In a first, 50 divyang students to attend PM's 'Pariksha Pe Charcha' programme

In a first, 50 divyang school students from across the country will attend Prime Minister Narendra Modi's "Pariksha Pe Charcha" programme on January 20, officials said on Thursday.

During the session, which will be held at Talkatora Stadium in the national capital, Modi will interact with students and teachers on beating exam stress. This will be the third edition of the programme.

"For the first time, there will be 50 divyang students from different parts of the country who will attend the programme and get a chance to interact with the Prime Minister," said RC Meena, Joint Secretary, HRD Ministry.

"The specially-abled children have been selected through a painting competition on the theme of 'dealing with exam stress'. The best paintings will also be displayed at the venue," he added.

A total of 2,000 students and teachers will attend the programme, out of which 1,050 students have been selected through an essay competition.

"The students who will get to ask questions to the prime minister have been shortlisted on the basis of essays submitted by them on five subjects -- 'Gratitude is Great', 'Your Future Depends on Your Aspirations', 'Examining Exams', 'Our Duties, Your Take' and 'Balance is Beneficial'," Meena said.

"Last year, we had received around 1.4 lakh entries from students and this time we have received around 2.6 lakh entries," he added.

Modi took 10 questions in the 2018 edition and 16 in last year's session.

This year's programme was earlier slated to be held on January 16 but was rescheduled due to festivals across the country.