The National Commission for Protection of Child Rights has to address the challenges faced by children in the digital era. Examine the existing policies and suggest measures the Commission can initiate to tackle the issue.
Approach · directive: “examine / suggest”
What it asks · Identify children's digital-era risks, review the laws and policies that exist, and propose concrete steps the NCPCR can take within its mandate.
It asks 3 things — answer each
- Examine: the challenges children face in the digital era
- Examine: the existing laws and policies, and their gaps
- Suggest: measures the NCPCR can initiate within its mandate
Open with · Section 13 of the CPCR Act, 2005 asks the NCPCR to examine and review legal safeguards for child rights and recommend measures; with childhood lived online, that mandate must reach the digital world.
Cover
- Challenges: abuse material, grooming, sextortion, cyberbullying, gaming addiction, profiling of children's data, and the digital divide.
- Laws: POCSO Act, IT Act s.67B and IT Rules 2021; the Supreme Court (2024) made viewing or storing abuse material punishable.
- DPDP Act 2023: verifiable parental consent; bars tracking, behavioural monitoring and targeted advertising aimed at children.
- Gaps: global platforms, weak age verification, low awareness, thin technical capacity (table: risk, safeguard, gap).
- NCPCR: build on its mobile-phone study and school cyber-safety manual; child-friendly complaints linked to I4C.
- NCPCR: age-appropriate design guidelines, platform compliance reviews, coordination with State commissions and the Data Protection Board.
Close with · The UN Committee on the Rights of the Child's General Comment No. 25 (2021) applies child rights to the digital environment; it can be the NCPCR's benchmark for setting standards, not just answering complaints.
Add value (verified)
- Section 13(1)(a) of the CPCR Act, 2005: the Commission examines and reviews legal safeguards for child rights and recommends measures for their implementation.Functions and Powers - National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) ↗“Examine and review the safeguards provided by or under any law for the time being in force for the protection of child rights and recommend measures for their effective implementation.”
- Just Rights for Children Alliance v. S. Harish (23 September 2024): the Supreme Court held that storing or possessing child sexual abuse material with the intent set out in Section 15 of POCSO is an offence, that viewing it online can amount to constructive possession, and urged Parliament to adopt the term CSEAM.Just Rights for Children Alliance v. S. Harish, Supreme Court judgment of 23 September 2024 (Indian Kanoon copy) ↗“Section 15 of the POCSO provides for three distinct offences that penalize either the storage or the possession of any child pornographic material when done with any particular intention specified under sub- section(s) (1), (2) or (3) respectively.”
- DPDP Act, 2023: verifiable parental consent before processing a child's data; no tracking, behavioural monitoring or targeted advertising aimed at children.Government accords highest priority for ensuring the safety and security of children - PIB (Release ID 2203025) ↗“requiring the Data Fiduciary to obtain verifiable parental consent before processing any personal data of a child. The Act also prohibits Data Fiduciary from tracking or behavioural monitoring of children or targeted advertising directed at children.”
- NCPCR's study on the effects of mobile phones and internet devices on children was shared with MeitY, MWCD and the State commissions; it also added a 'Cyber Safety' section to its school safety manual.Government accords highest priority for ensuring the safety and security of children - PIB (Release ID 2203025) ↗“The findings of the said research study were shared with concerned Ministries including MeitY and MWCD and the State Commissions for Protection of Child Rights (SCPCRs).”
- UN Committee on the Rights of the Child, General Comment No. 25 (2021): children's rights in relation to the digital environment (CRC/C/GC/25).General comment No. 25 (2021) - Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) ↗“General comment No. 25 (2021) on children’s rights in relation to the digital environment”
Question: UPSC's CS (Main) 2025, GS Paper II — paper ↗. Approach: Minimalist IAS, checked 3 Oct 2026 (how we verify) — UPSC publishes no model answers. ·
Model answer· 367words · Minimalist IAS
Section 13 of the Commissions for Protection of Child Rights Act, 2005 asks the NCPCR to examine and review the safeguards in every law protecting child rights and to recommend measures for their effective implementation. As childhood moves online, that mandate must now reach the digital world.
Challenges children face in the digital era
- Sexual exploitation: child sexual abuse material, grooming and sextortion on platforms and messaging apps.
- Well-being: cyberbullying, gaming addiction and harmful content affect sleep, attention and mental health.
- Data and privacy: apps profile children, and weak age assurance means platforms cannot tell who is a child.
- Digital divide: poor and rural children miss online learning, while connected children face risks unsupervised.
Existing policies and their gaps
- Criminal law: the POCSO Act, 2012 and Section 67B of the IT Act punish abuse material; in September 2024 the Supreme Court held that viewing, downloading or storing it attracts liability, and urged Parliament to adopt the term CSEAM.
- Data protection: the DPDP Act, 2023 requires verifiable parental consent and bars tracking, behavioural monitoring and targeted advertising aimed at children.
| Risk | Safeguard | Gap |
|---|---|---|
| Abuse material | POCSO, IT Act | Global platforms, slow takedown |
| Children's data | DPDP Act | Weak age verification |
| Harmful content | IT Rules, 2021 | Low parent, teacher awareness |
Measures the NCPCR can initiate
- Evidence to policy: build on its study of the physical, behavioural and psycho-social effects of mobile phones on children, already shared with MeitY and State commissions.
- Complaints: a child-friendly online channel building on the POCSO e-box, with time-bound escalation to police and the Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C).
- Standards: age-appropriate design guidelines for apps and games, and reviews of platforms' compliance with the IT Rules and DPDP duties.
- Schools: expand the cyber-safety section of its school safety manual into a curriculum with NCERT and school boards, plus parent and teacher training.
- Coordination: joint protocols with State commissions, police, industry and the Data Protection Board, so a complaint anywhere reaches the right authority.
The UN Committee on the Rights of the Child's General Comment No. 25 (2021) applies children's rights to the digital environment. Using it as a benchmark, the NCPCR can move from reacting to complaints to setting standards for a safe digital childhood.
Prepared by Minimalist IAS to the answer standard of Shivam Singh (mentor, 7 years) · facts checked against official sources (how we verify) · updated 3 Oct 2026. UPSC publishes no model answers: compare your structure and coverage with this, then write your own.
