Parliament Question: HEIs Integrated with ABC and APAAR Ecosystem in Bulandshahr

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF EDUCATION DEPARTMENT OF HIGHER EDUCATION LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO-3608 ANSWERED ON-10/08/2026 HEIs Integrated with ABC and APAAR Ecosystem in Bulandshahr 3608. Dr. Bhola Singh: Will the Minister of EDUCATION be pleased to state: (a) the number of schools, colleges and Higher Educational Institutions (HEIs) in Bulandshahr Lok Sabha Constituency integrated with the Academic Bank of Credits (ABC) and Automated Permanent Academic Account Registry (APAAR) ecosystem; (b) whether the Government has reviewed the implementation of ABC and APAAR in the said Constituency and if so, the details thereof; (c) the number of students registered under APAAR and ABC in Bulandshahr district; (d) the measures taken by the Government to facilitate integration of Government and private institutions under the framework; and (e) the steps taken by the Government to create awareness among students and educational institutions in Bulandshahr Lok Sabha Constituency? ANSWER MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF EDUCATION (DR. SUKANTA MAJUMDAR) (a) to (e): The Government of India has framed the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 to promote holistic & multidisciplinary education, enable multiple entry and exit system and establish a lifelong learning ecosystem. NEP envisions the establishment of an Academic Bank of Credit (ABC) to digitally store the academic credits so that the degrees from a Higher Education Institution (HEI) can be awarded taking into account credits earned. Accordingly, the Ministry of Education launched the Academic Bank of Credits (ABC) Scheme in July 2021 to provide a 12-digit unique digital identity for every learner to facilitate the identification and to enable the systematic tracking of their learning. This unique id has been termed “Automated Permanent Academic Account Registry” (APAAR ID). APAAR ID is designed to accumulate credits earned from academic, skill and experiential learning.As on date, more than 2900 award granting institutions from the higher education ecosystem have been registered on ABC portal. Further, over 4.8 crore APAAR IDs have been created in the higher education ecosystem, with more than 10 crore credit records mapped. As per the All India Survey on Higher Education (AISHE) 2023-24 report, the only university in Bulandshahr district has been onboarded on the ABC portal as an Award Granting Institution. So far, this university has uploaded more than 4,500 academic records for more than 1100 APAAR IDs of its students in ABC portal. More than 4.90 lakh school students from Bulandshahr have APAAR ID. Ministry of Education has conducted regular interaction with HEIs and States to review the progress of the scheme including the state of Uttar Pradesh. Further, Digital India Corporation (DIC) under the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) is the technology partner for the Ministry of Education for the implementation of the ABC scheme. To ensure seamless implementation and stakeholder support, DIC has established a comprehensive support ecosystem for the academic institutions through daily video conferencing sessions on all weekdays, around 10 awarding bodies participate in each session. Further, an integrated ticketing system for timely resolution of queries; which resolves nearly 200 queries per day. A dedicated toll-free helpline (1800-889-3511) for students & educational institutions has been established which resolves most of the issues during the call. Zonal and State Nodal Officers have also been designated to strengthen coordination with State Governments, Higher Education Departments, and award-granting academic institutions across the country. Further, to promote awareness and enhance stakeholder engagement, DIC has also organized the Digital India Talk Show at universities and higher education institutions. In addition, online knowledge-sharing initiatives, such as "Ask Our Experts", are conducted through digital platforms to address implementation challenges, clarify stakeholder queries, and disseminate best practices related to the ABC ecosystem. *****