All India Radio to be available for streaming on Amazon Echo smart speakers; app to come soon

**All India Radio** (AIR) Director General Fayyaz Sheheryar on Saturday announced that the government-owned broadcaster will have its services on **Amazon’s Echo Dot** in the next three-to-six months’ time. [caption id=“attachment_4130123” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Image: Amazon[/caption] Amazon Echo (shortened and referred to as Echo) is a brand of smart speakers developed by Amazon.com. The devices connect to the voice-controlled intelligent personal service Alexa, which responds to the name “Alexa”. “AIR is working to provide Virtual Private Network which will provide seamless broadcasting service to any part of the country,” Sheheryar said on the eve of Public Service Broadcasting Day here in Meghalaya. Informing that websites of AIR are developed which will have all stations across India incorporated, Sheheryar said: “Mobile app of All India Radio is being developed to utilise the existing platforms with over 20 live streaming channels. AIR is also looking forward to introducing HD radio in the coming days.” Congratulating Prasar Bharati on celebrating its 20th anniversary, he said: “AIR is the largest news-gathering and disseminating apparatus in the world. The sheer enormity of its output is mind-boggling.” The Director General said AIR news bulletins, current affair programmes and other genres of programmes, broadcast both in general and special audience segments, have been strengthening the country’s democratic fabric. “AIR, in keeping with modern trends in the broadcasters of repute, is serving its effective tools of radio plus the social media platform which has an amazing following and a quick public response speciality that attracts Indians, Indians abroad and non-Indians with a deep interest in Indian affairs.”