PM Modi's PR Dominates Vision Of Progress: Priyanka Gandhi On Suspension Of Scholarship (image: facebook.com/priyankagandhivadra)
New Delhi: In a X post on Friday, Congress leader and Lok Sabha MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra criticised that Prime Minister Modi’s PR (Public Relations) exercise is dominating the “vision of progress”. Citing the recent The Telegraph report titled “Modi ‘PR’ trumps scholarships as government spends Rs 62 crore on Pariksha Pe Charcha,” Congress general secretary remarked that despite the suspension of the much-sought after ‘National Talent Search Examination’ Scholarship, the Prime Minister’s Pariksha Pe Charcha (PPC) continues.
“The Prime Minister’s PR dominates the vision of progress,” Gandhi said in a post.
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Progress के विजन पर प्रधानमंत्री जी का PR हावी है।A
1963 में शुरू हुई ‘National Talent Search Examination’ Scholarship से तमाम बच्चों के भविष्य का रास्ता बना, वे देश की प्रगति के भागीदार बने, उनके लिए अच्छी शिक्षा के द्वार खुले।
टेलीग्राफ की रिपोर्ट के मुताबिक, पिछले तीन सालों… pic.twitter.com/xvz04EztSR
— Priyanka Gandhi Vadra (@priyankagandhi) January 10, 2025
In an article published on January 8, The Telegraph denotes that in the last three years, the central government spent more than Rs. 62 crore on PPC, PM Modi’s annual programme ahead of the board examinations, while the period also saw the suspension of a scholarship awarded to schoolchildren — up to their doctoral programmes — through the National Talent Search Examination.
“Had the scholarship been continued, the total expenditure on it across these three years would have come to less than ₹40 crore, going by the spending pattern from previous years. Some government officials suggested the Centre had suspended the Talent Search Exam as part of a plan to cut its expenses on scholarships,” The Telegraph reports.
Though the most popular scholarship for schoolchildren, the education ministry has asked the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) to put the exam on hold. The report states that many academicians and parents probed Centre’s priorities since PPC has increasingly undertook the character of a public relations exercise on the part of Prime Minister, while scholarship could have really benefited the students.
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After conducting the Talent Search Examination in October 2021, the NCERT in December that year published a notice announcing that the exam for 2021-22 had been postponed for administrative reasons. Since then, no further steps have been taken on the subject.
“With the closure of scholarships, the road to a bright future for lakhs of youth was closed, but the Prime Minister’s PR did not stop,” Congress MP added.
