E-Paper
Central expenditure on Pariksha Pe Charcha rose five times since launch in 2018: Govt
On August 4, PPC secured a Guinness World Record for ‘most people registered on a citizen engagement platform in one month’, with over 35.3 million registrations.
The central government’s spending on Pariksha Pe Charcha (PPC) has risen nearly fivefold since its launch in 2018, the education ministry informed the Lok Sabha on Monday. The expenditure grew from ₹3.67 crore in 2018 to ₹18.83 crore in 2025, with the highest spending in 2023 at ₹27.70 crore, before being scaled down in subsequent years.
PPC, held annually ahead of board examinations, is Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s marquee event where he interacts with students and guides them on exam stress and preparation strategies.
Responding to a question raised by Trinamool Congress MP Mala Roy in the Parliament, Union minister of state (MoS) for education Jayant Chaudhary said the government has no plan to discontinue the annual programme.
The data shared by Chaudhary shows that government spending on PPC rose steadily in its initial years, climbing from ₹3.67 crore in 2018 to ₹8.16 crore in 2022 — an increase of about 122% in four years. The 2023 edition marked a sharp escalation, with expenditure jumping to ₹27.70 crore, over three times higher than the previous year and the highest between 2018 and 2025. In contrast, costs were subsequently scaled back, falling to ₹16.83 crore in 2024 before edging up slightly to ₹18.83 crore in 2025. The government incurs expenditure on various components of PPC including hospitality for children travelling from all across the country and overall organisation of the event.
The participation in PPC has also expanded dramatically since its inception, rising from just over 22,000 students, teachers and parents in 2018, to more than 5.11 crore in 2025. This surge has been accompanied by a steep fall in the per participant cost, which dropped from ₹1,649 in 2018 to just ₹3.68 in 2025, the data shows.
On August 4, PPC secured a Guinness World Record for ‘most people registered on a citizen engagement platform in one month’, with over 35.3 million registrations.
