Parliament Question: Portal for Missing Women and Children

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF WOMEN AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT LOK SABHA STARRED QUESTION NO. *203 TO BE ANSWERED ON 13.02.2026 PORTAL FOR MISSING WOMEN AND CHILDREN *203. SMT. BHARTI PARDHI: SHRI NARESH GANPAT MHASKE: Will the Minister of Women and Child Development be pleased to state: (a) the current status of efforts to compile data on missing women and children during the last six years indicating the number of unresolved cases, State-wise; (b) the details of the measures being taken to strengthen coordination between child welfare committees, police and other stakeholders to ensure prompt tracing, rescue and rehabilitation of missing women and children; (c) whether a centralised national portal/digital system has been operationalised to track missing women and children in real time, if so, the details thereof and if not, the reasons for the delay; (d) the details of the steps being taken to enhance the capacity of child protection units, including training and deployment of specialised officers across States; and (e) the details of the strategies adopted to integrate anti-trafficking measures with child welfare frameworks to reduce the incidences of missing women and children along with their timely protection and rehabilitation? ANSWER MINISTER OF WOMEN AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT (SHRIMATI ANNPURNA DEVI) (a) to (e): A statement is laid on the Table of the House. *****STATEMENT REFERRED TO IN REPLY TO PARTs (a) TO (e) OF THE LOK SABHA STARRED QUESTION NO.203 FOR ANSWER ON 13.02.2026 RAISED BY SMT. BHARTI PARDHI AND SHRI NARESH GANPAT MHASKE REGARDING PORTAL FOR MISSING WOMEN AND CHILDREN (a): National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) compiles and publishes data on missing and recovered women & children in the country in its report ‘Crime In India’. The said report is available up to the year 2023 and may be seen at www.ncrb.gov.in/crime-in-india-year- wise.html?year=2023&keyword= . (b) & (c): The Ministry of women and Child Development is the nodal Ministry for the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015 (JJ Act, 2015) which is the primary legislation for ensuring safety, security, dignity and well-being of children and is implemented by the States and UTs. The Act creates statutory structures at the State and District levels which include State Child Protection Society, Child Welfare Committees, Juvenile Justice Boards (JJBs), District Child Protection Units. It also provides for establishment of Child Care Institutions (CCIs). Under the JJ Act 2015 (Sections 27-30), the Child Welfare Committees (CWCs) have been empowered to take decisions with regard to the children in need of care and protection, keeping their best interest in mind. They are also mandated to monitor the function of the Child Care Institutions (CCIs). As per Section 106 of the JJ Act 2015, the primary responsibility for the implementation of the Act lies with the State Governments and Union Territory (UT) Administrations. Under Section 107 of The Juvenile Justice Act, 2015, States and UTs are mandated to constitute Special Juvenile Police Unit (SJPU) in each district and city which should be headed by an officer not below the rank of Deputy Superintendent of Police and to designate one Officer, not below the rank of Assistant Sub Inspector, as a child Welfare Police Officer in every Police Station. This Ministry is implementing a Centrally Sponsored Scheme namely ‘Mission Vatsalya’, through the State and UT Governments to deliver various services for Children in Need of Care and Protection (CNCP) as well as Children in Conflict with Law (CCL). These services include Institutional Care and Non-Institutional Care. The Child Care Institutions (CCIs) established under the Mission Vatsalya scheme support, inter-alia, age-appropriate education, access to vocational training, recreation, health care, counselling etc. Under non-institutional care, support is provided to the children through Sponsorship, Foster Care, Adoption and After Care. This Ministry has directed all State and UT Governments to appoint designated nodal officers for Missing children at State Level and District levels. The details of these nodal officers have been uploaded on Mission Vatsalya portal. Ministry of Home Affairs has also appointed anodal officer to coordinate with nodal officers from States and UTs on Mission Vatsalya and for collection of data from States and UTs regarding missing children. Further, this Ministry has developed an integrated unified Mission Vatsalya Portal in consultation and coordination with States and UTs. The TrackChild portal for Missing/Found Children, and Khoya-Paya application for Missing/Sighted Children have been integrated with this unified Mission Vatsalya Portal. The TrackChild portal is implemented with support and involvement of various stakeholders namely Ministry of Home Affairs, Ministry of Railways, State Governments and UT Administrations, Child Welfare Committees, Juvenile Justice Boards, National Legal Services Authority, etc. Standard operating procedure have been issued in this regard. Advisories have also been issued to all States and UTs including Director General of Police of all States & UTs and other stakeholders regarding implementation of TrackChild. It is also integrated with the Crime and Criminal Tracking & Network Systems (CCTNS) of the Ministry of Home Affairs which allows interoperability in terms of matching of F.I.Rs of missing children with data base of TrackChild to trace and match missing children by the State and UT police concerned. Further, through Khoya Paya module any citizen can report about any missing or sighted children. The scheme also provides for emergency outreach services (24x7x365) for children in difficult circumstances through Child Helpline (1098) which is integrated with Emergency Response Support System-112 (ERSS-112) Helpline of Ministry of Home Affairs. The