CyberPeace and NCERT unveil the 5th edition of eRaksha 2025 with theme 'AI for Peace & Safety'

New Delhi [India], November 15 (ANI): CyberPeace, in collaboration with NCERT and supported by Google.org, has launched eRaksha 2025, a nationwide cyber safety and digital ethics competition placing students at the centre of India's fight against AI-enabled risks.

According to a release, the first edition of eRaksha was launched in 2019, and this year's theme is "AI for Peace & Safety". Building Trust in the Age of Machines" aims to equip young digital citizens with the literacy, ethics, and resilience needed to navigate an AI-first world.

The eRaksha launch event also witnessed the eRaksha website reveal (https://www.eraksha.net/) and the launch of a handbook for social media guidelines designed for students, designed to help young users cultivate safe, responsible, and ethical online behaviour.

The launch event also featured a special panel moderated by Dr Angel Rathnabai, Associate Professor, CIET-NCERT, with esteemed panelists Lt. General (Dr.) Rajesh Pant (Retd.), Global Advisory Council, CyberPeace; Dr Rajesh D, Associate Professor, CIETNCERT; and Dr. Rejaul Karim, Assistant Professor, CIET-NCERT, who discussed the growing urgency of AI safety and digital well-being for young learners.

As Indian schools now report over 7,000 cyberattacks every week, among the highest globally, students and teachers are increasingly exposed to a rising wave of AI-enabled risks, from deepfake extortion and voice-cloning scams to fabricated results, fake circulars, misinformation-driven panic and data breaches. With classrooms rapidly digitising and AI tools becoming integral to everyday learning, the need for digital safety has shifted from important to indispensable, underscoring the urgency of initiatives like eRaksha 2025.

Announcing the launch of eRaksha 2025, the fifth edition of the competition, Major Vineet Kumar, Chairperson and Founder of CyberPeace, said, "In an AI-driven world, children are not the weakest link. They can be our strongest line of defence. Through this CyberPeace-NCERT initiative we're creating a pool of cyber safety ambassadors who are becoming our first line of responders. Our mission through initiatives such as eRaksha is not to just keep children safe, but to raise a generation that is digitally confident, ethically grounded and capable of defending their communities."

Speaking about the role of schools and parents, Dr Rajesh D. Associate Professor, CIETNCERT said, "At NCERT we are making efforts to integrate tech-first education across subjects to make sure curriculums aren't designed in silos; so that a non-Computer Science student is also aware about the latest developments in technology. We're also educating children about their conduct on social media and the cyber space. Parents and teachers, and the way they communicate with children play an important role here to sensitize them toward the perils of social media and how to stay safe in cyberspace."

eRaksha 2025 features five diverse competition tracks that encourage students, educators, and institutions to explore AI safety through creativity, critical thinking, and innovation. From visual storytelling and written expressions to tech-led solutions, school-wide safety initiatives, and impactful AI-powered video content, the tracks collectively offer a platform for young digital citizens to engage with the opportunities and risks of AI in meaningful, age-appropriate ways. The competition is open to students, educators, educational institutions and caregivers.

The initiative will be launched on 14 November 2025 at USI, New Delhi, with the submission window open from 15 November 2025 to 20 January 2026. Shortlisted participants will attend mentorship clinics in December 2025, followed by the shortlist announcement on 25 January 2026. The programme will culminate with a Final Showcase and Demo Day on 9 February 2026, and the Awards and Policy Brief will be released on 10 February 2026 at Bharat Mandapam during the India-AI Impact Summit 2026.

As India races ahead in AI adoption, from personalised learning systems to campus administration, the need for AI literacy, ethical thinking, and digital safety among young citizens has never been more urgent.

Initiatives like eRaksha complement the Government of India's push for safe, inclusive, and responsible AI innovation, reinforcing India's ambition to become a global leader in AI with trust. (ANI)

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