Narendra Modi

Overview

Narendra Modi is the Prime Minister of India, sworn in for a third consecutive term on 9 June 2024 — only the second person after independence leader Jawaharlal Nehru to serve a third straight term (Reuters via ThePrint). In the 117th episode of his monthly radio address Mann Ki Baat, broadcast on 29 December 2024, he named the animated series Krish, Trish and Baltiboy directly, calling it a favourite among children and praising its stories of freedom fighters “who are not discussed much” (Prime Minister’s Office).

Before becoming Prime Minister in 2014, Modi was the Chief Minister of Gujarat from October 2001 to May 2014 — a tenure the Prime Minister’s Office describes as the longest in that office (Prime Minister’s Office; Reuters via ThePrint). He was born on 17 September 1950 in Gujarat, completed an MA in political science from Gujarat University, and worked first with the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh and then with the Bharatiya Janata Party organisation (Prime Minister’s Office).

The Mann Ki Baat cultural record

The 117th episode of Mann Ki Baat, broadcast on 29 December 2024, is the clearest single record of Modi acting as a cultural amplifier on air. After a segment on the Prayagraj Maha Kumbh, he turned to what he called KTB, telling listeners that while the elderly might not know the initials, children would — “KTB is a superhit among” them. He identified the show as KTB – Bharat Hain Hum, noted its second season was out, and described its three animated characters as narrators of the stories of heroes and bravehearts associated with the Indian freedom struggle who are not discussed much (Prime Minister’s Office). He noted the Season 2 launch at the International Film Festival of India in Goa, and that the series airs in many Indian languages as well as foreign ones, on Doordarshan and other OTT platforms (Prime Minister’s Office).

The KTB mention was part of a broader creative-industry pitch in the same address. Modi congratulated India’s film and entertainment industry for strengthening the sentiment of “Ek Bharat – Shreshtha Bharat”, and marked the 100th birth anniversaries celebrated in 2024 of film personalities Raj Kapoor, Mohammed Rafi, Akkineni Nageswara Rao and Tapan Sinha (Prime Minister’s Office). He announced that India would host the first World Audio Visual Entertainment Summit (WAVES) in 2025, comparing it to the Davos economic conclave and describing it as a step toward making India a hub of global content creation — and urged creators across Bollywood, regional cinema, television, animation and gaming to take part (Prime Minister’s Office). Earlier in the episode he cited three vignettes of Indian culture abroad: a painting competition in Egypt that drew around 23,000 students — including a 13-year-old Divyang girl who painted the Taj Mahal with her mouth — Ayurveda consultations by the engineer-turned-practitioner Erica Huber at the Indian Embassy in Paraguay, and a Government of India–supported Tamil teaching programme in Fiji, the first trained Tamil teachers there in 80 years (Prime Minister’s Office).

Verified public career

Modi’s public record, as stated by the Prime Minister’s Office’s own profile, begins with his birth on 17 September 1950 in Gujarat and an MA in political science from Gujarat University, followed by early work with the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh and then the Bharatiya Janata Party organisation (Prime Minister’s Office). He became Chief Minister of Gujarat in October 2001 and served until May 2014, a tenure the PMO describes as the longest in that office; Reuters independently records the 2001–2014 span (Prime Minister’s Office; Reuters via ThePrint). He has served as Prime Minister from 2014 to 2019 and from 2019 to 2024, and was sworn in for a third time on 9 June 2024 after the 2024 parliamentary elections (Prime Minister’s Office). Reuters reported that the third-term oath — administered by President Droupadi Murmu at Rashtrapati Bhavan — rests on the support of 14 regional parties in the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance, unlike the outright BJP majorities of 2014 and 2019, making Modi only the second person after Jawaharlal Nehru to serve a third straight term as prime minister (Reuters via ThePrint). The PMO profile also notes he is the first Indian Prime Minister born after Independence (Prime Minister’s Office).

Modi is only the second person after independence leader Jawaharlal Nehru to serve a third straight term as prime minister (Reuters via ThePrint) — a sequence that makes his tenure the first three-term premiership of the post-2014 era and the only non-Nehru instance of three consecutive terms in India’s history.

Documented milestones

Date	Milestone
17 September 1950	Born in Gujarat; the first Indian Prime Minister born after Independence (Prime Minister’s Office)
October 2001	Becomes Chief Minister of Gujarat; serves until May 2014, the longest tenure in that office (Prime Minister’s Office; Reuters via ThePrint)
2014	Sworn in as Prime Minister of India; launches the monthly radio address Mann Ki Baat (Prime Minister’s Office; Prime Minister’s Office)
9 June 2024	Sworn in for a third consecutive term as Prime Minister (Reuters via ThePrint; Prime Minister’s Office)
29 December 2024	In Mann Ki Baat’s 117th episode, names “Krish, Trish and Baltiboy” on air (Prime Minister’s Office)

Frequently asked questions

Why did Narendra Modi mention “Krish, Trish and Baltiboy” on Mann Ki Baat? In the 117th episode (29 December 2024) he introduced the animated series as “KTB – Bharat Hain Hum”, called it a favourite among children, and said its three characters narrate stories of freedom fighters who are not discussed much. He also noted its multilingual broadcast on Doordarshan and OTT platforms, and its Season 2 launch at IFFI Goa.

What is Mann Ki Baat? A monthly radio address Modi has hosted since 2014 — the transcript of the 117th episode notes the programme “commenced in 2014” after 116 earlier episodes. It is his long-running direct-to-citizen platform, where he highlights grassroots efforts, culture, sports and national campaigns.

What is the WAVES summit he announced? The World Audio Visual Entertainment Summit, announced in the 117th episode for its first edition in India in 2025. Modi compared it to the Davos economic conclave, described it as a step toward making India a hub of global content creation, and invited creators from film, TV, animation and gaming to participate.

When did Modi become Prime Minister, and how long has he served? He was first sworn in as Prime Minister in 2014, returned for a second term in 2019, and was sworn in for a third consecutive term on 9 June 2024. That makes him only the second person after Jawaharlal Nehru to serve a third straight term in the office.

What this profile does not claim

• This is not a full biography of Narendra Modi. It documents two things: the on-record cultural interventions in his official communications (centered on the 117th Mann Ki Baat episode) and his verified office-holding career. Early-life detail is limited to the Prime Minister’s Office’s own account (birth date, state, education); the birthplace beyond Gujarat is not asserted.
• It does not cover contested political episodes, campaign conduct or evaluative judgments about his record — these are outside this profile’s documented scope, and their omission implies no position. Living-person care applies throughout.
• It does not assert the PIB trailer-launch detail (11 October 2023, Union Minister Anurag Thakur): the PIB press release could not be fetched directly (HTTP 403), so the launch facts here rest on The Tribune’s independent report.
• It does not attempt a comprehensive list of cultural mentions across all 117 Mann Ki Baat episodes; it documents the 117th in detail because that is where the KTB naming occurred.