'Safeguard essential': Top court on withholding children's Aadhaar details under APAAR scheme, Pg8

Key Highlights:

• The Supreme Court has directed the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) to implement a pan-India option for parents to refuse consent for sharing their children's Aadhaar details under the Automated Permanent Academic Account Registry (APAAR) scheme.
• This directive mandates that parents can opt out of the APAAR ID creation or withhold consent for sharing data.
• The Court also ruled that any personal information collected under the APAAR scheme must not be disclosed to private entities or third parties, except as per law.
• The ruling aligns with a December 2025 judgment by the Orissa High Court, which called for amending the consent form to include an opt-out option.
• The Supreme Court emphasized that all data handling under APAAR must strictly adhere to the provisions of the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023.

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Detailed Insights:

• The APAAR scheme, part of the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020, aims to create a "One Nation, One Student ID" for all students in India.
• It assigns a unique 12-digit ID to students to digitally store academic records, achievements, and credits, facilitating seamless educational transitions.
• Petitioners challenged the scheme, arguing it could function as a state-run surveillance mechanism and raise concerns about informational privacy and data protection.
• The Supreme Court deemed concerns about misuse of voluntarily provided data "misconceived" but stressed the authorities' obligation to protect personal data.
• The Court highlighted that the collection of information under APAAR, even without a statutory mandate, does not absolve authorities of data protection responsibilities.
• The Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023, governs the collection, processing, storage, retention, sharing, and use of personal information by Data Fiduciaries.
• The CBSE is now responsible for ensuring that the consent forms for APAAR explicitly provide an option for parents to refuse or withdraw consent.

Key Concepts Involved:

• Automated Permanent Academic Account Registry (APAAR): A unique 12-digit ID for students in India to digitally store academic records, part of the "One Nation, One Student ID" initiative under NEP 2020.
• Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023: India's comprehensive law governing the processing of digital personal data, ensuring data privacy and protection.
• Data Fiduciary: Any person or entity that determines the purpose and means of processing personal data, bearing accountability for its lawful and secure handling.