APAAR stands for Automated Permanent Academic Account Registry, which is a special ID system for all students in India, starting from childhood. It is part of the One nation, One Student ID initiative of the Union government, stemming from the new National Education Policy of 2020. The purpose of APAAR is to provide a unique ID number to every student, from pre-primary to higher education, in addition to the existing Aadhaar ID that every individual possesses. The APAAR ID will track students academic journey and achievements and make transfer from one school to another easier. Under the initiative, each student would get a lifelong APAAR ID, making it easy for the learners, schools, and governments to track academic progress from pre-primary education to higher education. APAAR also aims to reduce fraud and duplicate educational certificates by providing a single, trusted reference for educational institutions.

To sign up for APAAR, students will have to provide basic information such as name, age, date of birth, gender, and a photograph. This information will be linked to the Academic Bank Credit (ABC), which is a digital storehouse that contains information of the credits earned by students throughout their learning journey. With the APAAR ID, students would be able to store all their certificates and credits, whether they come from formal education or informal learning.

Students can register online and then download the APAAR ID PDF @ abc.gov.in using the basic details such as Mobile Number and Password. The APAAR ID card is a lifelong ID number that tracks students academic journey and achievements and makes transfer from one school to another easier. The schools and colleges will give this card to each student enrolled from pre-primary to higher education. The APAAR card will be in addition to the already existing Aadhaar ID of the students.