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 milestones 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)” was initiated by the Hon’ble Prime Minister on 16th February 2018 at Talkatora Stadium, New Delhi. This is the Prime Minister’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 such as how to take board and entrance exams, stress management, students’ personal growth, career ambitions, etc.
Pariksha Pe Charcha (PPC) is the Prime Minister’s masterclass on handling 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 extraordinary growth since its launch in 2018. The 1st edition of PPC (on 16th February 2018 with 22,000 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 the 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 lakh students, 2.71 lakh teachers and 90 thousand parents / 12,03,553 participants, including 9,69,836 students, 47,200 teachers and 1,86,517 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 parents / 8,48,991 participants or viewers, including 7,18,110 students, 42,337 teachers and 88,544 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 3,56,68,817 registrations) have created history in the education sector across the world.
In 2025, PPC 8.0 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 actionable solutions, the Prime Minister 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 PPC is scheduled to be held on 6th February 2026. To select participants, an online Multiple Choice Question (MCQ) competition was 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 school managements, i.e., government schools, Kendriya Vidyalayas, Sainik Schools, Eklavya Model Residential Schools, and CBSE schools, participated in the event.
The competition is the mode through which students, teachers, and parents have 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 the Prime Minister and interact with him. Each participant will get a specially designed certificate of participation. 2,500 participants will receive a PPC kit from the Ministry of Education, Government of India. Ten Exam Warriors will get a chance to visit the Prime Minister’s residence.
High-enrolment States were encouraged to register at least 50% of their Class 6 to 12 enrolment, whereas other States/UTs and Autonomous Bodies were expected to target 100% registration of Class 6–12 students. All teachers of Classes 6 to 12 were to be reached out.
People must join hands in celebrating the Utsav of examination “Pariksha Pe Charcha” as envisioned by our Hon’ble Prime Minister in order to make learning more joyful and meaningful for our future nation builders. Along with students, society, families, and teachers must put exams in the right perspective rather than making them 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 examination season and aims to address the concerns raised by students and other stakeholders. It opens space for honest talk on the three 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, 4,17,56,407 students, 24,77,885 teachers and 6,12,716 parents from Bharatvarsha have registered themselves, while 69,874 students from 245 other countries, 54,448 teachers from 171 countries and 2,135 parents from 170 countries have registered to be part of the event.
The event has expanded steadily from around 22,000 participants in PPC 1.0 in 2018 to 3,56,68,817 registrations in PPC 8.0 in 2025. PPC 8.0 was recognized by Guinness World Records for recording 3,56,68,817 registrations. PPC 9.0 in 2026 has surpassed last year’s record with 4,49,24,465 online participant registrations.
Out of a total of 6,14,851 parent registrations, 98,553 parents are of Class 6 children, 87,731 of Class 7 children, 93,714 of Class 8 children, 1,00,940 of Class 9 children, 97,711 of Class 10 children, 66,530 of Class 11 children, and 69,672 parents are of Class 12 children. Of the total, 64.33% of parents are male, while 35.59% are female.
Out of a total of 24,83,333 teacher registrations, 2,01,261 teachers are from the 18–25 age group, 6,16,991 from 25–35, 8,06,605 from 35–45, 6,27,302 from 45–55 and 2,29,124 from 55–65. Of these, 48.21% are male and 51.79% are female.
Out of a total of 4,18,26,281 student registrations, 18.83% of students registered themselves, while 81.17% registered through teachers. Of the students, 48.81% are boys and 51.16% are girls, reflecting women empowerment in a changing Bharat.
Age-wise participation of students is as follows: below 12 years – 59,80,242; 12–14 years – 1,22,40,569; 14–16 years – 1,29,33,133; 16–18 years – 86,47,327; 18–20 years – 17,56,772; and above 20 years – 2,68,237 students. Class-wise registrations are: Class 6 – 60,63,993; Class 7 – 62,41,224; Class 8 – 64,28,028; Class 9 – 72,81,112; Class 10 – 67,45,084; Class 11 – 46,04,336; and Class 12 – 44,62,503.
Uttar 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 were organized in schools from 12th January (Swami Vivekananda Jayanti, celebrated as National Youth Day) to 23rd January 2026 (Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose Jayanti, celebrated as Parakram Diwas). These included Swadeshi Sankalp Daud (Students’ Run/Walk for Self-Reliance), Vande Mataram – Mantra of Freedom, indigenous games sessions, meme creation, Nukkad Natak on exams and life skills, short videos and 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—one from each State/UT—have been selected to interact with the Prime Minister.
Pariksha Pe Charcha 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.
The author is an engineer and academician.
