Lok Sabha Question No. 203 (STARRED), answered on 2026-02-13
Subject: Portal for Missing Women and Children
Ministry: WOMEN AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT
Asked by: Smt. Bharti Pardhi, Shri Naresh Ganpat Mhaske

## 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.

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## 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-yearwise.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 a nodal 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 tollfree 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 section outlines  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 nonbailable 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.

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