Amateur radio or

ham radio Amateur radio, also known as ham radio, is the use of the radio frequency spectrum for purposes of non-commercial exchange of messages, wireless experimentation, self-training, private recreation, radiosport, contesting, and emergency communic ...

is practised by more than 22,000 licensed users in

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

. The first

amateur radio operator An amateur radio operator is someone who uses equipment at an amateur radio station to engage in two-way personal communications with other amateur operators on radio frequencies assigned to the amateur radio service. Amateur radio operators hav ...

was licensed in 1921, and by the mid-1930s, there were around 20 amateur radio operators in India. Amateur radio operators played an important part in the

Indian independence movement The Indian independence movement was a series of historic events with the ultimate aim of ending British Raj, British rule in India. It lasted from 1857 to 1947. The first nationalistic revolutionary movement for Indian independence emerged ...

with the establishment of illegal pro-independence radio stations in the 1940s. The three decades after India's independence saw only slow growth in the number of operators until the then

Prime Minister of India The prime minister of India (IAST: ) is the head of government of the Republic of India. Executive authority is vested in the prime minister and their chosen Council of Ministers, despite the president of India being the nominal head of the ...

and amateur radio operator,

Rajiv Gandhi Rajiv Gandhi (; 20 August 1944 – 21 May 1991) was an Indian politician who served as the sixth prime minister of India from 1984 to 1989. He took office after the 1984 assassination of his mother, then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, to beco ...

(VU2RG), waived the import duty on wireless equipment in 1984. Since then, numbers have picked up, and , there were more than 16,000 operators in the country. Amateur radio operators have played a vital role during disasters and national emergencies such as earthquakes, tsunamis, cyclones, floods, and bomb blasts, by providing voluntary emergency communications in the affected areas. The

Wireless and Planning and Coordination Wing The Wireless Planning & Coordination Wing (WPC) is a Wing of Department of Telecommunications coming under the Ministry of Communications of the Government of India. The department is responsible for issuing amateur radio licenses, allotting the ...

(WPC)—a division of the

Ministry of Communications and Information Technology A Communications Ministry or Department of Communications is a ministry or other government agency charged with communication. Communications responsibilities includes regulating telecommunications, postal services, broadcasting and print media. T ...

—regulates amateur radio in India. The WPC assigns call signs, issues amateur radio licences, conducts exams, allots frequency spectrum, and monitors the radio waves. Popular amateur radio events include daily ham nets, the annual Hamfest India, and regular DX contests.

History

The first amateur radio operator in India was Amarendra Chandra Gooptu (callsign 2JK), licensed in 1921. Later that year, Mukul Bose (2HQ) became the second ham operator, thereby introducing the first two-way ham radio communication in the country. By 1923, there were twenty British hams operating in India. In 1929, the call sign prefix ''VU'' came into effect in India, replacing three-letter call signs. The first

short-wave Shortwave radio is radio transmission using shortwave (SW) radio frequencies. There is no official definition of the band, but the range always includes all of the high frequency band (HF), which extends from 3 to 30 MHz (100 to 10 me ...

entertainment and public broadcasting station, "VU6AH", was set up in 1935 by E P Metcalfe, vice-chancellor of

Mysore University The University of Mysore is a public state university in Mysore, Karnataka, India. The university was founded during the reign of Krishnaraja Wadiyar IV, the Maharaja of Mysore. The university is recognised by the University Grants Commission ...

. However, there were fewer than fifty licence holders in the mid-1930s, most of them British officers in the

Indian army The Indian Army is the land-based branch and the largest component of the Indian Armed Forces. The President of India is the Supreme Commander of the Indian Army, and its professional head is the Chief of Army Staff (COAS), who is a four- ...

. With the outbreak of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

in 1939, the British cancelled the issue of new licences. All amateur radio operators were sent written orders to surrender their transmitting equipment to the police, both for possible use in the war effort and to prevent the clandestine use of the stations by

Axis An axis (plural ''axes'') is an imaginary line around which an object rotates or is symmetrical. Axis may also refer to: Mathematics * Axis of rotation: see rotation around a fixed axis * Axis (mathematics), a designator for a Cartesian-coordinat ...

collaborators and spies. With the gaining momentum of the

, ham operator Nariman Abarbad Printer (VU2FU) set up the

Azad Hind Radio Azad Hind Radio () was a radio service that was started under the leadership of Subhas Chandra Bose and Adolf Hitler in Nazi Germany in 1942 to encourage Indians to fight for the Axis powers. Though initially based in Nazi Germany, its headquarte ...

to broadcast Gandhian protest music and uncensored news; he was immediately arrested and his equipment seized. In August 1942, after

Mahatma Gandhi Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (; ; 2 October 1869 – 30 January 1948), popularly known as Mahatma Gandhi, was an Indian lawyer, anti-colonial nationalist Quote: "... marks Gandhi as a hybrid cosmopolitan figure who transformed ... anti- ...

launched the

Quit India Movement The Quit India Movement, also known as the August Kranti Movement, was a movement launched at the Bombay session of the All India Congress Committee by Mahatma Gandhi on 8th August 1942, during World War II, demanding an end to British rule in ...

