NEW DELHI: India's radio pubcaster All India Radio (AIR) is starting a daily news bulletin in Maithili language from Darbhanga station of AIR from today.
Deputy prime minister LK Advani would formally inaugurate the bulletin at Darbhanga and would also lay the foundation stone of DD Metro channel.
The minister of information and broadcasting Ravi Shankar Prasad would preside and several union ministers, including CP Thakur, Hukam Narain, Dev Yadav, Sanjay Paswan, Shahnawaz Hussain and Rajiv Pratap Ruddy, MPs (members of parliament) from Bihar and some state leaders would be present on the occasion.
Maithili bulletin would raise the number of languages/dialects to 66 in which AIR broadcasts bulletins. The Maithili bulletin would benefit a total Maithili speaking population of 2.41 crores (24.1 million) in India and Nepal. Maithili speaking population in India accounts for 2.2 crores (22 million) in northern Bihar. 
Madhubani and Darbhanga are the major towns and cultural centres in the region.