25 Crore APAAR IDs Created For Students, Says Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan

New Delhi: Union Minister of Education and Skill Development and Entrepreneurship Dharmendra Pradhan on Tuesday inaugurated the national conference on Automated Permanent Academic Account Registry (APAAR): One Nation One Student ID Card.

Speaking on the occasion, the Minister said the APAAR ID is going to be the aspirational and global document for students of the country.

Highlighting the importance of several important digital public infrastructures (DPIs) developed in the country in recent years, the Minister informed that out of 53 DPIs developed in 16 countries, 19 are from India. Twenty-five crore APAAR IDs have already been created, the Minister informed.

APAAR is being introduced in alignment with the National Education Policy (NEP) of 2020 and the National Credit and Qualifications Framework (NCrF) to provide a unified and accessible academic experience for students across India to give students a unique and permanent 12-digit ID to consolidate their academic achievements in one place.

Pradhan underscored the importance of the interconnectivity of APAAR IDs, Academic Bank of Credit and Digilocker.

The Union Minister mentioned that NEP 2020 is incorporating the provisions of migration and integration without compromising on the quality of education. “It is important to make competency aspirational, which comes through skilling, along with knowledge,” he said.

The event saw two panel discussions on addressing the integration of APAAR ID and Credit Systems with job profiles and on exploring the evolving role of DigiLocker in education.

Higher Education Secretary Sanjay K Murthy, School Education & Literacy Secretary Sanjay Kumar, Skill Development & Entrepreneurship Secretary Atul Kumar Tiwari, MEITY Secretary S Krishnan, National Council for Vocational Education and Training Chairman Dr Nirmaljeet Singh Kalsi, vice-chancellors, Directors, Registrars and Controller of Examinations from various institutions across the country, and senior officials of the Education Ministry were present in the event.