, the British began clamping down on the activities of Indian independence activists and censoring the media. To circumvent media restrictions,

Indian National Congress The Indian National Congress (INC), colloquially the Congress Party but often simply the Congress, is a political party in India with widespread roots. Founded in 1885, it was the first modern nationalist movement to emerge in the British Em ...

activists, led by

Usha Mehta Usha Mehta (25 March 1920 – 11 August 2000) was a Gandhian and freedom fighter of India. She is also remembered for organizing the Congress Radio, also called the ''Secret Congress Radio'', an underground radio station, which functioned for f ...

, contacted Mumbai-based amateur radio operators, "Bob" Tanna (VU2LK) and Nariman Printer to help broadcast messages to grass-roots party workers across the country. The radio service was called the "

Congress Radio Congress Radio, also known as Azad Radio, was an underground radio station that operated for about three months during the Quit India Movement of 1942, a movement launched by Mahatma Gandhi against the British Raj for Indian Independence Moveme ...

", and began broadcasting from 2 September 1942 on 7.12 MHz. The station could be received as far as Japanese-occupied Myanmar. By November 1942, Tanna was betrayed by an unknown radio officer and was forced to shut down the station. Temporary amateur radio licences were issued from 1946, after the end of World War II. By 1948, there were 50 amateur radio operators in India, although only a dozen were active. Following India's independence in 1947, the first amateur radio organization, the Amateur Radio Club of India was inaugurated on 15 May 1948 at the

School of Signals The Royal Corps of Signals (often simply known as the Royal Signals – abbreviated to R SIGNALS or R SIGS) is one of the combat support arms of the British Army. Signals units are among the first into action, providing the battlefield communi ...

Mhow Mhow, officially Dr. Ambedkar Nagar, is a town in the Indore district in Madhya Pradesh state of India. It is located south-west of Indore city, towards Mumbai on the old Mumbai-Agra Road. The town was renamed as ''Dr. Ambedkar Nagar'' in 20 ...

Madhya Pradesh Madhya Pradesh (, ; meaning 'central province') is a state in central India. Its capital is Bhopal, and the largest city is Indore, with Jabalpur, Ujjain, Gwalior, Sagar, and Rewa being the other major cities. Madhya Pradesh is the seco ...

. The club headquarters was later moved to

New Delhi New Delhi (, , ''Naī Dillī'') is the capital of India and a part of the National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT). New Delhi is the seat of all three branches of the government of India, hosting the Rashtrapati Bhavan, Parliament House ...

, where it was renamed the Amateur Radio Society of India (ARSI) on 15 May 1954. As India's oldest amateur radio organization, ARSI became its representative at the

International Amateur Radio Union The International Amateur Radio Union (IARU) is an international confederation of national organisations that allows a forum for common matters of concern to amateur radio operators worldwide, and collectively represents matters to the Internatio ...

. Partly due to low awareness among the general population and prohibitive equipment costs, the number of licensed amateur radio operators did not increase significantly over the next two decades, numbering fewer than a thousand by 1970. CW (

Morse code Morse code is a method used in telecommunication to encode text characters as standardized sequences of two different signal durations, called ''dots'' and ''dashes'', or ''dits'' and ''dahs''. Morse code is named after Samuel Morse, one of ...

) and AM were the predominant modes at that time. The electronic equipment was mostly

valve A valve is a device or natural object that regulates, directs or controls the flow of a fluid (gases, liquids, fluidized solids, or slurries) by opening, closing, or partially obstructing various passageways. Valves are technically fittings ...

-based, obtained from

surpluses. During the mid-1960s, the modes of operation saw a change from Amplitude Modulation to

Single Side Band In radio communications, single-sideband modulation (SSB) or single-sideband suppressed-carrier modulation (SSB-SC) is a type of modulation used to transmit information, such as an audio signal, by radio waves. A refinement of amplitude m ...

(SSB) as the preferred communication mode. By 1980, the number of amateur radio operators had risen to 1,500. In 1984, then Indian Prime Minister,

, waived the import duty for wireless equipment. After this, the number of operators rose steadily, and by 2000 there were 10,000 licensed ham operators. As of 2007, there are more than 17,000 licensed users in

. Amateur radio operators have played a significant part in disaster management and emergencies. In 1991, during the

Gulf War The Gulf War was a 1990–1991 armed campaign waged by a 35-country military coalition in response to the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait. Spearheaded by the United States, the coalition's efforts against Iraq were carried out in two key phases: ...

, a lone Indian ham operator in

Kuwait Kuwait (; ar, الكويت ', or ), officially the State of Kuwait ( ar, دولة الكويت '), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated in the northern edge of Eastern Arabia at the tip of the Persian Gulf, bordering Iraq to the nort ...

