Pariksha Par Charcha 2025: The board exams are indeed a stressful period for students, teachers and parents. Many say that Classes 10 and 12 board exams (Class 11 in southern states) scores define a student’s future, however, to counter this students often quote famous scientist Thomas Edison:

Tomorrow is my exam, but I don’t care because a single sheet of paper can’t decide my future.

Moving beyond the traditional format of Pariksha Par Charcha, Prime Minister Narendra Modi in a chat with a group of students at Sunder Nursery emphasised the importance of Thomas Edison’s quote. In an answer to a question asked by one of the attendees of the PPC 2025, PM Modi said, “If a student doesn’t achieve a certain score in school, doesn’t do well in their Class 10 or Class 12 exams, it feels as though their entire life is at stake.”

This eighth edition includes motivational stories and speeches by sports and Bollywood personalities like actor Deepika Padukone, Vikrant Massey, Bhumi Pednekar, six-time world champion boxer MC Mary Kom, spiritual leader Sadhguru, Paralympic gold medallist Avani Lekhara, celebrity nutritionist Rujuta Diwekar, Sonali Sabharwal, health influencer Food Pharmer, YouTuber Technical Guru ji and Radhika Gupta.

The champions of their fields shared various important board exam tips with students to make them focus and show that life is larger than a picture and exams are just a part of it. Here are some of the important talk points by these personalities:

Prime Minister Narendra Modi 

In the session, PM Modi said stick to what a student has planned for the day. This will easily free them from the pressure.

Don’t let the pressure get to you and concentrate solely on your studies,

He also touched upon multiple issues in a free-wheeling chat like leadership lessons, meditation, exams versus knowledge, “focusing like a batter in action”, and using technology wisely and not fearfully.

The prime minister spoke on issues such as ‘master your time master your life, live in the moment, finding positives, nourish to flourish’, with students quizzing him on different matters. Urging parents to not use their children as models to show off, he said they should not compare them with others and instead support them.

Nutritionist: Shonali Sabherwal

Nutrition and health experts Shonali Sabherwal, Rujuta Diwekar and Revant Himatsingka shed light on the importance of healthy eating habits and the crucial role of quality sleep in academic success during a session. She said that

Homemade food is best and including brown rice, and millet are a way towards healthy diets along with a balanced diet.

Shonali asked students to increase the amount of fibre that enhances the growth of good microorganisms thereby keeping good gut health. She suggested students start their day with whole grains which reduces the cravings during the middle of the day, followed by fruits or nuts.

Health Expert: Rujuta Diwekar 

Rujuta Diwekar suggested students avoid binge eating to counter stress. She shared some destressing foods that are edible like peanuts, Banana, and rice are good. “Energy drinks increase the level of stress so should be avoided. Avoid packed food as the more you eat packed food the more sugar content will be there in a day,” said Diwekar. She said, “Sleep is a great weapon so sharpen it.”

She pointed out that hydration, Banana and playing are essential for mental health and avoiding constipation.

Health Expert: Revant Himatsingka

Talking about his ‘Label Padhega India’ initiative, food pharmer and health and nutrition influencer Himatsingka said the idea was to know about the things one was consuming. “If every person in India starts reading labels, they will know what they are eating.

My goal is to include health in the school curriculum in the next five years

Sharing his childhood instances Revant said that he used to be stressed about board exams and used to eat sweets to distract himself.

Actor and mental health advocate: Deepika Padukone 

Deepika Padukone shared tips on stress management while opening up about her struggles with depression. “I think competition and comparison is a part of life. Competition is not a bad thing, but recognising our strengths and weaknesses, focusing more on our strengths, and working on our weaknesses is probably the only way to do it,” Padukone said during the session.

“Sleep is very important. It is a freely available superpower,” said Padukone adding that short breaks, hydration, exercise, and meditation are also important. She also tells students that ‘Express never suppress’.

You must go out for adequate sunlight and fresh air. Always reach out for help.

