India's NEP 2020 faces funding shortfalls and Supreme Court APAAR ruling

The National Education Policy (NEP) 2020, introduced six years ago, aims to overhaul India's schooling system with a focus on early childhood education, multidisciplinary learning and digital infrastructure. The Union Budget 2026‑27 allocated the highest ever spend on school education, raising overall education outlay by 8% to ₹1.39 lakh crore and targeting a 6% of GDP public investment. Despite increased funding, a parliamentary panel reported that only about 51.5% of the ₹62,660 crore earmarked for five centrally‑sponsored schemes was actually spent, highlighting under‑utilisation across the Samagra Shiksha Abhiyan and other programmes.

Separately, the Supreme Court directed the Central Board of Secondary Education to enforce the Orissa High Court’s order on the APAAR (Automated Permanent Academic Account Registry) ID consent process nationwide. The court emphasised compliance with the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023, and the need for clear parental consent in the creation of a 12‑digit lifelong digital academic identity that stores marksheets, certificates, skills and other records. The ruling places the digital student‑identity initiative under heightened legal scrutiny as the government pushes to digitise education records.