In addition to the above, the base of Maitri and the abandoned station of Dakshin Gangotri, also use the Indian callsigns but come under ITU Zone 67 and CQ Zone 38 respectively.[1][2]
AC3 – the former monarchy of Sikkim, now a state of India
Call signs
The International Telecommunication Union (ITU) has divided all countries 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 and the Lakshadweep Islands come under ITU Zone 41 and CQ Zone 22, and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands under ITU Zone 49 and CQ Zone 26. The ITU has assigned to India call-sign blocks 8TA to 8YZ, VTA to VWZ, and ATA to AWZ.[3][4] The WPC allots the individual call-signs, or call sign series.
Call-sign
Description
2**
Callsigns used by early amateur radio operators before 1928. They were later converted to the VU series.[5] (defunct)
AT0JCB to AT9JCB – Special callsign allotted to mark the birth centenary of radio scientist Jagadish Chandra Bose in November/December 2007. See also AU*JCB.[6]
AT3
AT3D – Special callsign for an Antarctic expedition for a 1994-1996 expedition to Antarctica.
AT3ANT – Special callsign for the 3rd and 5th Antarctic Activity Week.
AT6
AT6MM – Mahamastabhishekha Celebrations 2006 Special Event Amateur Radio Station[7]
AT7
AT7CD – Bangalore Amateur Radio Club VU2ARC National Disaster Reduction Day[8]
AU0JCB to AU9JCB – Special callsign allotted to mark the birth centenary of radio scientist Jagadish Chandra Bose in November/December 2007. See also AT*JCB.[6]
AU2BSG
Special Call Sign allotted for India's Second Scout Camp on the AIR (SCOTA) during 22–25 May 2015 at VU2HEN, Calvary Mount, Idukki, Kerala State, India.
VT
(Aircraft)
VU0
Special call sign to celebrate the birth centenary of Mahatma Gandhi in 1969
VU2
General grade (Previously Grade I and Advanced Grade callsigns)
VU3
Restricted grade (Previously Grade II and Grade II restricted callsigns)
Amateur radio or ham radio is practised by more than 16,000 licensed users. 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 have played an important part in the Indian independence movement with the establishment of pro-independence radio stations in the 1940s, which were illegal. The Wireless and Planning and Coordination Wing (WPC), a division of the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology, regulates amateur radio in India. The WPC assigns call signs, issues amateur radio licences, conducts exams, allots frequency spectrum, and monitors the radio waves.