Operation Muskaan-XI: A Lifeline for India’s Lost and Exploited Children

Its struggle against child-trafficking, forced labour and exploitation saw a major boost when the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) came out with an operation named Muskaan. Operation Muskaan-XI, which is now in its 11 th year, led by the Telangana Police has untied over 7,600 children out of vulnerable situations and this depicts how inter-agency coordination has helped in the protection of children.

Context

• Operation Muskaan-XI, the 11 th edition that is being conducted by the Telangana Police has rescued more than 7,600 children out of a vulnerable situation, proving that harmony among the agencies can be extremely strong in child protection.

Key points

What is Operation Muskaan?

• Operation Muskaan (also called Operation Smile) is a national program that aims at tracing, rescuing and rehabilitating missing, trafficked or exploited children in India.

History of the Initiative

• Initiated in 2014 as a local project of Ghaziabad Police to trace lost children.

• This was subsequently stepped up to a national agitation by the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA).

Alternate Name

• Also known as Operation Smile in some states, but both aim at the same goal—rescuing children in distress.

Main Objective

• To rescue and reform:

  • Missing children

  • Victims of child trafficking

  • Child laborers

  • Children were put at work as beggars, house helps, or exploited sexually.

Duration

• It is conducted as a specially dedicated month-long drive which is generally done in the month of July each year.

Stakeholders Involved

• Operation Muskaan is an inter-agency initiative and consists of:

  • Police and Anti-Human Trafficking Units (AHTU)

  • Ministry of Women and Child Development (WCD)

  • Child Welfare Committees (CWCs)

  • State Juvenile Police Units (SJPU)

  • National Commission of Protection of Child rights (NCPCR)

  • Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs)

  • Labour Departments

How Does It Work?

• The special teams find the vulnerable places which include the railway stations, bus stands, slums and factories etc.

• Begun children are rescued.

• Documented

• Medical care was furnished

• Linked to child welfare services

• To be reunited with their families or in rehabilitation homes

Exercise Muskaan-XI: Salient Details

• Carried out by Women Safety Wing of Telangana Police (July 2025)

• More than 7,600 children were rescued.

  • 529 girls

  • More than 3,700 children in other states (Odisha, Bihar, MP, Rajasthan)

  • 4 children from Nepal

• The number of victims of child labour was 6,700

• More than 1,700 FIRs have been lodged and over 1,700 are issues with arrests

• Facilitated with women and child development, labour, health, and NGOs

Legal and Policy Framework Supporting Operation Muskaan

Goals of Operation Muskaan

• Identification and rescue: Attention should be paid to those children who are involved in child labour, begging, or are in dark conditions.

• Rehabilitation and Repatriation: Support the process of going back to families or institutions of the state and entrance to schools or bridge programs.

• Capacity building: Police training, Child welfare officer training and NGO training.

• Data Sharing: TrackChild portal and CCTNS integration.

• Community Awareness: Making of information using the mass media in order to solicit cooperation among the population.

Impact and Achievements (National Level)

• Rehabilitation Success: In 2025, over 6500 children get back to their families

• Educational Enrollment: 2,600+ kids of Urban Bridge School Network

• Labour Department Action: Fines worth ₹46+ lakh imposed under the Minimum Wages Act

Challenges in Implementation

Way Forward

• Institutional Strengthening

  • Empower Special Juvenile Police Units (SJPU) and Child Welfare Committees (CWC).

  • Play greater resources under Mission Vatsalya and ICPS.

• Technology Integration

  • Increase the application of AI, facial recognition, and real-time sharing of information through the TrackChild portal.

• Community Engagement

  • Carry out awareness campaigns in risk prone places and get Anganwadi and ASHA workers as well as school teachers involved.

• Cross-border Protocols

  • Come up with a system through Nepal and Bangladesh, to take back the rescued children of foreign origin, very fast.

• Judicial Reforms

  • Expedite child issues, and victim-centered legal services.

• Follow-up

  • Follow up after the rescue so that children do not fall into exploitation.

Conclusion

Operation Muskaan is the demonstration of how child rights and cooperation between federalism in India works. The fact that more than 7,600 children have been saved in Telangana alone speaks to the proportions of the crisis, and to the effectiveness of specific intervention. It is good to save but it is necessary to rehabilitate, reintegrate and to implement reforms in systems so that the saving continues.