Prabhat Kishore
Examinations are often a source of stress for students and their families. This is a common challenge faced by students of all ages, especially teenagers who are preparing for significant milestone such as board exams or competitive exams. The intense focus on academic performance, coupled with expectations from society and family, often leads to stress, anxiety, and depression, which impact mental health.
To transform the narrative of exam-related stress, “Pariksha Pe Charcha (PPC)” has been initiated by Hon. Prime Minister on 16th February 2018 at Talkatora Stadium, New Delhi. This is the PM’s annual interactive event, in which students, teachers, and parents from across the country and abroad join him to discuss exam stress and celebrate examinations as an Utsav and an integral part of life. The Prime minister shares valuable tips on various topics like how to take board and entrance exams, stress management, students’ personal growth, career ambitions etc.
Pariksha Pe Charcha (PPC) is the PM Modi’s Masterclass on acting exams. It opens space for honest talk on preparation, pressure, and purpose. The event emphasizes innovative approaches to tackle exam-related anxiety, fostering a celebratory attitude towards learning and life. Society, teachers, and parents must collaborate to create an environment where students can thrive without undue stress. With the right approach, students can beat exam pressure and unleash their full potential.
The PPC programme has witnessed extra-ordinary growth since its launch in 2018. The 1st edition of PPC (on 16th February, 2018 with 22000 participants), the 2nd edition (on 29th January, 2019 with 1.03 lakh participants) , the 3rd edition (on 20th January, 2020 with 2.63 lakh registrations), the 4th edition (on 7th April 2021 through virtual connection during COVID 19 pandemic – 14.02 lakh registrations, including 10.5 lakh students, 2.6 lakh teachers and 92 thousand parents), the 5th edition (on 1st April, 2022 with 15.73 lakh registrations, including 12.12 students, 2.71 lakh teachers and 90 thousand parents / 1203553 participants, including 969836 students, 47200 teachers and 186517 parents), the 6th edition (on 27th January, 2023 with 38.79 lakh registrations, including 31.24 lakh students, 5.60 lakh teachers, 1.95 lakh patents / 848991 participants or viewers , including 718110 students, 42337 teachers, 88544 parents), the 7th edition (on 29th January, 2024 with 2.2624 Crore registrations including 2.0562 Crore students, 14.93 lakh teachers and 5.69 lakh parents) , and the 8th edition (on 10th February, 2025 with 35668817 registrations) has created history in the education sector across the world.
In 2025, PPC 8.0 has set a remarkable Guinness World Record as students from 245 countries, teachers from 153 countries and parents from 149 countries participated in the event. It reflects the event’s immense popularity and relevance.
Over the years, PPC has evolved into an opportunity that aims to transform exam-related stress into positive energy. By offering real questions and offering actionable solutions, the PM has bridged the gap between policy and practice, empowering students to thrive under pressure. The event’s inclusivity, digital reach, and innovative approach ensure its continued success as a cornerstone of student engagement in Bharat. With each passing year, PPC reinforces the message that exams are not the end but a beginning.
The 9th edition of the PPC is scheduled to be held on 6th February 2026. To select participants, an online Multiple Choice Question (MCQ) competition has been conducted on the MyGov Portal from 1st December 2025 to 11th January 2026 for students of classes 6 to 12, teachers and parents. Students from all types of management schools i.e. Govt schools, Kendriya Vidyalayas, Sainik schools, Eklavya Model Residential schools, CBSE schools have participated in the event.
The competition is the mode through which students, teachers and parents has been invited to take part in the PPC programme. The themes of the event include “Make Exams a Celebration”, “Contribution of Our Freedom Fighters”, “Save the Environment”, and “Clean India”. Selected questions of participants, shortlisted by NCERT, will feature in the programme. Selected students will get an opportunity to directly participate in the PPC event with PM and interact with him. Each participant will get a specially designed certificate of Participation. 2500 participants will get PPC Kit by the Education Ministry, Government of India. 10 Exam-Warriers will get chance to visit PM house.
High enrolment States had tried for registration of at least 50% of the class 6 to 12 enrolment, whereas other States/UTs & ABs should set target of 100% registration of class 6-12 students. All teachers of class 6 to 12 was to be reached out.
