'Helped Mobilise Community Bond': Prasar Bharati CEO As PM Modi's 'Mann Ki Baat' Completes 100 Episodes

PM Modi's 'Mann ki Baat' broadcast has increased the number of people listening to radio and renewed their interest in the medium, Prasar Bharati CEO Gaurav Dwivedi said.

Mann Ki Baat is now translated into 23 Indian languages and 29 dialects.

The monthly 'Mann Ki Baat' radio broadcast hosted by Prime Minister Modi, in which he addresses the people of the country on different topics, ranging from environment, cleanliness to social issues, has helped mobilise "community bond", Prasar Bharati CEO Gaurav Dwivedi has said. Mann Ki Baat, which aired for the first time on October 3, 2014, completed its 100th episode on April 30.

"PM Modi's 'Mann ki Baat' broadcast has increased the number of people listening to radio and renewed their interest in the medium," Dwivedi further said.

Mann Ki Baat is now translated into 23 Indian languages and 29 dialects. The programme is also broadcast in 11 foreign languages -- French, Chinese, Indonesian, Tibetan, Burmese, Baluchi, Arabic, Pashtu, Persian, Dari, and Swahili.

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At the event, a report by IIM Rohtak's Institute for Competitiveness was also released, which claimed the programme helped galvanise people's resolve and action to bring about societal change and transformation.

The report involved extensive study of 99 transcripts of PM Modi's 'Mann Ki Baat' addresses, published from 2014-2023, using Natural Language Processing tools. 

The report's objective was "to identify the most prominently discussed thematic areas in the Mann Ki Baat program". Dwivedi said, as per another study, the radio programme has reached more 100 crore listeners at least once.

The Prasar Bharati CEO further said the programme was currently being aired by more than 500 broadcast centres of All India Radio.

"Report by IIM Rohtak says over 23 crore people religiously tuned into every episode of Mann Ki Baat, about 40 crore people have listened to several episodes and want to listen to all, due to various reasons they are not able to. There are at least 100 crore people out of our population of 142 crores who have at least once heard an episode," said Gaurav Dwivedi.