Ministry of Women and Child Development, under Mission Shakti Scheme has a component ‘Shakti Sadan’, an Integrated Relief and Rehabilitation Home for protection and rehabilitation of victims of trafficking. Shakti Sadan is a home for destitute, distressed, marginalized women and those who are victims of trafficking etc. and also provides help, care and support and all the daily needs and services to such women. Women Helpline (WHL) is also a component of Mission Shakti. WHL provides 24-hour toll- free telecommunication services to support women in both emergency and non-emergency situations. It offers assistance to women affected by violence and provides information about government schemes and services. Women Helpline is operational in 35 States and Union Territories and also integrated with Emergency Response Support System ERSS-112. (d) & (e): Savitri Bai Phule National Institute of Women & Child Development (SPNIWCD), an autonomous body under this Ministry, organizes training programmes for key stakeholders working on prevention of child trafficking, missing children and care, protection & rehabilitation of women & children. These stakeholders include Anti-human Trafficking Units (AHTUs), Special Juvenile Police Units (SJPUs), Railway Police Force (RPF) Officers, functionaries of DCPU (District Child Protection Units) & Child Welfare Committees (CWCs) etc. Further, section 143 of BNS defines trafficking as recruiting, transporting, harbouring, transferring, or receiving a person for exploitation using various coercive means. The sectionoutlines severe punishments for trafficking, with higher penalties for trafficking multiple persons or children. Further, Section 144 of BNS, 2023, deals with the exploitation of trafficked persons, including sexual exploitation. The section outlines different punishments for exploiting trafficked children and adults including women, with distinct terms of imprisonment and fines. Section 95 of BNS related to hiring, employing or engaging a child etc.to commit an offence, Section 99 of BNS related to buying a child for the purposes of prostitution are also relevant in the context of human trafficking. Additionally, the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), 2023 also recognizes trafficking as a cognizable and non- bailable offence. 'Police' and 'Public Order' are the "State” subjects under the Seventh Schedule to the Constitution of India. The responsibility for preventing and countering the crime of human trafficking, therefore, primarily vests with respective States and Union Territories, who are competent to deal with such offences under extant provisions of law. However, the Government of India supplements the efforts of the States and Union Territories by providing them guidelines on preventing and countering the crime of human trafficking, in the form of various advisories issued from time to time. Some of the initiatives of the Central Government are as under: i. The Government has provided financial assistance to all States and Union Territories, for upgrading/ setting up Anti Human Trafficking Units (AHTUs) covering all Districts of the States and UTs. Currently, 827 AHTUs are functional including 807 in States and UTs, 15 in Border Security Forces (BSF) and 5 in Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB). SSB has also established dedicated helpline number 1903. ii. The Ministry of Home Affairs also provides financial assistance to the States and UTs in holding 'State level conferences' and Judicial Colloquiums', which are aimed at sensitizing the Police/ Law officers of the States and UTs about the latest initiatives/ developments relevant in addressing the issue of human trafficking in a focused and efficient manner. iii. A national level communication platform - Crime Multi Agency Centre (Cri MAC) was launched by Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) on March 12, 2020 for online sharing of information on crime & criminals on 24x7 basis among various Law Enforcement Agencies (LEAs) and ensure seamless flow of information between them. It facilitates dissemination of information about significant crimes including human trafficking cases across the country on a real time basis and enables inter-State coordination. (iv) The Government has mandated the National Investigation Agency (NIA) to investigate cases of human trafficking having inter-state, national and international ramifications.v. 14,653 Women Help Desks (WHDs) have been established in Police Stations with financial assistance under Nirbhaya Fund focus on making the Police Stations more women friendly and approachable. vi. Investigation Tracking System for Sexual Offences (ITSSO), an online analytical tool, has been launched to monitor and track police investigations in sexual offences as per Criminal Law (Amendment) Act 2018 (now included in BNSS). It enables a regular review by the States and UTs concerned to monitor the progress of case investigation. vii. National Database on Sexual Offenders (NDSO) is a database available exclusively to police. It was Launched on 20.09.2018 to facilitate investigation & tracking of sexual offenders, which allows Investigating Officers to track habitual sex offenders along with initiating preventive measures against sexual offences. viii. National Database of Human Trafficking Offenders (NDHTO), facilitates the LEAs to search the trafficker's portfolio which provides crime history, personal details, movement, court actions, appeals, visitors, etc. Trafficker's data search provides details for prevention/detection and investigation of such crimes. The Government of India is committed to enhancing inter-agency collaboration at the national and international levels and strengthening public awareness campaigns to prevent trafficking. The NIA, in conjunction with the new criminal laws and the Immoral Traffic (Prevention) Act, 1956 (ITPA), coupled with the initiatives of the Ministry of Women and Child Development constitute a more robust framework for handling trafficking offences. *****