Vice President Shri Jagdeep Dhankar inaugurates National Conclave on Mann Ki Baat @100

Vice President Shri Jagdeep Dhankar today inaugurated a day-long National Conclave on Mann Ki Baat @100 in the presence of Union Minister for Information and Broadcasting Shri Anurag Thakur at Vigyan Bhawan in New Delhi. The Conclave has been organised to mark the continued success of Prime Minister’s monthly radio broadcast that has reached over 100 crore people across India.

Speaking on the occasion Vice President Shri Dhankar called 2014 an epochal development that has shaped the destiny of India taking her on a path of progress and an unstoppable rise. Calling a coalition government a brake on development, Shri Dhankar qualified his observation stating “in 2014, after a gap of 30 years, India received political stability in Parliament in form of a single party majority government”. He further noted that in 2014 Prime Minister started his experiment in personal communication with the people in form of Mann Ki Baat. The experiment had another consequence, bringing the hitherto straggling medium of communication, the radio, to the forefront.

The Vice President praised the monthly broadcast for being completely apolitical and commended the achievement of 100 episodes. He called Mann Ki Baat a reflection of our civilizational ethos.Speaking about the sessions that followed the inaugural event, he said that now is the best time for Nari Shakti, and women are entering unchartered arenas of achievements, exemplifying with the fact that our President is an enormously talented tribal woman. A culturally rich country had forgotten its own contribution and the Prime Minister’s contribution through his Mann Ki Baat in reviving that spirit is notable, he further stated.

Union Minister Shri Anurag Thakur during his speech said that Mann Ki Baat is woven around the theme of Ek Bharat Shreshtha Bharat. The programme plays a key role in highlighting the achievements of common people of India and the medium chosen for this messaging the Radio is the original medium of mass communication.

The Minister acknowledged the presence of 106 dignitaries who have been mentioned during various editions of Mann Ki Baat and further said that achievements of over 700 people and organisations have found mention in the 99 episodes aired so far. While Government has launched Khelo India to encourage athletes, Mann Ki Baat has acted as force multiplier for their motivation by taking their achievements to every household in the country.

Secretary, Ministry of I&B Shri Apurva Chandra in his welcome note, said that the 106 achievers present in the audience are a reflection of the Prime Minister’s vision of community participation leading to social change. He credited Mann Ki Baat with having a tremendous social impact by inspiring and empowering people. He remarked that Mann Ki Baat has become the most popular programme in the history of All India Radio.Also present on the occasion were Dr Sudesh Dhankar, wife of Vice President Shri Jagdeep Dhankar and Shri Gaurav Dwivedi, CEO, Prasar Bharati

.The inaugural event marked 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.