The only dedicated helpline for children, Childline 1098, running successfully for the past 26 years as a partnership between civil society and the government, will be integrated with national emergency number 112, the Union government informed States and Union Territories.
“The Ministry has decided to integrate the Child Helpline (1098) with Emergency Response Support System (ERSS) with telephonic short code 112 and 112 India App and their linkage with District Child Protection Units (DCPUs) with the help of Centre for Development of Advanced Computing (C-DAC),” according to a letter of September 12 from Manoj Kumar Prabhat, Under Secretary, Ministry of Women and Child Development.
The letter also asks States and Union Territories to identify a State-level nodal officer and second-level officers to support C-DAC as well as provide a building or space for setting up a Women and Child Development Control Room for takers of calls on the Child Helpline and Women Helpline. It follows the issuance of guidelines on Mission Vatsalaya by the Ministry of Women and Child Development in August, which too had mentioned integration of the two helplines.
