The FM broadcasting in India began in 1977, but boomed after 2001 when the privatisation of FM broadcasting began. AIR's FM LRS ( Local Radio Station ) was inaugurated on 1 July 2000 at 06:00 hours in Kodaikanal relaying Madurai programs in the frequency 100.5 MHz. 100.5 was so much popular and LRS was upgraded to a FM Channel in just two months. The channel covered a radius of about 200km due to its location at 2200 meters above MSL at Kodaikanal. KODAI FM, as it is popularly known. It is the biggest individual FM channel in India in both area coverage and listenership. As of December 2018, there are more than 369 operational private radio stations in more than 101 cities and towns across India. The Government of India-owned All India Radio has about 450 FM stations covering 39% of the area and 52% of the population of India. History FM broadcasting began on 23 July 1977 in Chennai, then Madras, and was expanded during the 1990s, nearly 50 years after it mushroomed in the US. The country first experimented with private FM broadcasts in the small tourist destination of Goa and the large metropolitan areas of Delhi, Kolkata, Mumbai and Chennai. These were followed by private stations in Bangalore, Hyderabad, Jaipur and Lucknow. Until 1993, All India Radio, a government undertaking, was the only radio broadcaster in India. The government then decided to privatise the radio broadcasting sector. It sold airtime blocks on its FM channels in Indore, Hyderabad, Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata, Vizag and Goa to private operators, who developed their own program content. The Times Group operated its brand, Times FM, till June 1998. After that, the government decided not to renew contracts given to private operators. Instead, in 2000, the government announced the auction of 108 FM frequencies across India, opening up the FM broadcasting industry to private competition. Radio City Bangalore, started on July 3, 2001, is India's first private FM radio station. It launched with presenters such as Vera, Rohit Barker, Seetal Iyer, Jonzie Kurian, Geeta Modgil, Suresh Venkat, and Chaitanya Hegde and Priya Ganapathy on the weekends. The Times Group rebranded their radio operations, establishing the Radio Mirchi brand. The first Radio Mirchi station began broadcasting on October 4, 2001 in Indore. Indian policy currently states that these broadcasters are assessed a one-time entry fee (OTEF), for a license period of 10 years.