, provided the only means of communication between stranded Indian nationals in that country and their relatives in India. Amateur radio operators have also played a helpful part in disaster management. Shortly after the 1993 Latur and

2001 Gujarat earthquake The 2001 Gujarat earthquake, also known as the Bhuj earthquake, occurred on 26 January, India's 52nd Republic Day, at . The epicentre was about 9 km south-southwest of the village of Chobari in Bhachau Taluka of Kutch District of Gujarat ...

s, the central government rushed teams of ham radio operators to the epicentre to provide vital communication links. In December 2004, a group of amateur radio operators on

DX-pedition A DX-pedition is an expedition to what is considered an exotic place by amateur radio operators and DX listeners, typically because of its remoteness, access restrictions, or simply because there are very few radio amateurs active from that pl ...

on the Andaman Islands witnessed the

2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami An earthquake and a tsunami, known as the Boxing Day Tsunami and, by the scientific community, the Sumatra–Andaman earthquake, occurred at 07:58:53 local time (UTC+7) on 26 December 2004, with an epicentre off the west coast of northern Suma ...

. With communication lines between the islands severed, the group provided the only way of relaying live updates and messages to stations across the world. In 2005, India became one of few countries to launch an

amateur radio satellite An amateur radio satellite is an artificial satellite built and used by amateur radio operators. It forms part of the Amateur-satellite service. These satellites use amateur radio frequency allocations to facilitate communication between amate ...

, the

HAMSAT HAMSAT also known as HAMSAT INDIA, VU2SAT and VO-52 is a microsatellite weighing , providing amateur radio satellite communications services for Indian and international amateur radio operators. This satellite carries the in-orbit designation of V ...

. The

Indian Space Research Organisation The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO; ) is the national space agency of India, headquartered in Bengaluru. It operates under the Department of Space (DOS) which is directly overseen by the Prime Minister of India, while the Chairman ...

(ISRO) launched the

microsatellite A microsatellite is a tract of repetitive DNA in which certain DNA motifs (ranging in length from one to six or more base pairs) are repeated, typically 5–50 times. Microsatellites occur at thousands of locations within an organism's genome. ...

as an auxiliary payload on the

PSLV The Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) is an expendable medium-lift launch vehicle designed and operated by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO). It was developed to allow India to launch its Indian Remote Sensing (IRS) satellite ...

-6.

Licence

The Indian Wireless Telegraph (Amateur Service) Amendment Rules, 2009 lists two license categories: # Amateur Station Operators' Licence (General) # Amateur Station Operators' Licence (Restricted) After passing the examination, the candidate can proceed to apply for an amateur radio licence certificate. After clearance, the WPC grants the licence along with the user-chosen call sign. This procedure can take up to 12 months.

Examination

''Amateur Station Operator's Certificate'' or ''ASOC'' is the examination that needs to be passed to receive an amateur radio licence in India.Section 7 The exam is conducted by the

(WPC), which comes under the

Department of Telecommunications The Department of Telecommunications, abbreviated to DoT, is a Ministry (government department), department of the Ministry of Communications (India), Ministry of Communications of the executive branch of the Government of India. History Telecom ...

of the

Ministry of Communications A Communications Ministry or Department of Communications is a ministry or other government agency charged with communication. Communications responsibilities includes regulating telecommunications, postal services, broadcasting and print media. T ...

. The examination is held monthly in

Delhi Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, primarily its western or right bank, Delhi shares borders w ...

Mumbai Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' financial centre of India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Mumbai is the second- ...

Kolkata Kolkata (, or , ; also known as Calcutta , the official name until 2001) is the capital of the Indian state of West Bengal, on the eastern bank of the Hooghly River west of the border with Bangladesh. It is the primary business, comme ...

and

Chennai Chennai (, ), formerly known as Madras ( the official name until 1996), is the capital city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost Indian state. The largest city of the state in area and population, Chennai is located on the Coromandel Coast of th ...

, every two months in

Ahmedabad Ahmedabad ( ; Gujarati: Amdavad ) is the most populous city in the Indian state of Gujarat. It is the administrative headquarters of the Ahmedabad district and the seat of the Gujarat High Court. Ahmedabad's population of 5,570,585 (per t ...

Nagpur Nagpur (pronunciation: Help:IPA/Marathi, aːɡpuːɾ is the third largest city and the winter capital of the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is the 13th largest city in India by population and according to an Oxford's Economics report, Nag ...

and

Hyderabad Hyderabad ( ; , ) is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Telangana and the ''de jure'' capital of Andhra Pradesh. It occupies on the Deccan Plateau along the banks of the Musi River (India), Musi River, in the northern part ...

