Union Ministry of Information and Broadcasting is organising a day long National Conclave on Mann Ki Baat on 26^th April, 2023 in New Delhi. The conclave, to be inaugurated at 10 am by Vice President Shri Jagdeep Dhankar in the presence of Guest of Honour Shri Anurag Thakur, Union Minister for Information and Broadcasting, is being organised to mark the continued success of Prime Minister’s monthly radio broadcast that has reached over 100 crore people across India.

Since its inception on October 3rd, 2014, ‘Mann ki Baat’ has become a national tradition, with the Prime Minister addressing the nation every month, inspiring millions to participate in India’s developmental journey. It has struck a chord with citizens of India who have reached out to their Pradhan Sevak every month, sharing their achievements, anxieties, happiness and proud moments as well as suggestions for a New India.

Around 100 esteemed citizens from various parts of the country who have been mentioned by the Prime Minster in various episodes of “Mann Ki Baat” will also attend the event. Their remarkable contributions towards nation building have been lauded by PM in his broadcasts. The participants include people working in various fields like promotion of traditional art, culture and crafts, environment protection and those who tirelessly supported the nation during Covid times, those who are supporting the disadvantaged citizens, those who have provided innovative solutions to address the challenges faced by society etc.

These guests will bring with them various unique memorabilia showcasing among others ancient Kaavi paintings from the state of Goa, the Etikoppaka Wooden Toy Craft of Andhra Pradesh, Pattachitra paintings done on stone from Odisha and products made from fiber of banana stems by the self-help group in Lakhimpur Kheri, UP.

The event will mark the release of two books by the Vice President. The first, a coffee table book on ‘Mann Ki Baat@100’, highlights the journey of 'Mann Ki Baat' and how the programme has resulted in the beginning of a new epoch in direct communication between the Prime Minister and the citizens. The second book, 'Collective Spirit, Concrete Action' by Shri, S. S. Vempati, former CEO of Prasar Bharati, documents the fascinating facets of PM Modi's ongoing conversations with the world's largest democracy, highlighting social, economic, environmental, cultural, health, and fitness issues that resonate with the very heart of our nation.

The inaugural session will be followed up by 4 panel discussion sessions highlighting the wide-ranging themes of Prime Minister’s interactions during Mann Ki Baat. Each session will be facilitated by an eminent personality. The sessions will highlight the transformative impact that Mann Ki Baat has catalyzed across sectors throughout India, effectively connecting the citizens directly with the Prime Minister and empowering them to become agents of change.

Session One will be on the theme “Nari Shakti”. The women of this country have always excelled in different fields and have led the masses and paved the way for other women to follow. The Government considers women-led development a central dimension of India’s progress and a necessity for strengthening India. In the past nine years, numerous welfare schemes have been launched paving the way to empowering women and making them lead India’s development journey. Focused on these lines, the discussion will be moderated by renowned anchor and host, Richa Anirudh and enriched by panelists, Kiran Bedi, IPS (retired) and former Lt. Governor, Puducherry, Deepa Malik, athlete, Dhimant Parekh, Founder and CEO, The Better India, RJ Nitin, Raveena Tandon, actress, Nikhat Zareen, boxer and Poorna Malavath, mountaineer. World’s youngest girl to climb Mount Everest in 2014, Poorna Malavath completed the seven summit mountaineering challenge in 2022. The Prime Minister praised the Telangana-based mountaineer during his Mann Ki Baat in June, 2022.

Session Two will be on the theme “Virasat Ka Uthan”. Taking pride in our heritage and legacy has remained a key vision of the Prime Minister during the Amrit Kaal. Thanks to the efforts of the Prime Minister, a new awareness has dawned in our country about our art and culture, a new consciousness is awakening. The panelists discussing India’s golden past and ‘New India’ will include, Ricky Kej, music composer and environmentalist, Jagat Kinkhabwala, environmental conservationist, Siddharth Kannan, TV & Radio Host, Rochamliana, environmental conservationist, Palki Sharma, journalist and Neelesh Misra, storyteller as moderator. Jagat Kinkhabwala and Rochamliana have been praised by Prime Minister for their efforts in environment conservation. Prime Minister talked about the the book and efforts on ‘Save the Sparrows’ campaign started by Jagat Kinkhabwala in May, 2017. He also spoke about the Save Chitte Lui action plan, an initiative by Rochamliana to restore Chite River of Mizoram in June, 2022.

