Union Home Secretary Govind Mohan has stressed the importance of developing a coordinated national strategy to tackle the increasing challenges of online crimes against women and children in the digital realm. Mohan highlighted the necessity of enhancing institutional capabilities at the State and Union Territory levels to effectively combat such offenses. The ‘National Dialogue on Online Crimes Against Women and Children (OCWC)’ was inaugurated to facilitate knowledge sharing, best practice exchange, and collective discussions on addressing the evolving threats posed by online crimes.
The initiative aims to establish specialized units and coordinated response mechanisms at the State and Union Territory levels to ensure prompt investigation, victim assistance, and decisive action against offenders. Mohan has urged all law enforcement agencies across States and Union Territories to prioritize online crimes against women and children and ensure a swift and unified response to such incidents. He has also called on IT intermediaries to adhere strictly to the Information Technology Act and relevant regulations to create a secure digital environment collectively.
The event, organized by the Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C) under the Ministry of Home Affairs, aimed to bring together key stakeholders to enhance coordinated efforts in preventing and responding effectively to online crimes against women and children. The Union government, under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah, is committed to strengthening institutional mechanisms and fostering collaboration among stakeholders to ensure a safe digital space for women and children nationwide, as per the Home Ministry statement.
The inauguration also marked the commencement of the Master Trainers Induction Programme for States and Union Territories on Online Crimes Against Women and Children. This program intends to create a national pool of trained officers equipped with specialized knowledge, investigative skills, and best practices to address emerging cyber threats targeting women and children. These officers will further train law enforcement personnel at the state and district levels, enhancing the country’s response framework against such crimes.
The National Dialogue witnessed the participation of senior officials from State and UT Law Enforcement Agencies, representatives from concerned Ministries and Departments of the Centre, social media intermediaries, Internet service providers, academia, civil society organizations, legal experts, and student representatives.
