After MPs Mala Roy and Manickam Tagore requested the Ministry of Education to disclose the costs and the reasoning behind such fund allocations, the financial expenditure was shared in the Lok Sabha.
Since 2020, the annual chat show Pariksha Pe Charcha with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and students, parents, and teachers has cost Rs 64.38 crore. Pariksha Pe Charcha (PPC) serves as a platform for PM Modi to engage with students about board exams and provide related advice. Since 2018, PPC has been conducted. After MPs Mala Roy and Manickam Tagore requested the Ministry of Education to provide details on the costs and justification for allocating such funds, the Lok Sabha was informed about the expenditure.
In the last five years, the total expenditure incurred for Pariksha Pe Charcha (PPC) has varied significantly. The expenditure in 2020 was Rs. 5.69 crore, and it saw a slight increase to Rs. 6 crore in 2021.
“As detailed above, expenditure is incurred on various components, including hospitality for children travelling from across the country and the overall organisation of the event,” read the written answer uploaded on the website.
Roy and Tagore also inquired with the Ministry about the implementation status of the National Talent Search Examination (NTSE). In response to the question, Jayant Chaudhary, Minister of State in the Ministry of Education, stated, “The evaluation report conducted by a third party identified several limitations in the design and implementation of the scheme. These include a persistent under-representation of rural areas, girls, and certain states among scholarship awardees; lack of access to examination centres due to long travel distances; insufficient financial assistance; ineffective nurturance; and inadequate dissemination of the scheme.”
As a result, the scheme and its key elements have been subjected to an extensive review to ensure their alignment with the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020, to address critical limitations, and to enhance their effectiveness, according to Chaudhary.
The Ministry of Education’s budget has seen an increase over the years, rising to Rs 93,224 Crore for the fiscal year 2021-22 and reaching Rs 1,21,118 Crores in the fiscal year 2024-25 for various Ministry activities. The graph below illustrates the rise in funds allocation.
The eighth edition of Pariksha Pe Charcha was conducted by the Ministry of Education on February 10 of this year. Various personalities interacted with students at the event held in Sundar Nursery. Prominent figures from sports and Bollywood, including actors Deepika Padukone and Vikrant Massey, Bhumi Pednekar, six-time world champion boxer MC Mary Kom, and spiritual leader Sadhguru, attended the event and offered their advice to students.
In addition, the top performers of various exams such as UPSC, IIT-JEE, CLAT, CBSE, NDA, ICSE, etc., along with participants from the previous edition of PPC, shared how the sessions had impacted their preparation strategies and motivated them.
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