People must join hands in celebrating the Utsav of examination “Pariksha Pe Charcha” as envisioned by our Honorable Prime Minister in order to make learning more joyful and meaningful for our future nation builders. Along with students, society, family, and teachers must put exam in right perspective rather than making it a life and death situation punctuated by undue stress and pressure.
Pariksha Pe Charcha is an interactive initiative of the Prime Minister that provides a vibrant platform for students, teachers, and parents to engage on examinations, stress management, and related aspects of life, with the aim of transforming examination-related stress into a celebration of learning. It is organized annually to provide a platform for discussions on examinations, preparation strategies, and related issues.
The event is conducted ahead of the board and competitive examinations season and aims to address the concerns raised by students and other stakeholders. It opens space for honest talk on 3 Ps- Preparation, Pressure and Purpose.
Pariksha Pe Charcha has evolved as a global event, which is evident from the fact that PPC 8.0 saw participation from students in over 245 countries, teachers from 159 countries, and parents from 149 countries. For PPC 9.0, 41756407 students, 2477885 teachers and 612716 parents of Bharatvarsha have registered themselves, while 69874 students from 245 other countries, 54448 teachers from 171 countries and 2135 parents from 170 countries has registered themselves to be part of the event.
The event has expanded steadily from around 22,000 in PPC 1.0 in 2018 to 3,56,68,817 registrations in PPC 8.0 in 2025. PPC 8.0 edition in 2025 was recognized by Guinness World Records for recording 3,56,68,817 registrations. PPC 9.0 edition in 2026 has surpassed last year’s Record with 4,49,24,465 online participant registrations.
Out of total 614851 parent registrations, 98553 parents are of class-6 children, 87731 of class-7 children, 93714 of class-8 children, 100940 of class-9 children, 97711 of class-10 children, 66530 of class-11 and 69672 parents are of class-12 children. 64.33% of parents are male while only 35.59 % of parents are female.
Out of total 2483333 teachers’ registration, 201261 teachers are from 18-25 age group, 616991 from 25-35 age group, 806605 from 35-45 age group, 627302 from 45-55 age group and 229124 are from 55-65 age group. 48.21% of teachers are male while 51.79 % of teachers are female.
Out of total 41826281 student registrations, 18.83% students have self-registration, while 81.17% students have registered themselves through teachers. 48.81% of the children are boys while 51.16% are girls. The higher representation of female students as well as female teachers reflects women empowerment in a changing Bharat.
Age-wise participation of children is as follows:- Below 12 years- 5980242, between 12 to 14 years- 12240569, between 14 to16 years- 12933133, between 16 to 18 years- 8647327, between 18 to 20 years- 1756772 and above 20 years -268237 students. Class-wise child registration is as – 6th class – 6063993, 7th class – 6241224, 8th class- 6428028, 9th class – 7281112, 10th class – 6745084, 11th class- 4604336, and 12th class- 4462503.
Utter Pradesh stood first in overall registration as well as student registration, while Bihar stood second in overall registration and first in teacher registration. Chhattisgarh stood first in parent registration.
As part of the annual run-up to Pariksha Pe Charcha, a series of student-centric engagements are organized for students in schools from 12th January (Swami Vivekanand Jayanti celebrated as the National Youth Day) to 23rd January, 2026 (Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose Jayanti celebrated as the Parakram Diwas), such as Swadeshi Sanklap Daud-Students Run/Walk for Self-Reliance , Vande Mataram- Manta of Freedom, Indigenous Games Sessions, Meme Creation, Nukkad Natak on Exam and Life Skills, Short Videos & Student Testimonials, Student Anchor- Student Guest interactive Sessions, Yoga-cum Meditation Sessions, Poetry and Songs by Students, Poster Making Activities, Quiz on Operation Sindoor, etc. Altogether 36 Students have been selected, one each from every State/UTs, to interact with Prime Minister.
The “Pariksha Pe Charcha” event has evolved into a nationwide Jan Andolan, encouraging students and youth to approach examinations with confidence and positivity and to celebrate the exam season as an Utsav.
(Author is an engineer and academician)