Tech: Gaurav Chaudhary (Technical Guruji)

In the session, the technical guru said that AI can harm creativity and authenticity. He said that eyes are the best high-quality camera that every person has. “Technology has made life easy, but over time dependency has increased which has affected the skillset of individuals,” said Chaudhary.

Students should use AI and other technology but should not depend on it too much

In the session, he also explained what prompts are and quoted a statement from PM’s book that technology is a great teacher.

Finance: Radhika Gupta 

Radhika Gupta who is the Chief Executive Officer of Edelweiss Asset Management, said that humans have the five most important senses and none of the technology can match its level. She said that professional fronts “I force myself a lot that I want to write an essay or speech rather than copy-pasting it from AI.”

AI and tech should be used as slaves rather than masters

Actor: Vikrant Massey

Sharing his exam preparation journey, Vikrant said he was interested a lot in sports as compared to studying and it was just two weeks before the exams when he used to study. “In our house, it was cable TV which used to get disconnected as the exam nears. It was like curfew in our house during exams, ” said the 12th fail actor.

Don’ just study to pass but to acquire knowledge as it is the power. In case you do not meet your expectation, restart!

He also explains what is the power of visualisation and engages students to participate in the activity. Vikrant asks students to do journaling by writing what they feel about in a notebook.

Actor: Bhumi Pednekar

Bhumi shared that during her school days, she was obedient and had a good relationship with her teachers, however, at a young age she realised that she wanted to be an actor. She credits her teachers, parents and friends for her success who taught her different things.

Identify your strengths and play with them

She asked students to express their feelings with parents in case they pressurise to choose a field. She also engaged students to participate in an activity where they explored different and new ways to study.

Spiritual Leader: Sadhguru 

In a world where intelligence is often measured by academic achievements or comparisons with others, the true essence of competence is sometimes overlooked, said spiritual leader and founder of the Isha Foundation, Sadhguru Jaggi Vasudev.

Genuine competence extends beyond knowledge and technical skills—it lies in one’s ability to tap into their own vast potential.

Sadhguru highlighted that unlocking one’s potential is not achieved through competition or comparison but by fostering a vibrant and active intelligence. Unlike conventional intelligence, this deeper awareness allows individuals to perceive life in its entirety, leading to unique expressions and meaningful experiences.

Boxer: M C Mary Kom

Mary Kom who is a six-time world champion and a London Olympics bronze-medallist, spoke at length on how to overcome challenges. None can understand the challenge as she can. She explains that before entering the world of boxing, everyone used to think that boxing was a male activity and could not be done by females, however, she stunned the world by becoming one of the most successful female boxers in the world.

In your life, if you want to take on a challenge, you have to be strong from within

The 42-year-old fought to maintain her composure as she reflected on the numerous challenges she faced on her journey to becoming a boxing great. These challenges included early opposition from her father and the difficulty of continuing in a high-risk contact sport after becoming a mother.

Badminton player: Suhas Yathiraj

Despite cracking UPSC CSE, Suhas passion for Badminton did not end and led him to become a two-time Paralympic silver-medallist in badminton.

Good things don’t come easily. Your journey must go on. If you are willing to shine like the sun, you must be willing to burn like it

In the pep talks with students, Suhas shared how in the 2016 Asian Championship he got nervous before the match and lost the first game and was trailing in the second. He said in the 30-minute break, he motivated himself and then not only won the match but also went on to win six more, becoming the first-ever unseeded player to win a gold medal in China at the Asian Championships.

Rifle shooter: Avani Lekhara

Attending the Pariksha Par Charcha 2025 session, Avani who was paralysed from the waist down after suffering a car accident as a child, shared her life mantra with the students. She told students how to beat pressure and manage stress.

They say failure is the opposite of success. But I think failure is the biggest part of success. No success comes without failure,

In the talk session with students, 23-year-old Lekhara emphasised that recovery and revision are as important as studying. She compared study with sports as in sports, an athlete needs rest and recovery time similarly while studying going for walks and revising are an essential practice.