A monthly radio address to the nation
Since October 2014, a short monthly broadcast has been used to speak directly to citizens — not on policy announcements, but on everyday initiatives, achievements and ideas sent in by the public. This page sets out plainly what the programme is, how it is put together, and what it has covered.
Mann Ki Baat is described by its own organisers as the government's flagship monthly radio programme, through which citizens across the country are addressed on "inspiring stories, innovative ideas, and people-led initiatives that are driving positive change." It is built around everyday achievement rather than government announcements as such.
Each episode is short — closer to a radio essay than a speech — and is recorded for broadcast rather than delivered live. Topics are drawn in large part from letters, recordings and online submissions sent in by members of the public ahead of time, which is also why the programme's official site runs an open forum for citizens to suggest subjects for the next episode.
Because it goes out on radio and television at the same time, in Hindi with translation into regional and some foreign languages, its intended audience is broad: domestic listeners across India as well as overseas Indian communities who pick it up through simulcast or online recordings.
In short: a monthly, low-key radio segment on ordinary achievement and civic initiative, built in large part from material the public itself sends in.
Each episode is numbered from the first broadcast in October 2014. The most recent on record at the time of writing:
The programme does not stay on one subject. Over its run it has returned to a recognisable set of themes.
Stories about individuals or small local groups — a village, a school, a self-help group — who solved a practical problem on their own initiative, held up as examples worth noticing rather than as beneficiaries of a scheme.
Water conservation, waste management, tree planting and similar local efforts, usually framed around a specific place or community rather than a national target.
Traditional crafts, festivals, languages and historical sites, often tied to an appeal to visit, document or support a particular local tradition.
Low-cost inventions and start-ups, particularly ones developed by students or in small towns, presented as evidence of practical problem-solving outside the big cities.
Sporting wins, space missions, festivals and anniversaries get a mention when they fall in the relevant month, tying the programme loosely to the news cycle.
The programme is built to be heard rather than read: broadcast simultaneously on radio and television, then kept online afterwards as audio, video, transcripts and short clips for social media. The official site, run by the MyGov platform, is the main place all of this is archived in one spot.
All India Radio is the primary broadcaster, reaching listeners without needing internet access, which matters given the programme's rural audience.
Doordarshan and a number of private channels carry the broadcast at the same time as the radio airing.
mygov.in keeps a running archive of past episodes with transcripts, an e-book collecting past editions, and short-form video cuts for social platforms.
Ahead of each episode, the official site runs an open call for the public to submit ideas and stories that might be mentioned on air.