It was the "latest" stable release for ICS at the time, famously fixing a bug in Google’s backup mechanism found in previous versions. Compatibility: Android 4.0.3 and 4.0.4 ROMs. How It Was Installed
Because this package is from 2012, many of the apps within it (including the Play Store) may no longer function or connect to modern Google servers without significant manual updates or workarounds. Download gapps ics 20120429 signed zip
Select and choose the gapps-ics-20120429-signed.zip file. It was the "latest" stable release for ICS
In the early days of custom ROMs like CyanogenMod 9 or AOKP, developers could not include Google proprietary apps (like the Play Store, Gmail, or Maps) directly in the ROM due to licensing issues. Users had to "flash" these GApps packages separately to gain access to Google services. Key Details of This Version April 29, 2012. Select and choose the gapps-ics-20120429-signed