, and every four months in some smaller cities.Appendix II The licence may be awarded to an individual or a club station operated by a group of licensed amateur radio operators. The exam consists of two parts:'' Indian Wireless Telegraphs (Amateur Service) Rules''Annexure III, Appendix I, Section 2.3 # Part I – Written Test ## Section 1: Radio Theory and Practice ## Section 2: Radio Regulations # Part II –

Morse Morse may refer to: People * Morse (surname) * Morse Goodman (1917-1993), Anglican Bishop of Calgary, Canada * Morse Robb (1902–1992), Canadian inventor and entrepreneur Geography Antarctica * Cape Morse, Wilkes Land * Mount Morse, Churchi ...

Test (Not required for Restricted Grade) ## Section 1: Morse Receiving and Sending (Speed: 8 words per minute) ## Section 2: Morse Receiving and Sending (Speed: 8 words per minute) The written test for the Restricted Grade consists of 50 questions related to radio theory and practice and radio regulations (25 questions in each section), that one must attempt in one hour. The written test for the General Grade consists of 100 questions, with 50 questions in each section, that have to be attempted in two hours. A candidate must score a minimum of 40% (50% for General grade) in each written section, and 50% (60% for the General grade) in aggregate for passing the test. The application and licensing procedures are done online through th
SaralSanchar
portal, short for Simplified Application For Registration And Licenses, which is a web portal for license management under the

Radio Theory and Practice

The Radio theory and practice syllabus includes eight subtopics: The first subtopic is the elementary theory of electricity that covers topics on conductors, resistors,

Ohm's Law Ohm's law states that the current through a conductor between two points is directly proportional to the voltage across the two points. Introducing the constant of proportionality, the resistance, one arrives at the usual mathematical equat ...

, power, energy, electromagnets, inductance, capacitance, types of capacitors and inductors, series and parallel connections for radio circuits. The second topic is the elementary theory of alternating currents. Portions include sinusoidal alternating quantities such as peak values, instantaneous values, RMS average values, phase;

electrical resonance Electrical resonance occurs in an electric circuit at a particular '' resonant frequency'' when the impedances or admittances of circuit elements cancel each other. In some circuits, this happens when the impedance between the input and output of ...

, and

quality factor In physics and engineering, the quality factor or ''Q'' factor is a dimensionless parameter that describes how underdamped an oscillator or resonator is. It is defined as the ratio of the initial energy stored in the resonator to the energy los ...

for radio circuits. The syllabus then moves on to semiconductors, specifically the construction and operation of valves, also known as

vacuum tubes A vacuum tube, electron tube, valve (British usage), or tube (North America), is a device that controls electric current flow in a high vacuum between electrodes to which an electric potential difference has been applied. The type known as a ...

. Included in this portion of the syllabus are

thermionic emission Thermionic emission is the liberation of electrons from an electrode by virtue of its temperature (releasing of energy supplied by heat). This occurs because the thermal energy given to the charge carrier overcomes the work function of the mate ...

s with their characteristic curves,

diode A diode is a two-terminal electronic component that conducts current primarily in one direction (asymmetric conductance); it has low (ideally zero) resistance in one direction, and high (ideally infinite) resistance in the other. A diode ...

triode A triode is an electronic amplifying vacuum tube (or ''valve'' in British English) consisting of three electrodes inside an evacuated glass envelope: a heated filament or cathode, a grid, and a plate (anode). Developed from Lee De Forest's 19 ...

s and multi-electrode valves; and the use of valves as

rectifier A rectifier is an electrical device that converts alternating current (AC), which periodically reverses direction, to direct current (DC), which flows in only one direction. The reverse operation (converting DC to AC) is performed by an Power ...

s, oscillators, amplifiers, detectors and frequency changers, stabilisation and smoothing. Radio receivers is the fourth topic that covers the principles and operation of TRF receivers and

Superheterodyne receiver A superheterodyne receiver, often shortened to superhet, is a type of radio receiver that uses frequency mixing to convert a received signal to a fixed intermediate frequency (IF) which can be more conveniently processed than the original carr ...

s, CW reception; with receiver characteristics such as sensitivity,

selectivity Selectivity may refer to: Psychology and behaviour * Choice, making a selection among options * Discrimination, the ability to recognize differences * Socioemotional selectivity theory, in social psychology Engineering * Selectivity (radio), a ...

and

fidelity Fidelity is the quality of faithfulness or loyalty. Its original meaning regarded duty in a broader sense than the related concept of ''fealty''. Both derive from the Latin word ''fidēlis'', meaning "faithful or loyal". In the City of London f ...

;

Adjacent-channel interference Adjacent-channel interference (ACI) is interference caused by extraneous power from a signal in an adjacent channel. ACI may be caused by inadequate filtering (such as incomplete filtering of unwanted modulation products in FM systems), improper t ...

and image interference; AGC and

squelch In telecommunications, squelch is a circuit function that acts to suppress the audio (or video) output of a receiver in the absence of a strong input signal. Essentially, squelch is a specialized type of noise gate designed to suppress weak s ...

