.A. Communication and M.A. Public Relations, said Kavitha, dean, Visual Communication.
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