The national helpline for children, known as Childline 1098, will be shifted from the administrative control of the Ministry of Women and Child Development (WCD) to the Ministry of Home Affairs, Union Minister Smriti Irani said on Monday.
The move will mean that police personnel, instead of social workers, will answer the calls made to 1098, Ms. Irani said at a press briefing. She was speaking after a meeting with 112 aspirational districts and 100 districts with highest rates of crime against women and children.
“We want the interface to be the State. The other reason for the move is to preserve data sensitivity. We have already held discussions with the MHA and it is in the process of setting up a portal,” Secretary, Ministry of WCD, Ram Mohan Mishra, said.
Childline 1098 is an initiative for rescuing and assisting children in distress. It is operated by the Childline India Foundation, which is a nodal agency of the Ministry of WCD.
Asked whether police personnel will have the requisite skills to deal with children sensitively, the Secretary said, “We will build an ecosystem such that after a complaint is registered the call can be handled by NGOs.”
