PM Modi's Mann Ki Baat Heard By More Than 100 Crore People At Least Once: IIM Study
The study has revealed that nearly 23 crore people listen to or view the programme regularly.
More than 100 crore people have listened to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's monthly radio programme 'Mann Ki Baat' at least once, while nearly 23 crore people have either listened to or viewed the programme regularly, a study by IIM Rohtak has revealed.
The 'Listener Feedback and Sentiment Analysis of Mann ki Baat' interviewed 10,003 people from different states and professions. Nearly 96% of the respondents were aware of the show.
Known as an outreach programme by the Prime Minister, the radio show debuted on Oct. 3, 2014, and has become the All India Radio's regular broadcast on the last Sunday of every month. The 100th edition of Mann Ki Baat is expected to be aired at the end of April 2023.
The data for the study was collected through a psychometrically purified survey instrument. "Data was collected from North, South, East and West regions of India, using snowball sampling—approximately 2,500 responses per zone," an official said.
The study has revealed that nearly 23 crore people listen to or view the programme regularly, while 41 crore people could potentially become regular viewers from occasional viewers. Around 65% of respondents watched it in Hindi, while 18% preferred English.
The survey covered people engaged in 86 professions. Nearly 64% of the respondents were from the informal sector, including those who are self-employed, 23% were students, 9% were academics (including school teachers), while 4% were housewives.
In terms of educational qualifications, 18.87% of the respondents had studied till class 10, while 31.42% were undergraduates, 13.20% were graduates and 16.21% were post-graduates.
Although it is a radio programme, nearly 44.7% of the respondents said they watch it on television, 37.6% see it on their mobile phone, and 17.6% hear it over radio. The findings also revealed that in the 19-34 age group, nearly 62% respondents preferred watching or listening to Mann Ki Baat via mobile phone. While, in the above 60 years age group 3.2% preferred television.
The findings of the study revealed that the most popular themes were scientific achievements of India, stories of common people and of the armed forces, youth-related issues, environment and natural resource-related matters.
According to the study, which has analysed all 99 episodes of the show, Mann Ki Baat has been kept away from politics and is centered around issues that matter to people, largely aimed at inspiring them—particularly to be responsible citizens.
Motivating stories of local and national achievers, who succeeded in difficult circumstances, making life and access better for those with disabilities, women's empowerment, natural farming and self-reliance have been recurring themes on the programme, the study said.
For instance, in the 99th episode of Mann Ki Baat, the Prime Minister had spoken about ‘Nari Shakti’ (women's power) and mentioned flimmakers Guneet Monga and Kartiki Gonsalves, who won an Oscar for their documentary ‘The Elephant Whisperers'; Bhabha Atomic Research Center scientist Jyotirmayi Mohanty, who won a special award from the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry; and India’s Under-19 women’s cricket team that won the T-20 World Cup.
The government has announced a commemorative coin for the 100th episode of the show, scheduled to come out on April 30. The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting will also host a conclave to discuss the themes addressed by the Prime Minister on the show.
