Mann Ki Baat: Survey Reveals A Significant Boost In Public Awareness Of Government Schemes

Transformational Impact of “Mann Ki Baat”: Prime Minister Modi has been engaging with the citizens through “Mann Ki Baat” for the past 9 years. During this period, he has extensively talked about various government schemes. The effect of PM’s “Mann Ki Baat” program on the general public has been revealed through a survey conducted by the State Bank of India and IIM Bangalore. This research analyzed 105 episodes of “Mann Ki Baat” over the past 9 years.

Increased Participation in Government Schemes, Especially by Women

According to the report, PM Modi’s discussions about government schemes such as PM Mudra, Swamithva, Sukanya Samriddhi, Jan Dhan accounts, and Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) have raised awareness among people. The report also states that these schemes have seen increased participation of women, contributing to women’s empowerment.

Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana (SSY) has seen the opening of around 36 million accounts with an outstanding deposit of approximately 2 lakh crore rupees. SSY is a small deposit scheme by the Indian government, primarily aimed at girls, and it was launched under the “Beti Bachao Beti Padhao” campaign.

Distribution of Loans to Street Vendors

The report highlights that after episodes of “Mann Ki Baat,” Google searches for Mudra loan applications gained popularity. The PM Street Vendors AtmaNirbhar Nidhi (PM SVANidhi) scheme, launched in July 2020 to empower street vendors, also gained significant popularity during “Mann Ki Baat.” According to SBI’s special report, PM SVANidhi distributed loans to 6.55 million street vendors.

What is “Mann Ki Baat” program?

It’s worth mentioning that Prime Minister Modi initiated the “Mann Ki Baat” program on October 3, 2014. Since then, it has been broadcasted every last Sunday of the month at 11 AM on All India Radio and Doordarshan. Despite the proliferation of digital communication tools, PM Modi chose radio as the medium. According to the RBI, 23 crore people regularly listen to “Mann Ki Baat,” and an additional 41 crore people listen to it occasionally. The report claims that the majority of listeners (approximately 73%) are optimistic and believe that the country will progress.