PM Modi set to host 8th edition of ‘Pariksha Pe Charcha’ at 11 am today

The annual “Pariksha Pe Charcha” (PPC) will be held at Bharat Mandapam here at 11 am on Monday. The event will feature Prime Minister Narendra Modi directly engaging with students, teachers and parents. PPC has been an annual event since 2018.

“Examinations often bring stress to students and their families, but PM Modi’s PPC has been reshaping the narrative around exams,” the official readout stated.

This year marks the eighth edition of PPC, with over five crore people registering for participation. “This year’s programme exemplifies its status as a Jan Andolan, inspiring a collective celebration of learning,” the readout added.

For the first time, PPC will be held in a podcast-style format, featuring multiple episodes where well-known personalities will offer advice on handling exam pressure. These personalities come from various fields, including sports — MC Mary Kom, Avani Lekhara and Suhas Yathiraj will discuss goal setting, resilience and stress management through discipline. Actor Deepika Padukone will emphasise the importance of emotional wellbeing and self-expression. Health and nutrition experts Shonali Sabherwal, Rujuta Diwekar and Revant Himatsingka (also known as ‘Food Farmer’) will highlight healthy eating habits, sleep and overall wellbeing. Gaurav Chaudhary (Technical Guruji) and Radhika Gupta will explore technology as a learning tool and financial literacy.

Actors Vikrant Massey and Bhumi Pednekar will inspire students to cultivate positivity and manage negative thoughts, while Sadhguru will introduce practical mindfulness techniques for mental clarity and focus.

Additionally, this year’s PPC episodes will feature success stories from toppers of competitive exams, including UPSC, IIT-JEE, CLAT, CBSE, NDA and ICSE.

The inaugural PPC was held on February 16, 2018, at Talkatora Stadium in New Delhi. The second edition, in January 2019, was also hosted at the same venue with increased participation. In 2020, PPC adopted a town hall format, allowing PM Modi to interact directly with school students at Talkatora Stadium.

During the Covid-19 pandemic in 2021, PPC was held online. However, the fifth edition later that year returned to an in-person format. The sixth edition was conducted in 2023 at Talkatora Stadium. Last year’s seventh edition saw a record 2.26 crore registration on the MyGov portal. “It reflects the programme’s immense popularity and relevance,” the official readout noted.