Radio City – India’s first private FM station – has celebrated its 12th anniversary and a milestone for radio in the country with the ‘I Love My City’ campaign.

Over the past few days, the station’s on-air talent has been soliciting listeners to honour what is special about the city they live in.

Radio City was the first fully private station to go on air, launching in Bangalore on July 3 2001.

A previous attempt at private FM radio in 1993 saw the Indian government lease blocks of airtime to private operators.

The model was shelved five years later to make way for the auction of 108 frequencies across the country.

Later, a further two hundred or so frequencies were sold off.

Paying tribute to her staff on the 12th anniverary of the station’s launch, Radio City’s CEO Apurva Purohit said:  “Our employees, the most important resource of our organisation, have always delivered beyond expectations and industry benchmarks.”

Radio City is consistently rated number one in the key cities of Mumbai and Bangalore, according to Radio Audience Measurement (RAM).

It now operates in 20 cities including the capital New Delhi.

The original station, Radio City Bangalore, was recently voted ‘Best FM station in Bangalore’, at the India Radio Forum 2013.

The team also won gold at the New York Festivals for radio programming and production.

Radio City is widely expected to bid for additional frequencies during phase III of radio licensing which is overdue.