Listen to All India Radio Free on Your Phone: The Official App
Hear Akashvani stations from your state, Vividh Bharati's film songs and news bulletins in your language, free on your phone, and see how little data radio uses.
For generations, Akashvani was the sound of the Indian home: the morning news, the cricket commentary, the evening film songs. You no longer need a radio set to hear it. All India Radio's stations stream live, and you can listen to them free on your phone through the official app.
This guide explains what the NewsOnAir app offers, how to find your state's station in your language, where the old film songs are, how the news bulletins and podcasts work, and how much mobile data listening really uses.
Get the official Akashvani radio app
What NewsOnAir is, and who makes it
NewsOnAir is the official app of Prasar Bharati, India's public service broadcaster, which runs both Akashvani (All India Radio) and Doordarshan. On Google Play it is published as "Prasar Bharati (All India Radio, Doordarshan)", carries the Government label, and has more than 5 million downloads.
The app is free. Its Google Play listing shows no ads and no in-app purchases. It brings together live radio, news, podcasts, some live Doordarshan TV channels and videos, so one app covers most of what Akashvani broadcasts.
| What you want | Where to look in the app | Good to know |
|---|---|---|
| A live station from your state | Live Radio | More than 230 AIR channels, including 25 World Service channels |
| Old film songs | Live Radio, then Vividh Bharati | Akashvani's national entertainment service |
| The latest news | News | Text, audio and video, plus alerts |
| A programme you missed | Podcasts | Programmes and news for listening any time |
| DD News or DD Kisan live | Live TV | Uses much more data than radio |
Live stations by state and language
The listing says the app carries more than 230 live AIR channels: over 205 domestic channels and 25 World Service channels, covering all the major regional languages of India. That means your local Akashvani station, broadcasting in your own language, is very likely there.
The app lets you search for channels through a map, which is handy when you know the city but not the station's exact name. On Akashvani's own live radio web page, streams are grouped state by state, with national channels such as News 24x7, Vividh Bharati and Raagam listed first, followed by stations like FM Gold and FM Rainbow in the big cities.
Install and open the app
Get NewsOnAir from Google Play and open it once you are on Wi-Fi or have a steady signal.
Go to Live Radio
This is where all the Akashvani channels are listed.
Find your station
Scroll the channel list, or use the map search to find stations by place.
Tap to play
Give the stream a few seconds to start, then set the volume. If it stutters, move closer to Wi-Fi or wait for a stronger signal.
Old film songs: tune in to Vividh Bharati
If you grew up with the radio, you probably know Vividh Bharati. Prasar Bharati describes it as the country's largest entertainment network, with a mix of film music, skits, short plays and other features. It started in 1957, and long-running shows such as Sangeet Sarita, Jaimala and Hawa Mahal are still part of its story.
Vividh Bharati streams live as a national channel, so you can open it from anywhere. There is no playlist to skip through, because it is radio: the presenter chooses the songs, and the pleasure is partly in not knowing what comes next. Many listeners keep it on in the background through the day.
Your city's FM Gold or FM Rainbow station, and your regional Akashvani station, also mix music with talk and news. It is worth trying two or three stations to see which one feels like home.
News bulletins, in your language
News is where Akashvani is strongest. According to the listing, the app offers a 24x7 live news radio channel, news in text, audio and video, and alerts as stories break. Text news is available in Hindi, English, Urdu, Gujarati and Marathi.
Audio news bulletins are where regional languages shine. The listing says bulletins are available as podcasts in almost 40 languages, so you can hear the day's news in Tamil, Bengali, Odia or many others, at a time that suits you. The NewsOnAir website also keeps the national morning, midday and evening bulletins in English, Hindi and Urdu, alongside regional news archives.
Podcasts and programmes to hear any time
Beyond the news, the Podcasts section keeps AIR programmes available for listening whenever you like. The listing mentions audio magazines in more than 25 languages, hourly news podcasts in English and Hindi, and weekly digests of popular programmes on current affairs, money and public issues.
Podcasts suit a busy day. Play a current affairs programme while you cook, or a weekly digest on the bus, and pause it when you need to. Live radio, by contrast, is best for music and for following news as it happens.
How much mobile data does radio use?
Audio uses far less data than video, which is why radio is such a good fit for a phone plan. The exact amount depends on the quality of each stream, which the app does not always show. As a rough guide, a stream at 64 kbps uses about 29 MB an hour, and one at 128 kbps about 58 MB an hour.
Even at the higher figure, an hour of radio a day stays well under 2 GB a month. Live TV and videos in the app are a different matter and can use many times more, so save those for Wi-Fi if your data is limited.
- Use Wi-Fi at home, and keep mobile data for listening on the move.
- Check your phone's settings to see how much data each app has used this month.
- Play podcasts and news videos on Wi-Fi when you can, rather than on mobile data.
- Some phones still have a built-in FM radio that uses no data at all. It usually needs wired earphones, which work as the antenna.
Tips for steady listening
Streaming radio needs a steady connection rather than a fast one. If a station keeps pausing, try a spot with a stronger signal, switch between Wi-Fi and mobile data, or restart the stream. Busy mobile towers at peak times can cause short gaps that clear up by themselves.
If listening stops when your screen turns off, check your phone's battery-saving settings. Some phones pause apps in the background to save power, and allowing NewsOnAir to run in the background often fixes it.
Setting it up for an older parent
If you are installing the app for a parent or grandparent, open their favourite station once together and show them how to get back to it. Put the app on the home screen, and raise the phone's font size in settings if the text looks small. The app also has a night mode, which makes reading text news easier in a dark room.
A small Bluetooth speaker makes radio sound much fuller than a phone speaker, and it lets the phone stay on the charger while the music plays across the room.
Is the NewsOnAir app free?
Yes. The Google Play listing shows it as free, with no ads and no in-app purchases.
Who publishes the app?
Prasar Bharati, India's public service broadcaster, which runs All India Radio (Akashvani) and Doordarshan. On Google Play the developer is shown as Prasar Bharati (All India Radio, Doordarshan).
Where can I hear old Hindi film songs?
Open Live Radio and choose Vividh Bharati, Akashvani's national entertainment service known for film music. Your city's FM stations are worth trying too.
Can I listen to the news in my regional language?
Very likely. The listing says audio news bulletins are available as podcasts in almost 40 languages, and live stations cover all major regional languages.
How much data will an hour of radio use?
It depends on the stream quality, but audio is light: roughly 29 MB an hour at 64 kbps and 58 MB at 128 kbps. Video uses much more.