So even as the country remained glued tobudget-related interviews and panel discussions on their television sets, for Baramati it was this radio that became the channel for all debates and opinions. ``Since farmers know that we have such an effective communication medium in our village, they themselves came and expressed their views about the union budget on air," says Anil Sawale, announcer for Vasundhara.

But the union budget is just one aspect of it. Four hours in the morning and four hours in the evening, farmers in this area can listen to a number of programs like talk shows, cookery shows, Vachal tar vachal- a show on importance of education. " We even try to involve local people in our programs. There are so many farmers who through a number of experiments increase the productivity of their soil. We call such farmers to tour our studio and give them a chance to narrate their success stories," says Sawale.

"The main source of income in this area is agriculture and agro-based industries. This radio channel is transmitted in the radius of five kilometers so that farmers in the area can benefit from this," says Deepali Jadhav, in charge of Vasundhara.

Though the radio station is designed keeping in mind the agriculture community, the agro-based businesses have also benefited from this. " We also give them a chance to advertise their product with us. With the rates as low as Rs 1.25, the small scale businessmen also market their products for the local market," says Jadhav.