SRINAGAR: More women in Jammu and Kashmir are reaching out for institutional support under the Centre’s Mission Shakti programme, with the number of beneficiaries assisted through One Stop Centres (OSCs) nearly doubling over the last three years and Women Helpline (181) cases recording a more than six-fold increase in 2025-26, according to data tabled in Parliament by the Union Ministry of Women and Child Development.
Replying to an unstarred question in the Rajya Sabha on July 22, Minister of State for Women and Child Development Savitri Thakur said Mission Shakti is the Government of India’s flagship programme for women’s safety, security and empowerment. The scheme comprises the Sambal component for safety and security and the Samarthya component for women’s empowerment. One Stop Centres provide integrated services including medical assistance, legal aid, police support, temporary shelter and psychosocial counselling, while the Women Helpline (181) offers round-the-clock emergency and non-emergency assistance.
The ministry’s data show that 2,374 women in Jammu and Kashmir received assistance through One Stop Centres in 2023-24, rising to 3,605 in 2024-25 and 4,785 in 2025-26—an increase of more than 101 per cent over three years.
The growth was even sharper in the use of the Women Helpline (181). The helpline assisted 1,061 women in 2023-24, 4,171 in 2024-25, and 28,215 in 2025-26, indicating a steep rise in women seeking assistance through the emergency support system.
Neighbouring Ladakh also recorded a steady increase in utilisation of both services. One Stop Centre beneficiaries rose from 17 in 2023-24 to 34 in 2024-25 and 68 in 2025-26, while Women Helpline beneficiaries increased from 41 to 142 and 271, respectively.
Nationally, 985 One Stop Centres are operational across the country. Since their inception on April 1, 2015, they have assisted more than 14.83 lakh women, while the Women Helpline has helped over 1.04 crore women since its launch. The ministry said the scheme is reviewed annually through the Programme Approval Board with states and Union Territories, apart from regular monitoring through meetings, video conferences and field visits. Two independent evaluations conducted by NITI Aayog in 2020 and 2025 found the scheme’s relevance, effectiveness and sustainability to be satisfactory.
The government also highlighted measures being implemented to improve child safety under Mission Vatsalya and by the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR). These include the ‘Baal Taskari Se Azaadi’ campaign against child trafficking, the integrated Mission Vatsalya Portal, the TrackChild portal for tracing missing children, the Khoya-Paya application, and integration with the Crime and Criminal Tracking Network and Systems (CCTNS).
The ministry further said that the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 has strengthened legal provisions relating to crimes against women and children, while the Ministry of Home Affairs has issued a series of advisories to states on mandatory registration of FIRs in missing children cases, investigation of sexual offences, anti-trafficking measures and victim compensation. Other initiatives include Anti-Human Trafficking Units in every district, the National Database on Sexual Offenders, the Investigation Tracking System for Sexual Offences, the Emergency Response Support System (112), and the National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal to tackle crimes against women and children.
