SunstarTV Bureau: Prime minister’s ‘Mann Ki Baat’ helped All-India-Radio (AIR) to generate a whopping Rs 30.28 crore, which is four times the revenue the government spent on its advertisement.
Mann Ki Baat, an initiative by Prime Minister Narendra Modi was started in October 2014, as an attempt to directly reach out to the public. The PM had addressed the 70th episode on October 25, 2020.
An Aniket Gourav, field the Right To Information (RTI) application to gain knowledge on the total expenditure and revenue generated since the premiere of the show in 2014 till September 2020.
According to officials, the government spent Rs 7.29 crore on various advertisements issued for the publicity of Mann Ki Baat, through various mediums, but it helped AIR generate an enormous amount.
However, ‘Mann Ki Baat’ had also received criticism from various Opposition parties, over the expenditure incurred during the airing of the episodes and also on its advertisement.
Taking the ‘Mann Ki Baat’, leader of the Congress Party, Rashid Alvi taunted, “The PM should come every day so that India’s economy grows.”
Meanwhile, responding to the criticism, Minister I&B (Information and Broadcasting), Prakash Javdekar, replied, “The Congress has been raising issues, where there aren’t any. Mann Ki Baat is the first initiative by any PM to have a direct dialogue with the people of the country. He speaks to men, women, youngsters, elderly and the farmers, and all sectors. This has been a rather unique experiment which the people of India have experienced.”
