IIM Bangalore Unaware of Research on Impact of Mann Ki Baat, RTI Response Suggests

In answer to an RTI request from a faculty member, the Indian Institute of Management, Bangalore, allegedly said that it was unaware of any research conducted on the effects of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's monthly radio program, Mann Ki Baat.

This research by the IIMB and the State Bank of India was noted in a post on Prime Minister Modi's official X account on Friday and in a piece on the Prime Minister's website, narendramodi.in.

"This is an intriguing research by @TheOfficialSBI and @iimb_official which highlights some of the subjects explored and their social influence today, as #MannKiBaat completes 9 years,” the October 3 post on X said.

"It is incredible how we have used this medium to honor various life journeys and group accomplishments."

A connection to an article titled "Transformational Impact of Mann Ki Baat: An Analysis by SBI and IIM Bengaluru" that was published on narendramodi.in was given in the post.

According to the report, "a research project by SBI and IIM-Bengaluru has examined the effects of 105 episodes of PM Modi's Mann Ki Baat in the last nine years."

The long-term effects of the changes—both material and immaterial—brought about by Mann Ki Baat, a potent and strategic communication tool, have been evaluated in this cooperative study. The analysis of Mann Ki Baat's policy implications using natural language processing (NLP) has also been a subject of this paper.

Professor Deepak Malghan of IIMB submitted the RTI appeal.

Malghan said on his X page after getting the institution's answer that "An RTI response from IIM Bangalore suggests that it is unaware of such a study being commissioned by the institute."

He uploaded an alleged picture of the RTI paperwork that included the institute's responses to his nine queries.

The inquiries aim to gather further information about the alleged research, including when it was begun, how much money was spent on it, where the money came from, if the IIMB approved it, and whether a student or a faculty member was responsible for it.

The responses are as straightforward as "No information on record," "Not applicable," or "No."

The last question is, "Does the Hon. Prime Minister's remark, which is included in the Preamble, appropriately represent the IIMB's stance on the study? If not, has the IIMB taken any steps to address the false statement?

("Preamble" refers to Malghan's opening remarks in the RTI request, in which he states that his inquiries are in relation to a mention on the Prime Minister's webpage.)

In response, the IIMB said, "No information on record."