New Delhi, March 13 (IANS) Union Home Secretary Govind Mohan called for building a coordinated national strategy to address the evolving challenges posed by online crimes against women and children in the digital environment, an official said on Friday.

Inaugurating the ‘National Dialogue on Online Crimes Against Women and Children (OCWC)’, Govind Mohan highlighted the growing challenges posed by online crimes and emphasised the need for strengthening institutional capacities at the State and Union Territory-level to combat such offences effectively.

The National Dialogue aims to provide a platform for knowledge exchange, sharing of best practices, and collective deliberation on building a coordinated national strategy to address the evolving challenges posed by online crimes in the digital environment.

The Union Home Secretary stressed that States and UTs must develop robust, specialised units and coordinated response mechanisms to ensure timely investigation, victim support, and swift action against perpetrators.

Govind Mohan also directed law enforcement agencies of all State and Union Territory to accord priority to online crimes against women and children and ensure prompt and coordinated response to such cases.

He urged IT intermediaries to strictly adhere to the provisions of the Information Technology Act and relevant rules and called upon all stakeholders to work collectively towards ensuring a safe and secure digital ecosystem.

The event was organised by the Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C), Ministry of Home Affairs, with the objective of bringing together key stakeholders to deliberate on strengthening coordinated mechanisms to prevent and effectively respond to online crimes targeting women and children, said a statement.

Under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and guidance of Union Home Minister Amit Shah, the Union government remains committed to strengthening institutional mechanisms and fostering collaboration among all stakeholders to ensure a safe, secure, and dignified digital environment for women and children across the country, said the Home Ministry statement.

The inauguration also marked the launch of the Master Trainers Induction Programme for States and Union Territories on Online Crimes Against Women and Children, aimed at creating a national pool of trained officers who will lead capacity-building initiatives in their respective States and UTs.

The programme seeks to equip selected officers with specialised knowledge, investigative techniques, and best practices required to address emerging cyber threats targeting women and children.

These officers will further train law enforcement personnel at the state and district levels, thereby strengthening the country’s response framework to such crimes.

The National Dialogue witnessed participation from senior officials from State and UT Law Enforcement Agencies, representatives from concerned Ministries and Departments of the Centre, social media intermediaries, Internet service providers, academia, civil society organisations, legal experts, and student representatives.

–IANS

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