Topic: 2025 – Protecting and Empowering Youth in Digital Spaces
Country: India
Delegate Name: Sarah Miller
Children have been spending an increasing amount of time online and interacting with many digital spaces. The Republic of India – now the country with the largest population (over 1.47 billion) and an adolescent population of 253 million, which is ⅕ of the whole population – acknowledges that this is an issue that needs to be addressed. The Republic of India is committed to providing youth with many opportunities, such as providing them with support for entrepreneurship, literacy improvement programs, and encouraging growth, through the digital world. The Republic of India also recognized the negative effects of youth access to digital spaces and strives to mitigate these.
To empower youth in digital spaces, the Republic of India has worked to foster digital literacy, provide access to education, and encourage innovation and entrepreneurship. The flagship program, Digital India, is within the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology. Digital India was launched on July 1, 2015, by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Digital India’s goal is to transform the Indian population into a digitally empowered society and knowledge economy. This included giving people better access to government services to improve national literacy and connectivity. Another initiative, under the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports, is MY Bharat, which stands for Mera Yuva Bharat. My Bharat is a platform that connects youth, aged 15-29, to programs, mentorships, leadership development, and experiential learning opportunities. From its launch in 2023, 18.1 million people and 120,000 organizations have joined the platform.
The Republic of India also recognizes the challenges that youth face in digital spaces. Much of the youth population lacks the skills and knowledge to navigate the internet. Because of this, youth are exposed to cyberbullying, privacy issues, mental health issues, and misinformation. This targets especially girls who are vulnerable to harassment, doxing, and non-consensual image sharing. The Ministry of Home Affairs has been collaborating with many private organizations, such as the Cyber Peace Foundation and Internet Freedom Foundation, to raise awareness about cyberbullying and give legal assistance to victims. Additionally, the Ministry of Home Affairs launched the Cybercrime Coordination Center (I4C) initiative to combat cybercrime across the nation.
The Republic of India is prepared to work with other countries to empower the youth community in terms of increased access to opportunities and innovation on the internet to improve literacy. The Republic of India is also prepared to provide safeguards against various problems caused by digital spaces. Such as teaching youth how to successfully navigate the internet, and providing programs to report cyberbullying and cybercrime. By providing the youth community with a safe digital environment that promotes growth, the Republic of India will strengthen the next generation.
Works Cited
Prakash, O. (2025). Is it time for India to set social media age limits for adolescents? Indian Journal of Psychiatry, 67(2), 267. https://doi.org/10.4103/indianjpsychiatry.indianjpsychiatry_1012_24
Kaur, M., & Saini, M. (2022). Indian government initiatives on cyberbullying: A case study on cyberbullying in Indian higher education institutions. Education and Information Technologies, 28(1), 581. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10639-022-11168-4
“Empowering Youth, Strengthening Governance through Responsible Social Media – NeGD National E-Governance Division.” NeGD – National E-Governance Division, 27 Oct. 2025, negd.gov.in/blog/empowering-youth-strengthening-governance-through-responsible-social-media/
IANS. “MY Bharat Enhances Youth Engagement in Civic Projects with 2 Crore Users.” Lokmat Times, 31 Oct. 2025, www.lokmattimes.com/health/my-bharat-enhances-youth-engagement-in-civic-projects-with-2-crore-users/.
Today, India. “Social Media’s Impact on Indian Students’ Well-Being.” Indiatoday.In, India Today, 7 Nov. 2024, bestcolleges.indiatoday.in/news-detail/social-medias-impact-on-indian-students-well-being.