; and

signal-to-noise ratio Signal-to-noise ratio (SNR or S/N) is a measure used in science and engineering that compares the level of a desired signal to the level of background noise. SNR is defined as the ratio of signal power to the noise power, often expressed in deci ...

(S/R). Similarly, the next topic on transmitters covers the principles and operation of low power transmitters; oscillators such as the

Colpitts oscillator A Colpitts oscillator, invented in 1918 by American engineer Edwin H. Colpitts, is one of a number of designs for LC oscillators, electronic oscillators that use a combination of inductors (L) and capacitors (C) to produce an oscillation at a certa ...

Hartley oscillator The Hartley oscillator is an electronic oscillator circuit in which the oscillation frequency is determined by a tuned circuit consisting of capacitors and inductors, that is, an LC oscillator. The circuit was invented in 1915 by American enginee ...

crystal oscillator A crystal oscillator is an electronic oscillator circuit that uses a piezoelectric crystal as a frequency-selective element. The oscillator frequency is often used to keep track of time, as in quartz wristwatches, to provide a stable cloc ...

s, and stability of oscillators. The last three topics deal with radio propagation, aerials, and frequency measurement. Covered are topic such as wavelength, frequency, nature and propagation of radio waves; ground and sky waves;

skip distance A skip distance is the distance a radio wave travels, usually including a hop in the ionosphere. A skip distance is a distance on the Earth's surface between the two points where radio waves from a transmitter, refracted downwards by different ...

; and

fading In wireless communications, fading is variation of the attenuation of a signal with various variables. These variables include time, geographical position, and radio frequency. Fading is often modeled as a random process. A fading channel is a ...

. Common types of transmitting and receiving aerials such as

Yagi antenna Yagi may refer to: Places *Yagi, Kyoto, in Japan *Yagi (Kashihara), in Nara Prefecture, Japan *Yagi-nishiguchi Station, in Kashihara, Nara, Japan *Kami-Yagi Station, a JR-West Kabe Line station located in 3-chōme, Yagi, Asaminami-ku, Hiroshima, Hi ...

s, and radiation patterns, measurement of frequency and use of simple frequency meters conclude the topic.

Radio Regulations

Knowledge of the Indian Wireless Telegraph Rules and the Indian Wireless Telegraphs (Amateur Service) Rules are essential and always tested. The syllabus also includes international radio regulations related to the operation of amateur stations with emphasis on provisions of radio regulation nomenclature of the frequency and wavelength, frequency allocation to amateur radio service, measures to prevent

harmful interference Electromagnetic interference (EMI), also called radio-frequency interference (RFI) when in the radio frequency spectrum, is a disturbance generated by an external source that affects an electrical circuit by electromagnetic induction, electrost ...

, standard frequency and time signals services across the world, identification of stations, distress and urgency transmissions, amateur stations,

phonetic alphabets Phonetic alphabet can mean: * Phonetic transcription system: a system for transcribing the precise sounds of human speech into writing ** International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA): the most widespread such system ** (See :Phonetic alphabets for other ...

, and figure code are the other topics included in the portion. Also included in the syllabus are

Q code The Q-code is a standardised collection of three-letter codes that each start with the letter "Q". It is an operating signal initially developed for commercial radiotelegraph communication and later adopted by other radio services, especially ...

s such as QRA, QRG, QRH, QRI, QRK, QRL, QRM, QRN, QRQ, QRS, QRT, QRU, QRV, QRW, QRX, QRZ, QSA, QSB, QSL, QSO, QSU, QSV, QSW, QSX, QSY, QSZ, QTC, QTH, QTR, and QUM; and abbreviations such as AA, AB, AR, AS, C, CFM, CL, CQ, DE, K, NIL, OK, R, TU, VA, WA, and WB.

Morse Code Test

Candidates who appear for the General grade licence examination must also take and pass the Morse receiving and sending test simultaneously. There is no Morse test for the Restricted grade. The test piece consists of a plain language passage of 200 letters which may consist of letters, figures and punctuation marks such as the full stop, comma, semicolon, break sign, hyphen and question mark. ; Receiving : Candidates have to receive for five consecutive minutes at a speed of 8 words per minute, the test piece from an audio oscillator keyed either manually or automatically. Accurately receiving a part of the test piece for one consecutive minute is required to pass the receiving test. A short practice piece is sent at the prescribed speed before the start of the test. Making more than five errors disqualifies a candidate. The average words consist of five characters and each figure and punctuation is counted as two characters. ; Sending : The test piece is similar to the one provided in the receiving section. Candidates are required to transmit by using a straight Morse key for five consecutive minutes at the minimum speed of 8 words per minute. A short practice piece is allowed before the test. Candidates are not allowed more than one attempt in the test. Making more than five errors disqualifies a candidate.

