World Amateur Radio Day is celebrated every year on April 18. Radio amateurs or HAM radio operators worldwide take the airwaves in celebration of this special day. 

It was on this day in 1925 that the International Amateur Radio Union (IARU) was formed in Paris. Since then, the IARU has worked tirelessly to broaden the range of bandwidth available to radio fans and has expanded to include members all over the world from 25 countries at last count. Interest in amateur radio has only grown since those early days, with over 30,00,000
licensed operators spreading their voices across the globe today. It's through this medium that people from different nations and cultures were able to spread ideas with great speed, long before an email or video chat came into being. Today IARU is a federation of more than 160 national amateur radio organizations scattered around as many countries and separate territories. The International Secretariat of the IARU is ARRL. The National Association for Amateur Radio in the United States. 

The theme for World Amateur Radio Day 2022 is announced. The IARU administrative council has chosen " Celebrating Amateur Radio's contribution to society " as the theme for World Amateur Radio Day this year. 

Yes, it is a rightly chosen theme. Amateur radio play's a very important role for the society. We can remember when the outbreak of COVID - 19 first pushed much of the world into lockdown, one traditional - some might even say old-fashioned hobby experienced a spectacular revival. Amateur radio lets people interact socially, intensively without ever meeting in person. In those early days of the pandemic, radio amateurs reached out to each other spontaneously via the airwaves at the local, national and global levels. These days HAM radio clubs in Europe and other regions are meeting on-the-air more frequently providing familiar and friendly voices as well as regular check-ins on those, such as elderly who may be confined at home. Special event stations mostly transmitting from people's homes, shared the messages, "Stay safe" in various countries and languages, reminding us to help limit the spread of the deadly virus. Over the past year on-air activity has reached unprecedented levels. 

Even in our small state of Tripura, starting just a few years ago, amateur radio activity is going on in full swing. Tripura HAM Radio club has been established. With active support from the Revenue department of Government of Tripura, ASOC Examination for for obtaining Amateur Station Operation Certificate has been arranged three times in Agartala. This year on February 13 World Radio Day, more than 300 candidates appeared in the examination in the state capital Agartala. As far as my knowledge goes, more than 250 examinees have qualified for the license from this state. 

So, we must put our all out efforts to popularise this fascinating hobby among more and more people and spread it's message especially to our younger generations. Because, it's not simply a hobby, it will be helpful for the society during a disaster also. World Amateur Radio Day gives us this opportunity every year.