The National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) has announced that it resolved nearly 26,000 cases and rescued more than 2,300 children across the country in the past six months, highlighting the scale and urgency of child protection challenges in India. The update was shared by Paresh Shah, Division Head for Juvenile Justice, POCSO and Special Cells, during a state-level conference on child rights implementation held recently in Arunachal Pradesh.
Shah said that child rights violations cannot be viewed as statistics alone, noting that every case involves a child and a family whose future depends on timely institutional support. He added that the Commission had also facilitated the repatriation of more than 1,000 children to their home districts in the same period, aided by new technology-driven systems deployed at NCPCR.
He stressed that while Central and state governments remain committed to safeguarding children, strong laws must be backed by effective monitoring, widespread awareness and coordinated enforcement. Looking ahead, the Commission’s priorities include strengthening mental health support for children, deploying AI tools to combat Child Sexual Abuse Material and refining strategies to address on-ground challenges in child protection.
Arunachal Pradesh SCPCR chairperson Ratan Anya presented an assessment of the state’s child protection ecosystem, flagging significant gaps in safety, monitoring and reporting mechanisms. Citing recent incidents, she said they exposed critical shortcomings in POCSO investigations, awareness levels among stakeholders, anti-trafficking and anti-child labour measures, enforcement of anti-tobacco provisions under COTPA and monitoring of residential schools. She urged NCPCR to scale up awareness efforts and recommended that the Education Department conduct sustained audits of schools.
State Education Commissioner Amzad Tatak called on districts to take school safety norms seriously and ensure compliance with the NCPCR safety manual. He noted that a task force headed by Chief Minister Pema Khandu has been formed to strengthen child rights mechanisms within the school system, describing the conference as timely and essential for addressing the state’s pressing concerns.
