IIM-B 'disowns' Mann Ki Baat study claim by PM Modi

Maqsood Maniyar | NT

Bengaluru: In a fresh embarrassment to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, his claim that a joint study by Indian Institute of Management-Bangalore (IIM-B) and State Bank of India had researched the positive impact of his monthly radio broadcast “Mann Ki Baat” was debunked by a Right To Information (RTI) reply.

On October 3, the PM had posted on X (previously Twitter) that such a study had laid bare the impact of the broadcast.

“Today, as #MannKiBaat completes 9 years, here is an interesting study by @TheOfficialSBI and @iimb_official which highlights some of the themes covered and their societal impact. It is amazing how we have celebrated several life journeys and collective efforts through this medium,” Modi had posted.

He had included a link which led you to an article on Modi’s official website titled “Transformational Impact of Mann Ki Baat: An Analysis by SBI and IIM Bengaluru”.

“The research work by SBI and IIM-Bengaluru has analyzed the impact of 105 episodes of PM Modi’s Mann Ki Baat in last 9 years. This collaborative research has assessed the lasting impact of changes (both tangible and intangible) brought in by the powerful and strategic medium of communication that is Mann Ki Baat. This report has also focused on analyzing the policy implication of Mann Ki Baat using the Natural Language Processing (NLP),” the article read.

The article claimed that Google searches on varied topics had shot up after the PM mentioned them in his broadcast.

These subjects included Modi’s pet projects like Beti Bachao Beti Padhao (educate and save your daughters), Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana, a programme that offers girl children small deposits in banks, even exercises such as Yoga, garments like khadi, grains like millets and Hindu philosopher Swami Vivekananda.

The article also alleged that Mann Ki Baat had kept people from panicking during Covid.

Not aware of study: Institute

However, this past Thursday Deepak Malghan, a professor at IIM-B posted on X that the institute had told him that they had no knowledge of such a study. Malghan posted the screenshots of the reply to his RTI application on the subject.

“An RTI response from IIM Bangalore suggests that it is unaware of such a study being commissioned by the institute,” the professor posted.

Malghan sought to know the answers to several questions including if it was an official IIM-B research and collaboration with the State Bank, whether it was a student or faculty study, money spent on it, among other queries.

The answers by IIM-B to all of the questions were “No information on record”, or “Not applicable”, or “No”.