Introduction Of APAAR ID: A Growing Privacy Concern

Introduction

Recently, the Automated Permanent Academic Account Registry (hereinafter referred to as "APAAR") has been conceptualized under the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020. Under this initiative, all students pursuing higher education are required to register with the Academic Bank of Credits (ABC). As per the new regulations, possessing an ABC ID is mandatory for admission to any college or university¹. The framework is already in force since January 2025²with some schools started to implement it. While the objective of APAAR is 'One Nation, One Student ID 'tracking student progress and streamlining academic records, however it also raises privacy concerns with respect to its data collection and storage practices.