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After the 31st of December, 2025, your PIO card will no longer be considered a valid travel document to enter and exit from India. Hence, you will have to apply for a regular visa if you want to travel to India.
My cousin recently applied for admission in India, but some universities rejected her application because the PIO card's future validity was uncertain. They strongly advised her to apply for OCI to avoid complications with her admission. She ended up applying for PIO to OCI conversion, which added a lot of stress. It is better to get your PIO card converted asap.
If you don't convert your PIO to OCI before the deadline, which is 31st December, 2025, then the PIO card will be considered invalid for traveling to or from India.
If you are a PIO cardholder, you need to get it converted to an OCI card. There is no other option for you. I had a PIO card for years, and I kept procrastinating the conversion process. Although it is still valid but I was planning a last-minute trip and at the airport, the staff questioned my PIO card's validity. They told me the rules were getting strict, and I might face issues at immigration if I didn't get it converted. Thankfully, after a few arguments, they let me board the plane. I immediately applied for PIO to OCI conversion as soon as I landed.
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One of my friends faced issues with property transactions in India because their PIO card was not up-to-date. PIO does offer parity with NRIs, but the OCI card generally offers more rights in financial and economic matters. If you have any kind of financial dealings in India, then converting your PIO card to an OCI is much more convenient.