Fees

Reciprocal licensing and operational restrictions

Indian amateur radio exams can only be taken by Indian citizens. Foreign passport holders can apply for reciprocal Indian licences based upon a valid amateur radio license from their country of residence. Indian amateur radio licences always bear mention of location of transmitting equipment. Portable and mobile amateur radio stations earlier required explicit permission from WPC and the fee for mobile endorsement was fixed at ₹200. As of June 2019, amateur radio stations are allowed to operate anywhere in India except those locations that are restricted by the government from time to time. Amateur radio operators from

United States of America The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territo ...

do not have automatic reciprocity in India. The use of US

Federal Communications Commission The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is an independent agency of the United States federal government that regulates communications by radio, television, wire, satellite, and cable across the United States. The FCC maintains jurisdiction ...

(FCC) call-signs is prohibited under Indian law.

Call-signs

The

International Telecommunication Union The International Telecommunication Union is a specialized agency of the United Nations responsible for many matters related to information and communication technologies. It was established on 17 May 1865 as the International Telegraph Unio ...

(ITU) has divided the World into three regions; India is located in ITU Region 3. These regions are further divided into two competing zones, the ITU and the CQ.

Mainland India India is situated north of the equator between 8°4' north (the mainland) to 37°6' north latitude and 68°7' east to 97°25' east longitude. India Yearbook, p. 1 It is the seventh-largest country in the world, with a total area of . Total a ...

and the

Lakshadweep Islands Lakshadweep (), also known as Laccadives (), is a union territory of India. It is an archipelago of 36 islands in the Arabian sea, located off the Malabar Coast. The name ''Lakshadweep'' means "one lakh islands" in Sanskrit, though the Lac ...

come under ITU Zone 41 and CQ Zone 22, and the

Andaman and Nicobar Islands The Andaman and Nicobar Islands is a union territory of India consisting of 572 islands, of which 37 are inhabited, at the junction of the Bay of Bengal and the Andaman Sea. The territory is about north of Aceh in Indonesia and separated f ...

under ITU Zone 49 and CQ Zone 26. The ITU has assigned to India call-sign blocks 8TA to 8YZ, VUA to VWZ, and ATA to AWZ. The WPC allots individual call-signs. Indian amateur radio operators are allotted only the ''VU'' call-sign prefix. The ''V'' or Viceroy, series prefix was allotted to British colonies. at the 1912 London International Radiotelegraphic Convention. VU call-signs are listed according to licence grade: for General (formerly the Advanced Grade and Grade–I) licence holders, the call-sign prefix is VU2; for Restricted (formerly Grade–II and Grade–II Restricted) licence holders, the prefix is VU3. The VU3 prefix has also been granted to foreigners operating in India. , call-signs consist of only letters, not numerals, and the suffix is three characters long. Examples of Indian amateur radio call-signs are "VU2XYZ" and "VU3EGH". In addition to individual and club call-signs, the WPC allots temporary call-signs for contests and special events. For example, in November 2007, the WPC temporarily allotted the prefixes ''AT'' and ''AU'' to selected ham operators to mark the anniversary of the birth of radio scientist

Jagadish Chandra Bose Sir Jagadish Chandra Bose (;, ; 30 November 1858 – 23 November 1937) was a biologist, physicist, Botany, botanist and an early writer of science fiction. He was a pioneer in the investigation of radio microwave optics, made significant contr ...

. The Indian Union territory (UT) of Andaman and Nicobar Islands are assigned the prefix VU4 and the UT of Lakshadweep is assigned VU7. Defunct call-signs include CR8 (for

Portuguese India The State of India ( pt, Estado da Índia), also referred as the Portuguese State of India (''Estado Português da Índia'', EPI) or simply Portuguese India (), was a state of the Portuguese Empire founded six years after the discovery of a se ...

), FN8 (for

French India French India, formally the ( en, French Settlements in India), was a French colony comprising five geographically separated enclaves on the Indian Subcontinent that had initially been factories of the French East India Company. They were ''de ...

), and AC3 (for the former kingdom of

Sikkim Sikkim (; ) is a state in Northeastern India. It borders the Tibet Autonomous Region of China in the north and northeast, Bhutan in the east, Province No. 1 of Nepal in the west and West Bengal in the south. Sikkim is also close to the Siligur ...

, which merged with India in 1975).

Organisation

The WPC is the only authorised body responsible for regulating amateur radio in India. The WPC has its headquarters in

with regional headquarters and monitoring stations in

(Bombay),

(Calcutta), and

(Madras). It also has monitoring stations in

Ajmer Ajmer is one of the major and oldest cities in the Indian state of Rajasthan and the centre of the eponymous Ajmer District. It is located at the centre of Rajasthan. It is also known as heart of Rajasthan. The city was established as "''Aj ...

Bangalore Bangalore (), officially Bengaluru (), is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Karnataka. It has a population of more than and a metropolitan population of around , making it the third most populous city and fifth most ...

Darjeeling Darjeeling (, , ) is a town and municipality in the northernmost region of the Indian state of West Bengal. Located in the Eastern Himalayas, it has an average elevation of . To the west of Darjeeling lies the easternmost province of Nepal, ...

