It understood adolescents’ reality during the pandemic and demonstrated urgency in response. It introduced a creative strategy, harnessing cost-effective technology to reach out to the most marginalized adolescent students, even during school closures. It put government's own data to strategic use at scale during an emergency, opening out new pathways to connect with students. The daily messages through cost-effective mode (IVRS) were presented like `infotainment’ or `edutainment’, rather than teaching or advice which adolescents loathe. It disseminated the programme access widely, and created demand among students to call back for receiving the inputs. Program did not need one to have smart phones to receive the messages. It helped students to stay calm and be ready to give the public exams during a highly uncertain period of school closure due to COVID. Baseline and end-line scores for a sizable sample proved the effectiveness of this intervention to connect with the emotional well-being of students. UNICEF roles were strategic and clear in getting government to collaborate. Due to its success in Tamil Nadu, it was replicated in three other states, translated in other languages with content contextualization in Bihar, Jharkand and Jammu & Kashmir
