PM’s Mann Ki Baat reached 100 crore people in 8 yrs: Study

The 100-crore figure enumerated by the study includes unique listeners, from among those who are aware and have listened to the programme at least once, said IIM-R Director Dheeraj Sharma.

The year-long study was commissioned by Prasar Bharati, the public broadcaster, which functions under the aegis of the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting.

Sharma said 23 crore people tune in to the programme regularly, while another 41 crore constitute an occasional audience, which has “the scope of being converted into a regular audience”. The programme began on October 3, 2014, which airs last Sunday of every month.

The 30-minute programme is aired on All India Radio, which is simultaneously broadcast on the Doordarshan network.

Prasar Bharati CEO Gaurav Dwivedi said apart from 22 Indian languages and 29 dialects, Mann Ki Baat is broadcast in 11 foreign languages, such as French, Chinese, Tibetan, Burmese, Baluchi, Arabic, Dari and Swahili.

The Information and Broadcasting Ministry is organising a day-long conclave on Mann Ki Baat on Wednesday, to be presided over by Vice-President Jagdeep Dhankhar. The government had recently announced that a new Rs 100 coin will be released on April 30 to commemorate the 100th episode of the show.