‘Raksha’ Launched: India Leads Global AI Fight for Child Safety

India has taken a major step towards strengthening child protection by launching ‘Raksha’, a first-of-its-kind AI-powered tool aimed at combating child trafficking, child marriage and the spread of Child Sexual Exploitative and Abuse Material (CSEAM). The initiative positions India at the forefront of global efforts to use artificial intelligence for safeguarding children.

The tool was launched by Jitin Prasada, Union Minister of State for Electronics and Information Technology and Commerce & Industry, at the Prosperity Futures: Child Safety Tech Summit, a pre-summit event ahead of the AI Impact Summit 2026, scheduled from February 16–20.

Developed by Just Rights for Children (JRC), Raksha leverages advanced AI to analyse nationwide data and enable real-time mapping of child trafficking and child marriage hotspots, identify vulnerable children and communities, track organised trafficking networks, and detect emerging patterns of online exploitation, including CSEAM.

Speaking at the Summit, Jitin Prasada said that the true measure of technology lies in protecting the most vulnerable. “Children are our future, and it is our collective responsibility to ensure that technology creates a safe, inclusive and empowering environment for them,” he said, congratulating JRC for using AI to strengthen child protection systems.

Highlighting the significance of the initiative, Bhuwan Ribhu, Founder of Just Rights for Children, said that Raksha marks a landmark moment in India’s leadership in building the world’s largest technology-enabled child protection ecosystem. He added that transforming data into actionable intelligence will improve prevention, justice delivery and support for vulnerable families.

The Raksha platform focuses on three key areas: prevention of child marriage by addressing economic vulnerability of families, disruption of organised trafficking networks by tracking financial and operational patterns, and strengthening digital child safety by detecting and mapping online CSEAM activity.

The Summit brought together policymakers, law enforcement officials, technologists, academics and civil society leaders to discuss the role of AI in predictive prevention, digital safety and child rights in the evolving digital landscape.

The launch comes as India prepares to host the India-AI Impact Summit 2026, the first global AI summit in the Global South, underscoring the country’s growing role in shaping responsible and inclusive use of artificial intelligence worldwide.