Parliament Question: SHe Box Portal

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF WOMEN & CHILD DEVELOPMENT RAJYA SABHA UN- STARRED QUESTION NO. 1432 TO BE ANSWERED ON 11.02.2026 SHe Box PORTAL 1432: SHRI PRAKASH CHIK BARAIK: SHRI RYAGA KRISHNAIAH: SHRI KESRIDEVSINH JHALA: DR. PARMAR JASHVANTSINH SALAMSINH: DR. MEDHA VISHRAM KULKARNI: SMT. MAYA NAROLIYA: Will the Minister of Women and Child Development be pleased to state: (a) the statutory and administrative architecture governing the SHe-Box (Sexual Harassment electronic Box) Portal and the institutional mechanisms through which complaints are received, processed and escalated; (b) the total number of complaints received on the Portal during the last five years, year-wise; and (c) the number of complaints disposed of, pending and under various stages of inquiry, along with the average and median time taken for disposal? ANSWER MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF WOMEN AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT (SHRIMATI SAVITRI THAKUR) (a): The Government of India enacted ‘the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013’ (SH Act) with the aim to provide safe and secure work environment to women. The Act is applicable to all women irrespective of their age or employment status, working in organised or unorganised sector. The Act mandates the Appropriate Government to monitor the implementation of the Act and maintain data on number of cases filed and disposed of under SH Act. As per the Act, CentralGovernment is the Appropriate Government in respect of the workplaces established, owned, controlled or wholly or substantially financed by funds provided directly or indirectly by the Central Government. Similarly, the State Government is the Appropriate Government in respect of the workplaces established, owned, controlled or wholly or substantially financed by funds provided directly or indirectly by them. Further, the State Government is the Appropriate Government for all other workplaces falling/ working within their jurisdiction (other than those which are under the domain of Central Government). The Act establishes a two-tiered institutional mechanism for complaint redressal, Internal Committees (ICs) in every workplace with 10 or more employees and Local Committees (LCs) in every district to handle complaints from workplaces with less than 10 employees and where complaint is against the employer itself. Being the Nodal Ministry for the SH Act, 2013, the Ministry of Women and Child Development (MWCD) takes all appropriate measures to ensure its effective implementation and in fostering coordination among stakeholders across Central Government, State Governments and the private sector. With a view to securing robust and transparent implementation of the POSH Act, 2013, the Ministry of Women and Child Development (MWCD) launched the Sexual Harassment electronic Box (SHe-Box) Portal (https://shebox.wcd.gov.in/) on 29th August 2024 as a transformative digital governance initiative. The portal has been conceived with the objective of creating a central repository of information on Local Committees (LCs) and Internal Committees (ICs), which was not available earlier. It provides single-window access for women across all sectors to file complaints of sexual harassment, thereby ensuring ease of reporting with full confidentiality and accessibility. It further enables centralized data management and monitoring of POSH Act implementation, facilitates real-time tracking of complaint status and promotes transparent communication between complainants and the authorities responsible for handling complaints. The portal has Multi-lingual support facility in 23 languages to make it user-friendly and provide an improved experience for users across the country. Hon’ble Supreme Court vide Order dated 03rd Dec, 2024, directed that the Chief Secretaries of each State shall direct the Deputy Commissioners, District Magistrates or Additional District Magistrates, Collector or Deputy Collector of each district to survey the number of organisations, both public sector as well as private, within the district, about constitution of IC. The District Officer was directed to upload the requisite details for the effective implementation of Sections 4 and 6 of the Act in the matter of constitution of the Internal Complaints Committee in a work place by every employer as well as the Local Committee which has been constituted and upload the details to the SHe-Box portal which has been created by the Union of India. The Hon’ble Court vide subsequent orders dated 12th August, 2025 and 06th January, 2026, further directed the District Officers to conduct the survey with the assistance of the LabourCommissioners in the District and the Chief Labour Commissioner of the State and the States to ensure that the data that has already been collected is on-boarded on the SHe-Box portal. To enable effective compliance and adherence to the provisions of the Act, the Portal facilitates the following measures for all workplaces: a. The portal maintains a centralized repository of ICs, LCs and other Statutory officers, i.e, District Officers, Nodal Officers designated under section 6(2) of the Act. i. As of date, 777 districts have uploaded LC details ii. Out of 777 districts, details of 646 District Officers are available and details of 624 Nodal officers designated u/s 6(2) of the Act is uploaded iii. over 1,48,700 workplaces have been onboarded (92,400 Government establishments and 56,300 private establishments). iv. Out of these, approximately 60,700 ICs have updated their details (Government – 37,400; Private – 23,300). v. To expedite updation, automated notifications (freeze messages, SMS, and email alerts) are issued to Nodal Officers. b. Training and Awareness To ensure compliance with mandatory training obligations, in accordance with Section 19 of the Act, all workplaces onboarded are enabled to update records of trainings and awareness programmes conducted for employees, ICs as well as LCs, c. Confidentiality and Timely Disposal of Complaints i. In compliance with Section 16 of the Act, confidentiality of complaints is strictly maintained. Complaint details are accessible only to the Chairperson of the Committee. ii. To ensure disposal within the statutory period of ninety (90) days, automated notifications are issued to Nodal Officers and Chairpersons at regular intervals (30, 60, and 90 days). iii. In case of pendency beyond ninety (90) days, freeze messages, SMS, and email alerts are triggered to enforce timely action. d. Annual Report Submission To ensures accountability and statutory compliance with to Rule 14 of the POSH Rules, the portal provides an option for ICs to upload their Annual Reports and confirm submission to the District Officers concerned.(b) The total number of complaints received on the SHe- Box Portal since its launch on 29th August, 2024, as given below- Calendar Year Complaint received 2024 21 (from 29.08.2024 to 31.12.2024) 2025 254 2026 21 (from 01.01.2026 to 06.02.2026) Total 296 (c) Total number of complaints disposed of is 105 out of 296 complaints received. The portal provides options for disposal of complaints in accordance with Section 12 and Rules 8, 9, and 10 of the POSH Act. *****