eRaksha 2025 can Train Students in AI Safety & Digital Ethics amid rising deepfake scams, voice cloning frauds and classroom cyberattacks
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. The first edition of eRaksha was launched in 2019 and this year’s theme, “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, CIET-NCERT; 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, 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, CIET-NCERT 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 cyber space.”
eRaksha 2025 competition: Call for participation
eRaksha, a flagship initiative by CyberPeace and NCERT serving as a creative platform to educate and empower India’s youth and educators about cyber ethics, online safety, and responsible AI, has announced five diverse competition tracks that tap Creativity, Critical Thinking & Tech Innovation. Students, parents, educators, and institutions across India are invited to register at www.eraksha.net and be part of a movement that is shaping the future of safe digital citizenship.
Imp Dates:
- Launch: 14 November 2025 (Children’s Day), USI, New Delhi
- Submission Window: 15 November 2025 – 20 January 2026
- Mentorship Clinics (for shortlisted participants): December 2025
- Shortlist Announcement: 25 January 2026
- Final Showcase & Demo Day: 9 February 2026
- Awards & Policy Brief Launch: 10 February 2026 at Bharat Mandapam during the India–AI Impact Summit 2026
