Debate emerges on role of AI in safeguarding children’s rights as ‘Raksha’ launches

By A Representative

India announced the launch of an AI-powered child protection tool named ‘Raksha’ ahead of the Government of India’s AI Impact Summit 2026, scheduled for February 16–20. The tool was introduced at the ‘Prosperity Futures: Child Safety Tech Summit’ by Jitin Prasada, Union Minister of State for the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology and Ministry of Commerce and Industry. The summit was organised by Just Rights for Children (JRC) with India Child Protection and MeitY as partners.

Raksha has been developed by JRC and is supported by a network of over 250 civil society organisations working across 451 districts. The tool uses AI to analyse nationwide data and provide real-time mapping of trafficking and child marriage heat zones, identify vulnerable children and communities, track organised crime networks, and detect emerging exploitation patterns.

At the summit, Jitin Prasada stated that technology should be measured by its ability to protect vulnerable populations and emphasised the importance of safeguarding children in digital spaces. Bhuwan Ribhu, founder of JRC, described Raksha as a step toward building a large-scale child protection ecosystem using technology. Member of Parliament Lavu Sri Krishna Devarayalu highlighted AI’s role in shifting child protection from reaction to prevention, noting its potential to generate early warnings and interventions.

Raksha incorporates three tools: one aimed at reducing economic vulnerability of families to prevent child marriage, another focused on disrupting trafficking networks by tracking financial flows, and a third designed to strengthen digital child protection by mapping online activity linked to Child Sexual Exploitative and Abuse Material (CSEAM).

The summit featured four plenary sessions on AI’s role in social transformation, digital safety for children, technology for social good, and communication strategies for the future. Participants included representatives from government ministries, law enforcement, academia, civil society, and technology companies.

JRC reported that in 2025, its initiatives linked over 2 million vulnerable families to welfare schemes, prevented nearly 200,000 child marriages, and rescued more than 55,000 children from trafficking and exploitation. The organisation also petitioned the Supreme Court in 2024, leading to the criminalisation of downloading and storing CSEAM.

The India-AI Impact Summit 2026 will be the first global AI summit hosted in the Global South, bringing together international leaders, policymakers, and industry representatives to discuss artificial intelligence and its applications.

While the launch of Raksha has been presented as a landmark in child protection, questions remain about whether AI tools alone can effectively safeguard children’s rights. Observers note that technology may strengthen detection and prevention, but its success will depend on enforcement, accountability, and sustained collaboration between government, civil society, and communities.

Comments

Swami Vivekananda's views on caste and sexuality were 'painfully' regressive

By Bhaskar Sur* Swami Vivekananda now belongs more to the modern Hindu mythology than reality. It makes a daunting job to discover the real human being who knew unemployment, humiliation of losing a teaching job for 'incompetence', longed in vain for the bliss of a happy conjugal life only to suffer the consequent frustration.

CFA flags ‘welfare retreat’ in Union Budget 2026–27, alleges corporate bias

By Jag Jivan The advocacy group Centre for Financial Accountability (CFA) has sharply criticised the Union Budget 2026–27 , calling it a “budget sans kartavya” that weakens public welfare while favouring private corporations, even as inequality, climate risks and social distress deepen across the country.

From water scarcity to sustainable livelihoods: The turnaround of Salaiya Maaf

By Bharat Dogra We were sitting at a central place in Salaiya Maaf village, located in Mahoba district of Uttar Pradesh, for a group discussion when an elderly woman said in an emotional voice, “It is so good that you people came. Land on which nothing grew can now produce good crops.”

When free trade meets unequal fields: The India–US agriculture question

By Vikas Meshram The proposed trade agreement between India and the United States has triggered intense debate across the country. This agreement is not merely an attempt to expand bilateral trade; it is directly linked to Indian agriculture, the rural economy, democratic processes, and global geopolitics. Free trade agreements (FTAs) may appear attractive on the surface, but the political economy and social consequences behind them are often unequal and controversial. Once again, a fundamental question has surfaced: who will benefit from this agreement, and who will pay its price?

Why Russian oil has emerged as the flashpoint in India–US trade talks

By N.S. Venkataraman* In recent years, India has entered into trade agreements with several countries, the latest being agreements with the European Union and the United States. While the India–EU trade agreement has been widely viewed in India as mutually beneficial and balanced, the trade agreement with the United States has generated comparatively greater debate and scrutiny.

'Big blow to crores of farmers’: Opposition mounts against US–India trade deal

By A Representative Farmers’ organisations and political groups have sharply criticised the emerging contours of the US–India trade agreement, warning that it could severely undermine Indian agriculture, depress farm incomes and open the doors to genetically modified (GM) food imports in violation of domestic regulatory safeguards.

Penpa Tsering’s leadership and record under scrutiny amidst Tibetan exile elections

By Tseten Lhundup* Within the Tibetan exile community, Penpa Tsering is often described as having risen through grassroots engagement. Born in 1967, he comes from an ordinary Tibetan family, pursued higher education at Delhi University in India, and went on to serve as Speaker of the Tibetan Parliament-in-Exile from 2008 to 2016. In 2021, he was elected Sikyong of the Central Tibetan Administration (CTA), becoming the second democratically elected political leader of the administration after Lobsang Sangay.

From Puri to the State: How Odisha turned the dream of drinkable tap water into policy

By Hans Harelimana Hirwa, Mansee Bal Bhargava Drinking water directly from the tap is generally associated with developed countries where it is considered safe and potable. Only about 50 countries around the world offer drinkable tap water, with the majority located in Europe and North America, and a few in Asia and Oceania. Iceland, Switzerland, Finland, Germany, and Singapore have the highest-quality tap water, followed by Canada, New Zealand, Japan, the USA, Australia, the UK, Costa Rica, and Chile.

Territorial greed of Trump, Xi Jinping, and Putin could make 2026 toxic

By N.S. Venkataraman* The year 2025 closed with bloody conflicts across nations and groups, while the United Nations continued to appear ineffective—reduced to a debate forum with little impact on global peace and harmony.

Search This Blog