Gorakhpur Gorakhpur is a city in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, along the banks of the Rapti river in the Purvanchal region. It is situated 272 kilometers east of the state capital Lucknow. It is the administrative headquarters of Gorakhpur dist ...

Jalandhar Jalandhar is the third most-populous city in the Indian state of Punjab and the largest city in Doaba region. Jalandhar lies alongside the Grand Trunk Road and is a well-connected rail and road junction. Jalandhar is northwest of the state ...

Goa Goa () is a state on the southwestern coast of India within the Konkan region, geographically separated from the Deccan highlands by the Western Ghats. It is located between the Indian states of Maharashtra to the north and Karnataka to the ...

(Betim),

Mangalore Mangalore (), officially known as Mangaluru, is a major port city of the Indian state of Karnataka. It is located between the Arabian Sea and the Western Ghats about west of Bangalore, the state capital, 20 km north of Karnataka–Ker ...

Shillong Shillong () is a hill station and the capital of Meghalaya, a Indian state, state in northeastern India, which means "The Abode of Clouds". It is the headquarters of the East Khasi Hills district. Shillong is the list of most populous cities in ...

Ranchi Ranchi (, ) is the capital of the Indian state of Jharkhand. Ranchi was the centre of the Jharkhand movement, which called for a separate state for the tribal regions of South Bihar, northern Odisha, western West Bengal and the eastern area ...

Srinagar Srinagar (English: , ) is the largest city and the summer capital of Jammu and Kashmir, India. It lies in the Kashmir Valley on the banks of the Jhelum River, a tributary of the Indus, and Dal and Anchar lakes. The city is known for its natu ...

Dibrugarh Dibrugarh (pron: ˌdɪbru:ˈgɑ:) is an industrial city in Upper Assam with sprawling tea gardens. It is located 435 kms East from the state capital of Dispur. It serves as the headquarters of Dibrugarh district in the state of Assam in ...

Visakhapatnam , image_alt = , image_caption = From top, left to right: Visakhapatnam aerial view, Vizag seaport, Simhachalam Temple, Aerial view of Rushikonda Beach, Beach road, Novotel, Novotel Visakhapatnam, INS Kursura (S20), INS ...

, and

Thiruvananthapuram Thiruvananthapuram (; ), also known by its former name Trivandrum (), is the capital of the Indian state of Kerala. It is the most populous city in Kerala with a population of 957,730 as of 2011. The encompassing urban agglomeration populati ...

. Set up in 1952, the organization is responsible for conducting exams, issuing licences, allotting

frequency spectrum The power spectrum S_(f) of a time series x(t) describes the distribution of power into frequency components composing that signal. According to Fourier analysis, any physical signal can be decomposed into a number of discrete frequencies, ...

, and monitoring the airwaves. It is also responsible for maintaining the rules and regulations on amateur radio. In India, amateur radio is governed by the Indian Wireless Telegraphs (Amateur Service) Rules, 1978, the Indian Wireless Telegraph Rules, the

Indian Telegraph Act, 1885 The Indian Telegraph Act, 1885 is the enabling legislation in India which governs the use of wired and wireless telegraphy, telephones, teletype, radio communications and digital data communications. It gives the Government of India exclusive jur ...

and the

Information Technology Act, 2000 The Information Technology Act, 2000 (also known as ITA-2000, or the IT Act) is an Act of the Indian Parliament (No 21 of 2000) notified on 17 October 2000. It is the primary law in India dealing with cybercrime and electronic commerce. Secon ...

. The WPC is also responsible for coordinating with the

Ministry of Internal Affairs An interior ministry (sometimes called a ministry of internal affairs or ministry of home affairs) is a government department that is responsible for internal affairs. Lists of current ministries of internal affairs Named "ministry" * Ministry ...

and the Intelligence Bureau in running background checks before issuing amateur radio licences. Recently, it was announced that the security clearances were no longer required for the issue of amateur licenses.

Allotted spectrum

The following frequency bands are permitted by the WPC for use by amateur radio operators in India.Annexure V

Awareness drives

Indian amateur radio operators number approximately 22,000. Amateur radio clubs across the country offer training courses for the

Amateur Station Operator's Certificate Amateur radio or ham radio is practised by more than 22,000 licensed users in India. The first amateur radio operator was licensed in 1921, and by the mid-1930s, there were around 20 amateur radio operators in India. Amateur radio operators played ...

. People interested in the hobby would be advised to get in touch with a local radio club or a local amateur radio operator who can direct them to a club that organises training programmes. Recently, many amateur radio clubs, such as, th
Indian Institute of Hams
the Amateur Radio Society of India and th
South India Amateur Radio Society
have conducted physical and virtual training programmes to help more people into taking up amateur radio as one of their hobbies. These clubs also run awareness campaigns from time to time highlighting the role of amateur radio in disaster management in India.

