When a child goes missing in India, the search involves far more than the local police station. Police databases, child-protection authorities, railway networks, helplines, shelters and increasingly facial recognition technology form an interconnected system designed to trace children and return them safely.
NCRB data show that 98,375 children were newly reported missing in 2024, including 75,603 girls and 22,768 boys. Another 48,800 children from previous years remained untraced at the beginning of the year, taking the total number under consideration to 147,175. During 2024, 98,826 children were traced or recovered, while 48,349 remained missing at year-end.
The process begins with an FIR. There is no requirement to wait 24 hours before reporting a missing child. Details and photographs can then move through police and child-protection networks. TrackChild and Khoya-Paya have been brought under the Mission Vatsalya Portal, which works alongside systems such as CCTNS. Child Helpline 1098, Child Welfare Committees and District Child Protection Units are also part of the tracing, protection and restoration process.
Railway stations have emerged as important intervention points. Under Operation Nanhe Farishte, the Railway Protection Force rescued 84,119 children between 2018 and May 2024, including missing, runaway, abandoned and other vulnerable children.
Technology is now adding another layer to this network. Facial recognition can compare photographs of missing children with images of children found elsewhere, potentially linking cases separated by years and hundreds of kilometres. Systems such as Telangana Police’s DARPAN and the nationwide UNIFY platform demonstrate how image matching can support investigators. CCTV networks at railway stations can similarly help identify children moving through crowded public spaces. AI-assisted age progression may also help when the available photograph is several years old.
But technology does not independently solve a missing-child case. Facial recognition produces probable matches that still require human verification. Its effectiveness depends on photographs being available, records being correctly entered and databases communicating with each other. Questions also remain over accuracy, privacy and the retention of children’s facial data.
India’s challenge, therefore, is not simply developing better technology. It is ensuring that police, databases, welfare systems and technology connect quickly enough to turn information into identification, protection and, wherever possible, a safe reunion with family.
Read the first article How India finds the missing children‘ on Chapter One Magazine.
Read the second article ‘How India is using advanced facial recognition and AI to find missing children‘ on Chapter One Magazine.
