Padma Shri for broadcast veteran, Coimbatore resident Ramamurthy Sreedher

Broadcast veteran Ramamurthy Sreedher, who resides in Coimbatore, has won the Padma Shri for 2026 for his services in community radio in India. Known as the ‘Father of Community Radio in India’, Mr. Sreedher moved into Coimbatore in 2021.

“I am elated by the honour. I am happy that radio is recognised in today’s Artificial Intelligence-world. I believe that radio has a role to play, but it should evolve itself into ‘visual radio’, which is practised in countries such as the U.S. Radio should not remain stuck in old age. Radio will definitely save data and money for the consumers. I am even more happy to help with the visual radio vision,” said Mr. Sreedher, who currently lives in a retirement community near Perur in Coimbatore.

Born in Tambaram, Mr. Sreedher, as the Head of the Department of Media Sciences at Anna University in Chennai, set up the Anna Community Radio in 2004, which is regarded as the first community radio in India. He also worked in Indira Gandhi National Open University and has over five decades of experience in radio and television broadcasting, of which 35 years was in Delhi. He was associated with All India Radio, Doordarshan, Gyan Vani and Gyan Darshan to name a few. Aged 78, Mr. Sreedher continues to be driven by community radio, bringing innovation to adapt it to the modern age.