New Delhi: Prime minister Narendra Modi’s monthly radio show, Mann Ki Baat has generated over Rs 30.80 crore as revenue since it began in 2014, with the highest of over Rs 10.64 crore earned in 2017-18, according to the ministry of information and broadcasting.
The data was shared by union minister Anurag Thakur in Rajya Sabha on the first day of the monsoon session. Thakur said, 34 DD channels and around 91 private Satellite TV channels broadcast this radio program throughout India. “Mann Ki Baat has achieved 11.8 crore viewership and 14.3 crore reach in 2020. This has created renewed interest and awareness in traditional radio,” he told the Parliament.
According to data shared by the ministry, the programme fetched Rs 1.16 crore as revenue in 2014-15, which rose to Rs 2.81 crore in 2015-16. The overall revenue crossed Rs 5.14 crore in 2016-17 and reached the highest mark of Rs 10.64 crore in 2017-18. However, the revenue has fallen since then. In 2018-19, it generated Rs 7.47 crore revenue in 2018-19, which came down to Rs 2.56 crore in 2019-20. In the pandemic torn 2020-21, it collected an overall revenue of Rs 1.02 crore, the lowest since 2014.
The programme is broadcast at 11 am on the last Sunday of each month through various channels of the All India Radio and Doordarshan. Prasar Bharati has broadcast 78 episodes of the programme till date on its AIR and Doordarshan network. It has also undertaken the translation and re-broadcast in 51 languages/dialects, he added.
As per the audience data measured by the Broadcast Audience Research Council (BARC), the cumulative reach of viewership of the programme has been estimated to range from approximately six crore to 14.35 crore during the period 2018 to 2020.
"The main objective of 'Mann Ki Baat' programme of the prime minister is to reach to the masses across the country through the radio," said Thakur, “The programme also provides every citizen the opportunity to connect, suggest, and become part of participatory governance through the prime minister's radio address.”
The minister said Prasar Bharati produces 'Mann ki Baat' leveraging existing in-house resources with no additional expenditure. "In-house staff is leveraged for production and existing translators engaged on assignment basis for language versions," he added.
