Modi's Mann Ki Baat – connecting India

Prabin K Padhy

(prabin.padhy@gmail.com)

On 27th November 2022, Sunday the 95th Episode of Mann Ki Baat will be aired. Already PM Modi has requested suggestions/ideas on topics that he can discuss in that from Indian Citizens. Interestingly, the once-criticized programme is still running for the last 8 years and steadily increasing its listener base. Needless to say, it's connecting more and more Indians with Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi.

This calls for genuine research on its day-by-day increasing popularity and probably the program with the largest viewership and TRP.

Mann Ki Baat is a Hindi term that is translated as Inner Thoughts. This is again a masterpiece from the great visionary Narendra Modi, who himself hosts the first visually enriched radio programme and shares his thoughts on the day-to-day governance of his government with the general public. It's also another platform where he showcases the achievements of normal citizens with extraordinary talents. On 3rd October 2014, the first monthly show of Mann Ki Baat was launched that has completed 94 episodes by 30th October 2022.

Now, Why RADIO?

It's a well-known fact that PM Modi is highly tech-savvy and keeps a keen interest in technological advancements, then why he preferred a RADIO medium to broadcast his message to the masses? Well, there can be a couple of reasons for that:

Firstly, the geographic location of India is such that, there are many regions covered with hilly areas and forest regions that are still inaccessible but with people living in those regions. Technically speaking, if we compare Television with Radio, TV broadcast has a shorter wavelength than Radio waves, and it diffracts less. This makes TV waves more difficult to pick up in hilly or valley areas than radio waves since there is less diffraction. Hence for a country like India, choosing Radio transmission is preferable to TV or even the Internet to reach out to a maximum number of people almost 90% of the Indian population.

Secondly, post-Doordarshan All India Radio (AIR) was fast losing its charm over a multitude of Indians mostly in urban areas. There was a need to revive the Radio Infrastructure of India while driving New India because of its grassroots connectivity. Incidentally, the Mann Ki Baat program fetched the highest revenues for AIR. According to a report published in Economic Times dated 21st February 2015, a ten-second slot before Mann Ki Baat is being sold at over Rs 2 lakh, while a similar slot costs Rs 10,000-15,000 in the case of important cricket matches. Overall, more than Rs 30 crore have been generated in Advertisement revenues by Prasar Bharati for the Mann Ki Baat program alone.

The Focus: While broadcast reach and revenue generation were the reasons, the prime motive of the program was to reach out to millions of Indians across the country with a positive and sensitive touch. That is the main essence of this programme. Many times, noted personalities like former US President Mr Barack Obama, Padmashree Late Lata Mangeshkar and other personalities from various sectors with remarkable achievements for social development have been guests to the program and there are so many wonderful occasions where the PM interacts directly with the citizens on how the Central Government has been instrumental in changing their lives.

How it happened: Over the years during his dialogue with the people of India, PM Modi talks about very small things related to different regions and how they are worthwhile for the development of the country. He even goes minutely into the small contributions of one person living in the remotest part of the country and highlights the same. With Mann Ki Baat available on Television and Internet, the audio-visual documentaries that describe the achievements of a person or group are an eye-opener for the rest of Indian folks as to how the contribution of such people or groups is making difference to nation-building.

During his discourse with people in Mann Ki Baat, PM Modi always highlights the most pertinent things related to the growth and development of India and its people. If we revisit the past, some important issues he has highlighted that became game changers in India's growth over the years can be visible:

In 2014, he had spoken about using Khadi and how by purchasing Khadi clothes one can contribute towards enlightening the lives of the poor. This has remarkably inspired Indians to buy Khadi by making the product a great success in future. He also talked about Swachh Bharat Abhiyan and its positive impact on our health and daily life. This was like a clarion call and now has inspired millions of youths in the country to take an active part in Swachh Bharat missions. Also, it changed the mindset of people to keep their surroundings clean. Over the entire sessions of 2014, he talked about Mars Mission, and Skill Development and also stressed many issues shared by citizens and urged the youth to stay away from drugs as the money from such activities is used for terrorist activities.

Highlights of 2015 were, the joint discourse with former US President Mr Barack Obama, asking the students to avoid exam stress, soil health, One Rank One Pension (OROP), Yoga, Beti Bachao Beti Padhao, Selfie with Daughter to raise the importance of girl child, Ease of doing business were some of the issues. Mostly 2015 saw how PM Modi spoke freely about many topics of national interest with the Indians from healthcare, education, women & child development, and national security to climate change. Many small things people were unaware of were discussed and explained to people on their governance.

By the end of 2020, it became a regular practice for people to listen to PM Modi. When Corona strikes the World and eventually in India, PM Modi focused on the actions and contributions of Indian citizens in fighting the COVID-19 pandemic. He praised farmers for maintaining food demands. Modi emphasized the practice of wearing masks as the new normal. The government's COVID Warriors website was also mentioned in addition to the 1.25 crore volunteers who have joined. His deliberations included self-reliance and he resorted to Hitopadesh and Panchatantra stories to ease the mental pressures during the lockdown and pandemic crisis. Like an elder in the family, he kept motivating the people of India and advised them on how to come out of stress.

In 2021, India came out a winner against the COVID-19 pandemic with the production of a Vaccine. This marked most of the episodes of Mann Ki Baat during 2021 on the Distribution and Vaccination drive across the country. The moral boosting and clarion call of PM Modi during the vaccination drive led to record vaccinations across the country and Mann Ki Baat played a big role in that regard.

Over the years, since the beginning of Mann Ki Baat, India has come a long way on the growth path crossing over the major hurdle of the COVID-19 pandemic. From an India relying on international aid, we are on the path to self-reliance in all sectors with the Aatma Nirbhar Bharat Abhiyan. While the world is still reeling from the aftermath of the pandemic, India became a saviour by providing vaccinations to many countries. Along with that India is surging ahead economically by becoming the 5th largest economy in the world. All the while, Mann Ki Baat is keeping the faith of Indians alive when the Government is making rapid development in governance. The personal interactions of the Prime Minister with people across far-off corners of India and discussing the Government's action plan on all sectors, it's enhancing the spirits of Indians and also connect them, understanding each other and gaining insights about the functioning of the Government that was not seen since Independence. With around 2 million subscribers and a large pool of citizens gathering at a place to listen to PM Modi, Mann Ki Baat is a game changer in an emerging India, a robust India while invigorating the mindset of the people of India.