Activities and events

Popular events and activities include Amateur Radio Direction Finding,

hamfest A Hamfest is a convention of amateur radio enthusiasts, often combining a trade show, flea market, and various other activities of interest to amateur radio operators (hams). In the United Kingdom the term rally is more commonly used for amateur ...

JOTA Jota may refer to: __NOTOC__ * Iota (Ι, ι), the name of the 9th letter in the Greek alphabet; * (figuratively) ''Something very small'', based on the fact that the letter Iota (lat. i) is the smallest character in the alphabet; * The name of the ...

QRP operation In amateur radio, QRP operation refers to transmitting at reduced power while attempting to maximize one's effective range. QRP operation is a specialized pursuit within the hobby that was first popularized in the early 1920s. QRP operators gener ...

s, Contesting,

DX communication DXing is the hobby of receiving and identifying distant radio or television signals, or making two-way radio contact with distant stations in amateur radio, citizens' band radio or other two-way radio communications. Many DXers also attempt to ...

s, Light House operation, and Islands on Air. One of the most popular activities is Amateur Radio Direction Finding commonly known as a "

foxhunt Fox hunting is an activity involving the tracking, chase and, if caught, the killing of a fox, traditionally a red fox, by trained foxhounds or other scent hounds. A group of unarmed followers, led by a "master of foxhounds" (or "master of ho ...

". Several clubs across India regularly organize foxhunts in which participants search for a hidden transmitter around the city. A foxhunt carried out in

Matheran Matheran is an automobile-free hill station and a municipal council in the Karjat taluka of the Raigad district located in the Indian state of Maharashtra. Matheran is part of the Mumbai Metropolitan Region, and one of the smallest hill stati ...

near Mumbai in 2005 by the Mumbai Amateur Radio Society was listed in the 2006

Limca Book of Records The ''Limca Book of Records'' is an annual reference book published in India documenting world records held by Indians. The records are further categorized into education, literature, agriculture, medical science, business, sports, nature, advent ...

under the entry "most ham operators on horseback on a foxhunt." Despite being a popular recreational activity among hams, no organization has yet participated in an international event. 200807231359-iia

Hamfest India is an annual event that serves for social gathering and comparison and sales of radio equipment. Most hamfests feature a flea market, where the attendees buy and sell equipment, generally from and for their personal stations. The event also seeks to raise amateur radio awareness in the host city. In 2008,

Gandhinagar Gandhinagar (, ) is the capital of the state of Gujarat in India. Gandhinagar is located approximately 23 km north of Ahmedabad, on the west central point of the Industrial corridor between Delhi, the political capital of India, and Mu ...

hosted the annual hamfest.

hosted the hamfest in November 2009. The 2011 hamfest was held at

Kochi Kochi (), also known as Cochin ( ) ( the official name until 1996) is a major port city on the Malabar Coast of India bordering the Laccadive Sea, which is a part of the Arabian Sea. It is part of the district of Ernakulam in the state of K ...

Kerala Kerala ( ; ) is a state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile regions of Cochin, Malabar, South ...

. Ham nets, where amateur radio operators "check into" are regularly conducted across India. Airnet India, Charminar Net, Belgaum Net, Karavali Net and Nite Owl's Net are some of the well-known ham nets in India.

Amateur radio clubs

*Mangaluru Amateur Radio Club or MARC is an

amateur radio Amateur radio, also known as ham radio, is the use of the radio frequency spectrum for purposes of non-commercial exchange of messages, wireless experimentation, self-training, private recreation, radiosport, contesting, and emergency communic ...

club based in

Mangaluru Mangalore (), officially known as Mangaluru, is a major port city of the Indian state of Karnataka. It is located between the Arabian Sea and the Western Ghats about west of Bangalore, the state capital, 20 km north of Karnataka–Ker ...

. The club was founded of 1976 by a group of active hams. MARC engages in a number of activities, including amateur radio homebrew, amateur radio awareness campaigns, and communication support during the land slide,

flooding A flood is an overflow of water ( or rarely other fluids) that submerges land that is usually dry. In the sense of "flowing water", the word may also be applied to the inflow of the tide. Floods are an area of study of the discipline hydrolog ...

. MARC works as per the Rules of Wireless and Planning and Coordination Wing (WPC) of the Ministry of Communications,

Government of India The Government of India (ISO: ; often abbreviated as GoI), known as the Union Government or Central Government but often simply as the Centre, is the national government of the Republic of India, a federal democracy located in South Asia, c ...

(which issues amateur radio licences in India). The call sign of MARC is VU2RDO

References

* Note: Indian call signs do not use numbers as an identifier. This picture is for demonstration purposes only. Amendment in Amateur Radio rule 2010 by WPC (actually based on 200

External links

Ham Radio India

Vigyan Prasar - HAM radio

Amateur Radio Development Society - HAM radio in Kolkata

It's Ham Radio - Amateur Radio News & Blog from India
{{Amateur radio topics