A coordinated national mission to rescue missing children from trafficking, forced labor, and begging rings, and reunite them with their families.
Every year, thousands of children in India go missing. They often fall victim to traffickers, are forced into labor in hazardous factories, or are manipulated into begging rings. Operation Muskan (also known as Operation Smile) is a dedicated initiative by the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) to tackle this crisis.
Unlike routine police work, this operation runs in dedicated month-long campaigns. Police officers are specially trained as Child Welfare Officers to approach children with empathy, not intimidation. The primary goal isn't just 'finding' children, but rehabilitating them and ensuring they don't return to abusive environments.
Data Source: NCRB Reports
A systematic approach from spotting a child to the final reunion.
Teams in civil clothes patrol "hotspots" like railway platforms and factories. They are trained to spot behavioral cues—a child looking lost, fearful, malnourished, or working in hazardous conditions.
Once a child is secured, their details are not just filed in a cabinet. They are uploaded to the National TrackChild portal. Facial recognition software compares their photo against a database of millions of missing children across India to find a match.
A critical step. Many rescued children are traumatized or brainwashed by traffickers. Professional counselors work with them to heal the trauma and gently extract details about their home and family history.
The "Muskan" moment. Families are verified by local police to ensure the child isn't being returned to an abusive home. If parents cannot be found, the child is placed in long-term institutional care or adoption processes.
If you see a child alone at a station, begging on the street, or working in a shop/factory. It is anonymous and free.
Upload details or photos of missing/sighted children on the government's Khoya-Paya citizen portal.