BUILDING AWARENESS ABOUT SOCIAL ISSUES AND GOVERNMENT PROGRAMS: AN ANALYSIS OF EFFECTIVENESS OF MANN KI BAAT PROGRAMMES

Abstract

Mann Ki Baat (MKB), the public engagement programme run by All India Radio since 2014, is an innovative approach to engagement between the political leadership and the citizens. The program has seen wide acclaim and has provided enormous audience to the Indian Prime Minister. The program can be accessed over various platforms.This paper looks at the various themes covered over the 80 episodes of the programme across its eight-year span. It reviews the role played by the program in bringing developmental challenges to the fore and sensitising Indian citizens towards them. Various sources of secondary data and literature from scholarly as well as news media have been consulted.The different themes and impacts of the programme are analysed using visualisation methods are used to underline the salient aspects of the programme. This study confirms that the program has leveraged the re-invigorated interest in radio in the last two decades with popularisation of FM. It has also been made popular through information campaigns on social media platforms, news outlets such as print and television. It has been successfully used as a tool for public engagement.Finally, the paper also looks at the relevance of these topics with the developmental challenges of the Delhi NCR area specific to the urban poor.