Ahead of 100th Mann Ki Baat, here's how PM Modi revived the radio

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ‘Mann Ki Baat’ monthly radio programme will reach the 100-episode mark on April 30. The programme was first aired on Radio as well as on Television on October 3, 2014. While it has gained widespread popularity across the country, the half-hour monthly engagement of the PM with the country has also on the way resulted in the revival of the waning popularity of the Radio. 

The programme in which PM Modi shares his views and also has occasional direct interactions with the citizens on social issues and events of national importance heralded the revival of Radio as a medium of communication in India. In the age of social media, when people are glued to their phones the popularity of Radio was facing a downward trend. Mann Ki Baat is also translated into multiple Indian languages and aired on the respective regional television channels on Doordarshan. The book 'Mann Ki Baat: A Social Revolution on Radio' was also launched after the completion of the 50 episodes of the radio monthly.    

What PM said in Mann Ki Baat’s first episode?

Prime Minister in the maiden capsule of Mann Ki Baat on October 3, 2014, which lasted for about 14 mins greeted the country on the festival of Vijayadashmi. He spoke about the launch of the Swachh Bharat Mission launched the day before and referred to the invitation to 9 popular personalities to take up the initiative of creating awareness about cleanliness in the country. He also appealed to the citizens to buy Khadi clothes invoking the importance that Mahatma Gandhi attached to the cloth material. 

In the first Mann Ki Baat episode, PM Modi also mentioned the various suggestions people have been sending him and urged them to participate in the related events. For e.g. people shared about simplifying the registration process for Small Scale Industries, to incorporate skills development courses in the school curriculum from the 5th standard. One of the suggestions given was to keep a dustbin every 100 meters and a cleaning system should be established. People also suggested a complete abolishment of plastic bags. 

Mann Ki Baat and Radio revival in India

According to an RTI filed, Mann Ki Baat has earned ₹ 33.16 crores in revenue since the monthly programme was launched in 2014. Notably, around ₹ 7.29 cores were spent on the promotion. According to the response received to the RTI, the programme earned the maximum revenue of ₹ 10.64 crore in 2017-18. This is when the number of people listening to the radio in the times of the increasing use of social media. 

As #MannKiBaat reaches its 100th Episode in April 2023, let's recall the inspiring words of PM @narendramodi from various editions.
Here's PM lauding our brave soldiers for their selfless service to the Nation in October 2016 edition!@PMOIndia @rajnathsingh @ianuragthakur pic.twitter.com/ZApkO0xI0D

— Mann Ki Baat Updates मन की बात अपडेट्स (@mannkibaat) March 27, 2023

Mann Ki Baat which is a televised radio programme has also gained a marked presence on social media, “Mann ki Baat also carries a televised address, which is an innovation in itself and contributed immensely to the revival of Radio in our mainstream consciousness. It is also probably the first programme in the era of Social media so not only is it aired on TV but also carried live on YouTube and several platforms and that has created a large digital footprint for Radio and created a digital consciousness for Radio. Most interestingly in 2018, All India Radio (AIR) integrated its services with the latest generation of Artificial Intelligence (AI) devices like Amazon Alexa and so on,” said Prasar Bharti CEO, Shashi Shekhar Vempati in 2019.