To carve a niche for itself on the social media, the All India Radio (AIR) has launched live streaming of its Urdu service, FM Gold on YouTube and an Android based mobile phone application of for its news service.

The services were launched by Information and Broadcasting Minister Manish Tewari.

Speaking on the occasion, Tewari said the advent of AIR on social media platforms was an important step in enhancing its outreach across the country.

With the use of social media, people could now access the content of AIR in any part of the globe, he said.

A statement released by the ministry here said that this initiative would also enable the listeners of AIR to access the archives at one click of a button.

The statement added that the Android based mobile application has been developed for accessing News stories from the AIR News Network.

Tewari said that apart from catering to news and information needs of audiences both domestic and external, this innovative technology would enhance the profile, content and reach of its National and Regional bulletins in Regional Languages in the audio form.

The integration with mobile applications would address the communication needs of the youth and the audience that followed new technologies, the statement said.