On 25th October 2024, Railway Protection Force (RPF), the Ministry of Railways in partnership with the Ministry of Women and Child Development (MoWCD), has launched revised Standard Operating Procedure (SOP), a major initiative to protect vulnerable children found on railway premises nationwide, during an event held at Rail Bhawan in New Delhi, Delhi.
- During the event, Indian Railways and MoWCD has also announced expansion of Child Help Desks (CHDs) at major railway stations, aimed at strengthening the support network available to children in need.
- This comprehensive SOP lays out a robust framework for protecting children who come into contact with Indian Railways.
- This revised SOP reinforces MoR’s commitment to prevent child exploitation and trafficking by providing a safety net to these vulnerable children.
Key People: Satish Kumar, Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Railways Board; Anil Malik, Secretary of MoWCD; Ravinder Goyal, Member Operations and Business Development, Railways Board and other senior officials from both the Ministry were present at the event.
Note: Originally SOP for protection of vulnerable children was rolled out in 2015 under Juvenile Justice (JJ) Act and was later updated in 2021.
Key Points:
i.While addressing the event, Anil Malik, Secretary of MoWCD highlighted various measures initiated by Indian Railways to enhance the safety and security of juveniles like: installing Closed Circuit Television (CCTV) and face recognition technology at upgraded railway stations.
ii.During the event, the RPF emphasized on the importance of reinforcing Anti-Human Trafficking Units (AHTUs) and urged states such as: Assam, Gujarat, Haryana, Punjab, Chhattisgarh, and Madhya Pradesh (MP) to establish these units at their respective railway stations to prevent trafficking and improve passenger safety.
- Earlier, AHTUs were supposed to be set up in about 262 stations across the country.
iii.Over the last 5 years, RPF has rescued 57,564 children from human trafficking, out of them 18,172 were girls.
- It has also ensured that 80% these rescued children were reunited with their families.
Key Operations led by MoR:
i.RPF has introduced various focused initiatives under the “Operation Nanhe Farishte” to ensure safety of children throughout the railway network.
- As of 17th July 2024, RPF has rescued 84,119 children who were at risk in stations and trains, preventing them from falling into harm’s way.
ii.RPF has introduced Operation AAHT in order to address the continuing challenge of child trafficking. Since 2022, over 2,300 children have been rescued and 674 traffickers were apprehended under this operation.
iii.Operation Meri Saheli was launched on 29th October, 2020 which aims to ensure safety of single lady travelling in trains.
iv.The Government of India (GoI) had established a dedicated fund called “Nirbhaya Fund” in 2013, for implementation of initiatives aimed at improving the safety and security for women in the country.
- The Government can allocate money from Nirbhaya Fund to install CCTV cameras & face recognition system in the railway stations across the country so as to prevent crime against women.
About Railways Protection Force (RPF):
It is the armed force which works under the MoR. It was established as a statutory body under the RPF Act, 1957, to protect the security and property of railway passengers and areas.
Director General (DG)- Manoj Yadava
Headquarters- New Delhi, Delhi
About Ministry of Women and Child Development (MoWCD):
Union Minister- Annpurna Devi (Constituency- Kodarma, Jharkhand)
Minister of State (MoS)- Savitri Thakur (Constituency- Dhar, Madhya Pradesh (MP))
