India Launches ‘Raksha’, World’s First AI Tool to Combat Child Trafficking, Child Marriage and Online Abuse

Positioning itself at the forefront of the global fight against crimes targeting children, India has unveiled a first-of-its-kind AI-powered tool designed to combat child trafficking, child marriage, and the spread of Child Sexual Exploitative and Abuse Material (CSEAM). The launch comes ahead of the Government of India’s AI Impact Summit 2026, scheduled to be held from February 16 to 20, 2026.

The ground-breaking technology-enabled tool for child protection, aptly named ‘Raksha’, was launched today by Jitin Prasada, Union Minister of State for the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) and Ministry of Commerce and Industry, at ‘Prosperity Futures: Child Safety Tech Summit’ which is the official pre-summit event of the AI Impact Summit 2026. The Summit was organised by Just Rights for Children (JRC), along with strategic partner India Child Protection, in affiliation with MeitY.

Developed by Just Rights for Children, the unique tool draws on the network’s on-ground presence of over 250 civil society organisations working across more than 451 districts nationwide to strengthen prevention, detection, and response to crimes against children.

Raksha tool analyses nationwide data and deploys advanced AI capabilities to enable real-time mapping of trafficking and child marriage heat zones, identification of vulnerable children and communities, tracking the economic organized crime of trafficking, source and destination points, detection of emerging exploitation patterns and pockets.

Addressing the Summit which is a first-of-its-kind on child protection, Jitin Prasada, Union Minister of State for the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) Ministry of Commerce and Industry, said digitally, "True measure of technology lies in the protection of the most vulnerable. Children represent our future and it is our collective responsibility to ensure that the digital world they are in and will inherit is safe, inclusive and empowering. I am pleased to know that Just Rights for Children is launching AI-enabled child safety technology for prosperity, empowerment, trust and protection.”

Echoing the sentiments of Prime Minister Narendra Modi on AI and technology, the Minister further said, “Raksha tool encapsulates the values of safeguarding children, ensuring a strengthened child protection system. I congratulate Just Rights for Children for taking this responsibility head-on and organizing this consultation to bring a dynamic and diverse range of stakeholders for a constructive deliberation on using AI and technology for safe and prosperous today and for the future of our children.”

Emphasising on how Raksha can transform the child protection ecosystem, Bhuwan Ribhu, Founder of Just Rights for Children, said, “India is at the forefront of using AI to strengthen child protection systems and advance child prosperity. ‘Raksha’ marks a landmark moment in India’s global leadership in establishing the largest child protection ecosystem in the world using technology. Using Raksha as the platform, India may be able to track every child in need of care and protection and every vulnerable family using technology. By transforming data into knowledge and action, this approach is expanding access to justice, improving service delivery for vulnerable families and reinforcing India’s commitment to safe, secure and prosperous futures for children.Together we shall use technology for every child.”

Talking about how AI can help in preventing crimes against children, Member of Parliament Lavu Sri Krishna Devarayalu, said, “Artificial intelligence is no longer a future promise. It is a present reality. It shapes how we learn, govern, work, and increasingly, how and who our children engage with. AI allows us to move from reaction to prevention, from documenting harm to predicting risk. Patterns of child vulnerability linked to geography, migration, school attendance, and socioeconomic condition already exist across aggregate data systems. AI can turn these dots and generate early warnings, interventions before harm can occur. Such systems do not replace human judgment, they strengthen it, because prevention is not merely a technological upgrade, it is morally imperative. The challenge before us demands collaboration between government, technologists, civil society, academia, and communities.” He is also the convenor of MPs For Children, a forum that raises issues concerning children and their rights.

Raksha is designed to significantly strengthen both prevention and enforcement mechanisms within the child protection ecosystem and specifically targets with its three focussed tools. The first Raksha tool acts on prevention by reducing economic vulnerability of families at a mass scale, especially against child marriage. The second tool combats the organized economic crime of trafficking by pre-empting and preventing it before it takes place on one side, and following the money to identify the tentacles of the organized crime syndicates on the other. The third tool strengthens digital child protection by detecting, analysing, and mapping online heat zones and IP addresses associated with the creation, upload, download, and consumption of CSEAM.

The Summit was divided into four plenary sessions which included ‘AI-accelerated towards social Transformation’; ‘Raksha: Framing Safer Digital Spaces for Children’; ‘Tech for Good’; and ‘AI, Awareness and Action: Communication and narrative for the Future’. During the sessions, the speakers talked about the role of AI in predictive prevention, behaviour analysis, its convergence with law and grassroots actions and risks, rights and responsibilities for children in digital age.

Those present during the day-long summit included Daya Shankar, Deputy Secretary and Director, Ministry of Women and Child Development; Priyanka Ribhu, Head, Centre for Legal Action and Behavioural Change (C-LAB) for Children; Mathilde Cerioli, Chief Scientist, Everyone AI, Council Member, ChatGPT; Nomisha Kurian, Assistant Professor at Warwick University; G K Goswami, ADG and Director, Forensic Institute, UP; Harshvardhan, SP, Telangana Cyber Security Bureau; Dhananjay Tingal, Executive Director, Association for Voluntary Action; Anil Raghuvanshi, Founder and President, ChildSafeNet; Bally Sappal, Head of Development, We Protect Global Alliance; Anupriya Mohta, Public Policy Manager, YouTube; Dr. E. Khalieraaj, Director, National Cybersecurity Research Council; Mayank, ADG, Railway Police Force; and Sampurna Behrua, Executive Director, India Child Protection; Gaurav Mittal, Principal, Applied Scientist, Microsoft US; and Atul Agarwal, CEO, Aspirify Enterprises Pvt Ltd.

In 2025 alone, Just Rights for Children, partnering with NITI Ayog, linked over 2 million vulnerable families to government welfare schemes; prevented 198,628 child marriages; and rescued 55,146 children from trafficking and exploitation. It was following JRC’s 2024 petition that the Supreme Court of India criminalized the downloading and storage of CSEAM and also mandated the use of the term CSEAM instead of child pornography. The network coordinated with law enforcement agencies and enabled further action in 73,258 CSEAM cases. The network maintains a Memorandum of Understanding with the Railway Protection Force and works closely with it to rescue children from traffickers using rail routes.

Government of India is hosting the India-AI Impact Summit in February 2026 making it the first-ever global AI summit to be hosted in the Global South. The event will bring together global leaders, CEOs and policy makers to engage on artificial intelligence showcasing India’s growing role in shaping global artificial intelligence discussions.