On the eve of Engineers Day, Broadcast Engineering Society (India) Pune Chapter organised a special event at Akashvani auditorium to showcase the Digital Transmission capabilities to All India Radio. Around 150 selected students from 14 top Engineering colleges of Pune along with their faculty members were invited at Akashvani auditorium on 14-09-2018 for this special function. After a brief description of the activities of BES(I) and a welcome address by Mr. Ravindra Ranjekar, Hon. Secretary BES(I) Pune Chapter, Mr. Ashok Kale, Assistant Director (E) and In-charge of Digital Radio Transmissions Pune gave a Keynote lecture on 'Digital Broadcasting – Implementation in India'. This lecture was followed by showcasing the live demonstration of Digital Radio Broadcasting (DRM) which has already been implemented at Hadapsar, High Power Transmitter at Akashvani Pune. The audience was exposed to the comparative listening of Analog Radio Signals (AM) and Digital Radio Signal (DRM). There was significant quality enhancement when the Digital Radio was switched ON. The Engineering college students were also shown various constellation diagrams and Data capabilities of the professional Digital Radio Receiver which were projected on screen.
After this session on Digital Radio Broadcasting, the teams of Engineering college students who had developed and demonstrated their projects related to broadcasting in 2017 were felicitated on stage by office bearers of BES(I) Pune Chapter. These participants, many of whom have now joined reputed companies as fresh engineers, shared their experiences and stated that this out of box competition generated a great deal of interest about Science and Technology of Broadcasting among the Engineering college students. This gave them the opportunity to work in a real time domain and on actual ground projects. Mrs. Sangeeta Upadhye, Vice President BES(I), then announced the broadcasting project competition for this year and gave a thought provoking presentation on the possible project themes. This brain storming session helped the Engineering college students and faculty to identify the possible areas of their work, which can culminate as successful projects for development of broadcasting in our country. The event ended with formal speeches from Mr. Ashish Bhatnagar, President BES (I) Pune Chapter, Mrs Kalpana Gokhe, Vice President BES(I) Pune Chapter and thanks giving speech by Mr. Ashok Bhapkar, Hon. Treasurer BES(I) Pune Chapter.