The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) observed Safer Internet Day on February 10, 2026, by leading a pan-India public awareness campaign under the overarching theme "Smart Tech, Safe Choices – Exploring the Safe and Responsible Use of AI." The campaign, organized under the Information Security Education and Awareness (ISEA) initiative, ran across all 36 States and Union Territories, reaching an estimated 9.78 crore citizens through public media, and generating 3.95 crore additional impressions across digital platforms.

Secretary, MeitY wrote directly to the Chief Secretaries of all States and UTs, Secretaries of Union Ministries and Departments, and the Chairpersons and Commissioners of AICTE, CBSE, Kendriya Vidyalaya Sangathan, and Navodaya Vidyalaya Samiti. The directives activated district administrations, schools, colleges, and government offices across the country, creating a cascading mobilization from the national level down to the Block and Gram Panchayat levels.

A total of 2,859 offline awareness workshops were conducted across 634 districts, engaging 3,73,305 participants including students, educators, government officials, civil society representatives, and citizens. Workshops were organized at State/UT level (154 workshops), District level (1,080 workshops), and Block/Gram Panchayat level (1,625 workshops). Implementing agencies included NIC (SIOs/DIOs/ADIOs), C-DAC and NIELIT centres, OCAC Odisha, Kendriya Vidyalaya and Navodaya Vidyalaya schools, ISEA institutions, SeMT units, cyber ambassadors, and community-based organizations.

C-DAC Hyderabad organized an online awareness session titled "Staying Safe in the Age of AI" for employees of Central Ministries and Departments. More than 2,350 participants attended via Webex and YouTube Live. Dr. Sanjay Bahl, Director General, CERT-In, addressed the session, highlighting the growing digital footprints within government systems and the need for a coordinated response to AI-generated cyber risks. He stressed that every government employee's online action adds to the government's collective digital exposure, and that building individual awareness is a direct component of national cyber resilience.

To achieve a combined public reach of 9.78 crore citizens, the campaign deployed a deliberately layered media strategy that worked simultaneously across broadcast, digital, and direct citizen engagement channels. At the broadest level, a 5-minute interview on safe use of AI and cyber hygiene was broadcast through 274 All India Radio stations, spanning Primary, FM, and Vividh Bharati frequencies, in 11 Indian languages covering Hindi, Telugu, Kannada, Punjabi, Tamil, Marathi, Malayalam, Bengali, Assamese, Gujarati, and Odia. The interview was repeated six times through the day to maximize listenership, reaching an estimated 7.77 crore listeners nationwide.

Complementing this, 61 Community Radio Stations across 20 States and UTs ran a sustained series of 5-minute awareness episodes between February 5 and 28, 2026, broadcasting 153 programmes in local languages on topics including digital arrest, investment fraud, phishing, mobile security, and social media safety, extending the campaign's reach into communities where national broadcast signals have limited penetration, and adding approximately 1 crore more listeners.

On the digital front, a special e-newsletter titled "Smart Tech, Safe Choices: Exploring the Safe and Responsible Use of AI" was circulated through the e-Sampark database to approximately 9.07 crore registered MyGov users, achieving a 12.17% readership rate and an estimated readership of 1.08 crore.

Beyond passive outreach, the campaign actively sought citizen participation: a multilingual AI Safety Pledge was made available in 11 Indian languages on www.staysafeonline.in, drawing 4,030 participants through online and offline channels, while a national online quiz on the same platform and MyGov engaged 14,363 participants, converting broad awareness into measurable individual commitment.

Social media outreach through MyGov, NeGD, and SSO handles generated 1.04 lakh impressions through 224 posts. A cyber hygiene awareness banner on the official IRCTC website recorded 38 lakh impressions during the campaign period. The Stay Safe Online Portal (www.staysafeonline.in) recorded 3.56 crore views and 5.96 lakh unique visitors between February 5 and 12, 2026, marking record engagement for the portal.

The campaign was executed in collaboration with NIC, NeGD, MyGov, C-DAC, NIELIT, ISEA Institutions, DSCI, OCAC (Odisha), BTC (Assam), and a large network of cyber ambassadors, volunteers, and community-based organizations. Over 300 events were covered by national and regional print and electronic media.

Campaign at a Glance

Component	Achievement
Geographic Coverage	All 36 States and Union Territories | 634 Districts | 635 Blocks & Gram Panchayats
Awareness Workshops	2,859 workshops | 3,73,305 direct participants
Online Webinar	2,350 participants from Central Ministries and Departments
All India Radio	274 stations | 11 languages | ~7.77 crore listeners
Community Radio	61 stations | 20 States/UTs | ~1 crore listeners
Mass Mailer Campaign	9.07 crore registered users reached | 1.08 crore readership
AI Safety Pledge	4,030 participants | 11 Indian languages
Online Quiz	14,363 participants
Social Media& Digital	224 posts | 38 lakh IRCTC banner impressions | 3.56 crore portal views
Total Public Reach	9.78 crore citizens
Total Digital Reach	3.95 crore views/impressions

 

About ISEA

The Information Security Education and Awareness (ISEA) initiative of MeitY works to strengthen cybersecurity awareness and build skilled human resources in information security. For resources on cyber hygiene and online safety, visit https://isea.gov.in and https://staysafeonline.in.

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MSZ

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