Session Three on “Jan Samvad Se Atmanirbharta” will have Shradha Sharma, a celebrated Indian entrepreneur as the moderator. The idea of Atmanirbhar Bharat has ignited a new spark of self-confidence in every Indian. Prime Minister has outlined five pillars for an Aatmanirbhar Bharat – economy, infrastructure, system, vibrant demography, and demand. All the pillars work together in making our economy strong and resilient. The importance of ‘Atmanirbharta’ will be discussed by Sanjeev Bhikchandani, entrepreneur, R J Raunac, Padma Shri Awardee T. V. Mohandas Pai, Ravi Kumar Narra, entrepreneur and policy maker and Mohd. Abbas Bhat, head of Dal Lake lotus stem producer company. The Prime Minister in March 2023 applauded the efforts of the Dal Lake lotus stem producer which has created employment for many farmers by exporting food products made from lotus stem.

Session Four and the last session before the Valedictory session will be on the theme “Ahwan Se Jan Andolan”. ‘Mann ki Baat’ has been a platform from which several important campaigns have originated. Right from the very first ‘Mann ki Baat’, when the Prime Minister had given the clarion call of Swachh Bharat Abhiyan, the addresses have time and again inspired the people to take action on important issues. To discuss several such campaigns, the session will be moderated by RJ Sharad and will have speakers like Aamir Khan, actor, Dr. Shashank R. Joshi, endocrinologist and diabetologist, Deepmala Pandey, school principal, Karishma  Mehta,  writer and photographer and Prof. Najma Akhtar, educationist and administrator. Deepmala Pandey’s ‘One teacher, one call’ initiative for children with special needs was appreciated by Prime Minister in Mann Ki Baat in September, 2021.

The Valedictory Session will be graced by Shri Amit Shah, Union Minister for Home Affairs and Cooperation in the august presence of Shri Ashwini Vaishnaw, Minister for Railways, Communications, Electronics & Information Technology and Shri Anurag Singh Thakur, Minister for Information & Broadcasting. Shri Pankaj Chaudhary, The Minister Of State for Finance will also be present during the session. A commemorative postage stamp and coin on 100 episodes of 'Mann Ki Baat' will be unveiled to mark this momentous event in the valedictory session.

Background

The first episode of Prime Minister’s Mann Ki Baat was broadcast on 3rd October, 2014 (Friday) on the auspicious occasion of Vijayadashami. Since April 2015, Mann Ki Baat is broadcast on the last Sunday of every month and the latest broadcast of 99th episode was on 26th March, 2023. It is visualized by Doordarshan and telecast on its entire network. It is also broadcast in sign language on Doordarshan. The 100th episode of Mann Ki Baat is scheduled on 30th April, 2023.

The first episode of Mann Ki Baat was of a duration of 14 minutes, which increased to 19 minutes in second episode and 26 minutes in third episode. Since 4th episode, the duration of each episode has remained 30 minutes.

Initially, the broadcast was in Hindi language only, and subsequently, the English version started from 31st January, 2016 and Sanskrit version from 28th May, 2017. Currently, Mann Ki Baat is broadcast in 23 languages including 22 Indian languages and English, 29 dialects (25 from North East and 4 from Chhattisgarh) and in 11 foreign languages. The Indian languages include Hindi, Sanskrit, Punjabi, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Marathi, Gujarati, Malayalam, Odia, Konkani, Nepali, Kashmiri, Dogri, Manipuri, Maithili, Bengali, Assamese, Bodo, Santhali, Urdu and Sindhi. The dialects are Chhattisgarhi, Gondi, Halbi, Sargujia, Pahari, Sheena, Gojri, Balti, Ladakhi, Karbi, Khasi, Jaintia, Garo, Nagamese, Hmar, Paite, Thadou, Kabui, Mao, Tangkhul, Nyishi, Adi, Monpa, Ao, Angami, Kokborok, Mizo, Lepcha and Sikkimese (Bhutia). French, Chinese, Indonesian, Tibetan, Burmese, Baluchi, Arabic, Pashtu, Persian, Dari and Swahili are the foreign languages in which the broadcast is done.

Prime Minister has mentioned over 700 Individuals and around 300 organizations so far in the Mann Ki Baat Program. These include 37 individuals and 10 Organizations from foreign countries as well.

‘Post Box 111’, a follow up programme on Mann Ki Baat was started on 21st December, 2014 by All India Radio. Further, a toll-free number facility (1800-11-7800) has been introduced to reach out to the citizens from remote areas so that they can share their ideas and suggestions for the upcoming episodes.

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Saurabh Singh