New Delhi, Jan. 22: Prime Minister Narendra Modi has persuaded US President Barack Obama to join him in his monthly radio talk to the nation next week, sources said.

They added that whether the address would be recorded on January 26 or broadcast 'live' the next day was still being worked out. It's not clear what format the joint talk would follow.

Modi confirmed the development by tweeting: 'I am eagerly looking forward to the special 'Mann Ki Baat' programme with President @BarackObama, which will be aired on the 27th January.'

Obama, the guest of honour at the Republic Day parade, is expected to arrive on January 25. He is scheduled to leave India after visiting the Taj Mahal in Agra on January 27.

Sources at the national broadcaster All India Radio (AIR), which will record and relay the joint radio talk, said they had been tipped off about it a few days ago.

They said the external affairs ministry, prodded by the Prime Minister's Office, had contacted the White House with the proposal through the Indian embassy in Washington.

'We were alerted in advance to prepare for the task but we received the confirmation from the PMO only this morning,' a senior AIR official said. 'We are now lining up the editorial and technical teams.'

One of Modi's tweets today said his government had created an 'open forum' for the public to post questions and suggestions relating to the joint talk. A special page has been opened at the web portal http://mygov.in to receive these suggestions, which can alternatively be sent to #askObamaModi.

Modi's monthly radio address, launched on Vijaya Dashami in October last year, is usually recorded at his residence. But an exception will be made this time.

'We have been told to prepare to do the recording at the Maurya Sheraton, where the US President will be staying,' the official said.

'Protocol demands the Prime Minister go to the visiting head of state for the joint talk.'

As on previous occasions, the government will issue an advisory to private television and FM channels to simultaneously broadcast the address, which will focus on Indo-US relations.

It will be simulcast on the video-sharing web platform YouTube, sources said.

During Modi's US visit last September, the two leaders had penned a joint op-ed in The Washington Post. That was the first time an Indian leader had attempted a joint editorial with a foreign counterpart, sources said.

In his three radio talks so far - on October 3, November 2 and December 14 - Modi had discussed a range of issues, from black money to drugs, in an informal and chatty style.

A radio talk is nothing new for Obama, who addresses one to his country every week, following on a tradition begun by Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1933 and revived by Ronald Reagan in 1982.

Obama, who started his weekly radio address in January 2009, the month he assumed office, has added a new dimension to it - a YouTube video.