{"id":3641,"date":"2025-03-20T12:27:54","date_gmt":"2025-03-20T12:27:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lawentranceindia.com\/blogs\/?p=3641"},"modified":"2025-03-20T12:27:54","modified_gmt":"2025-03-20T12:27:54","slug":"mlc-daily-current-affairs-20-march-2025","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lawentranceindia.com\/blogs\/mlc-daily-current-affairs-20-march-2025\/","title":{"rendered":"MLC Daily Current Affairs – 20 March 2025"},"content":{"rendered":"

Today in History (March 20th<\/sup>,2017)<\/h1>\n

The state of Uttarakhand declared the Yamuna and the Ganga as “living entities”.<\/p>\n

Summary of Today’s News<\/strong><\/h2>\n

NASA astronauts return to Earth after 9 months in space<\/span><\/h3>\n

\"NASA-astronauts-return-to-Earth-after-9-months-in-space\"<\/p>\n

    \n
  • Butch Wilmore and Sunita Williams, along with Nick Hague (U.S.) and Aleksandr Gorbunov (Russia), return to Earth.<\/li>\n
  • Mission lasted 286 days, exceeding the typical six-month rotation on the International Space Station (ISS).<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

    Spacecraft and splashdown<\/strong><\/h4>\n
      \n
    • SpaceX Crew Dragon spaceship named Freedom<\/em><\/strong> carried the astronauts back to Earth.<\/li>\n
    • Capsule re-entered Earth’s atmosphere and deployed parachutes for a splashdown off the Florida coast at 3:27 a.m. IST.<\/li>\n
    • Freedom<\/em> experienced temperatures of 2,000\u00b0C during re-entry.<\/li>\n
    • The capsule was greeted by a pod of dolphins and recovery boats for safety checks.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

      Recovery and support<\/strong><\/h4>\n
        \n
      • Astronauts helped out of the capsule onto mobility aids after landing.<\/li>\n
      • Thumbs-up gestures and waving to ground teams as they were assisted.<\/li>\n
      • Larger recovery vessel hoisted the spacecraft aboard.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

        Post-return arrangements<\/strong><\/h4>\n
          \n
        • Astronauts will be flown by helicopter to Houston to meet their families.<\/li>\n
        • Physical rehabilitation program to begin post-return.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

          Space mission details<\/strong><\/h4>\n
            \n
          • Astronauts left the ISS 17 hours earlier after final farewells with the crew.<\/li>\n
          • Mission originally intended to test Boeing\u2019s Starliner on its first crewed flight but delayed due to spacecraft issues.<\/li>\n
          • Wilmore and Ms. Williams, veterans of two prior space missions, flew to the orbital lab in June last year, on what was supposed to be a days-long roundtrip to test out Boeing\u2019s Starliner on its first crewed flight. But the spaceship developed problems and was deemed unfit to fly them back, instead returning empty.<\/li>\n
          • Their 286-day stay is the sixth-longest single-mission duration in U.S. history.<\/li>\n
          • Frank Rubio holds the U.S. record with 371 days in 2023, while Russian cosmonaut Valeri Polyakov holds the world record at 437 days aboard Mir station.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

            APAAR ID Overview and analysis<\/span><\/h3>\n

            \"APAAR-ID-Overview-and-analysis\"<\/p>\n

              \n
            • APAAR<\/strong> stands for Automated Permanent Academic Account Registry.<\/li>\n
            • It enables the \u2018One Nation, One Student ID\u2019 to store academic achievements and facilitate transitions between institutions.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

              Objective:<\/strong><\/h4>\n
                \n
              • It aims to streamline and enhance the academic experience for students throughout India by assigning a unique and permanent 12-digit ID to each student, consolidating their academic records into a single accessible platform.<\/li>\n
              • It is emphasised as not only a vital tool for tracking the educational progress of 260 million students in India but also as an aspirational and globally recognized document for students.\n
                  \n
                • Linked to Aadhaar and stored in DigiLocker, providing standardized data on marksheets and institutional affiliation.<\/li>\n
                • Developed through the Unified District Information System For Education Plus (UDISE+)<\/strong> portal, which tracks regional academic data.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

                  Purpose of APAAR<\/strong><\/h4>\n
                    \n
                  • \n
                      \n
                    • Aims to facilitate rapid processing and verification of academic transcripts.<\/li>\n
                    • Part of the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020<\/strong>‘s reforms for education data collection and policymaking.<\/li>\n
                    • The Education Ministry has encouraged schools under CBSE<\/strong> to achieve \u201c100% saturation\u201d of student registrations for APAAR.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

                      Is APAAR Mandatory?<\/strong><\/h4>\n
                        \n
                      • \n
                          \n
                        • Officially, APAAR is not mandatory<\/strong>\u2014it is described as voluntary on the official site.<\/li>\n
                        • However, circulars by CBSE<\/strong> and FAQ pages do not clarify its voluntary status.<\/li>\n
                        • Some States (e.g., Uttar Pradesh) and schools are pushing for universal registration, creating confusion.<\/li>\n
                        • The Union government reaffirmed the voluntary nature of APAAR in December 2024.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

                          Concerns about Data Security<\/strong><\/h4>\n
                            \n
                          • \n
                              \n
                            • Lack of clarity<\/strong> over the policy documents and the collection of personal data of minors.<\/li>\n
                            • Internet Freedom Foundation (IFF)<\/strong> argues the data collection without a law backing it is unconstitutional.<\/li>\n
                            • Teachers question the necessity of APAAR, as data is already collected through UDISE+<\/strong>.<\/li>\n
                            • Concerns over the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023<\/strong>, which prohibits tracking and behavioral monitoring of children.<\/li>\n
                            • Potential risks due to open APIs<\/strong> and data-sharing channels without proper safeguards.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

                              How APAAR ID is Generated<\/strong><\/h4>\n
                                \n
                              • \n
                                  \n
                                • Teachers and schools guide parents in generating the APAAR ID.<\/li>\n
                                • Schools verify student\u2019s demographic details (e.g., name, date of birth), and parents fill out a consent form.<\/li>\n
                                • Any data mismatch (e.g., names) must be corrected before generating the ID.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

                                  Opting Out of APAAR<\/strong><\/h4>\n
                                    \n
                                  • \n
                                      \n
                                    • Parents can opt out by writing to schools, using templates provided by the Software Freedom Law Centre (SFLC)<\/strong>.<\/li>\n
                                    • Despite its voluntary nature, some regions (e.g., Uttar Pradesh) pressure schools to ensure APAAR generation, even threatening de-recognition of madarassas not participating.<\/li>\n
                                    • Parents have had some success in opting out by presenting the voluntary nature of the program.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

                                      Summary (The Gist)<\/strong><\/h4>\n
                                        \n
                                      • \n
                                          \n
                                        • APAAR is voluntary, though some schools and States push for its adoption.<\/li>\n
                                        • Parents have the option to opt out by contacting schools directly.<\/li>\n
                                        • Concerns about data security and constitutional issues around the collection of minor\u2019s data persist.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n