e-SafeHER

News: Reliance Foundation and C-DAC, Hyderabad, announced the launch of e-SafeHER to strengthen digital inclusion for women.

About e-SafeHER

• e-SafeHER is a cybersecurity awareness training programme to enable one million women, referred to as Cyber Sakhis, across rural India to strengthen digital inclusion for women.
• Nodal ministry: Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY)
• Launched under: It is anchored under MeitY’s Information Security Education and Awareness (ISEA) Programme.
• Implementation Partners: The programme is jointly delivered by the Centre for Development of Advanced Computing (C-DAC), Hyderabad and the Reliance Foundation.
• Aim: It aims to build a gender-responsive and community-led model for cyber-safe digital inclusion.
• Objective:
  • It seeks to strengthen last-mile cybersecurity awareness among women in rural India.
  • The programme focuses on women who are increasingly using digital platforms for financial transactions, livelihoods, and access to essential services.
• Duration: It is a three-year cybersecurity initiative.
• Implementation Strategy: 
  • C-DAC Hyderabad develops and localises multilingual cybersecurity training content under the ISEA Project.
  • Reliance Foundation disseminates the programme in rural India, especially through women’s Self-Help Groups (SHGs).
• Features: 
  • Training: The programme includes structured training and community-based interventions.
  • Localised learning: It uses localised content, audio-visual modules, and blended learning approaches to improve accessibility and engagement.
  • Programme integration: Cybersecurity awareness is integrated into existing women’s empowerment and digital literacy programmes without creating parallel infrastructure.
  • Peer learning model: The initiative follows a peer-led and community-based training model.

About Information Security Education and Awareness (ISEA)

• Launched by: Information Security Education and Awareness (ISEA) is an initiative of the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY).
• Aim: It aimed at human resources development for a safe, trusted, and secure cyberspace.
• Purpose: It is to generate human resources in the area of Information Security and create general awareness on Cyber Hygiene/Cyber Security among the masses.
• It started in 2005 and has been in its third phase.
• The project is implemented by 50 premier academic and autonomous institutions (IITs, NITs, IIITs, C-DAC & NIELIT Centres) and Technical Universities.
  • Nodal agencies: It is supported by C-DAC, Hyderabad and Data Security Council of India (DSCI) as nodal agencies.