Ministry of Women and Child Development organises National Conference on Safety of Women at Workplace (SHe-Box)

1. At a Glance

National Conference on Safety of Women at Workplace (SHe-Box) organised by Ministry of Women and Child Development (MWCD) on 14 February 2026 at Vigyan Bhawan, New Delhi to operationalise the next phase of the SHe-Box (Sexual Harassment Electronic Box) portal [S1].
UPSC relevance: intersects PoSH Act 2013 enforcement, Vishaka guidelines lineage, women's safety governance, and digital public infrastructure for grievance redress [S1][S2].

Union Minister Smt. Annapurna Devi launched the SHe-Box logo, the PoSH Voluntary Compliance Checklist, and announced integration of SHe-Box with the Mission Shakti App and the Karmayogi Bharat PoSH Training Link on the SHe-Box portal [S1].
National Workplace Safety Pledge administered to participants; MoS WCD Smt. Savitri Thakur and MPs present [S1].

Vishaka v. State of Rajasthan (1997) — Supreme Court laid down Vishaka Guidelines on workplace sexual harassment, the doctrinal precursor [general].
Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013 ("PoSH Act") enacted to give statutory force; mandates Internal Committees (IC) at workplaces with ≥10 employees and Local Committees (LC) at district level [S2].
Original SHe-Box portal launched in 2017 by MWCD for central govt employees; revamped pan-India SHe-Box portal launched on 29 August 2024 as a single-window, multilingual digital grievance platform [S2][S3].
14 February 2026 — National Conference consolidates compliance ecosystem (logo, checklist, Mission Shakti & iGOT-Karmayogi linkage) [S1].

Nodal Ministry: Ministry of Women and Child Development (MWCD) [S1].
Enabling Statute: Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013 [S2].
Coverage: All women irrespective of age, employment status, nature of work (organised/unorganised, public/private, rural/urban) [S2].
Portal Status (as of 27 March 2026): >1,61,000 workplaces onboarded; >68,460 Internal Committees registered; 777 Local Committees at district level listed [S2].
Convergence platforms: Mission Shakti App (umbrella women empowerment scheme of MWCD), iGOT Karmayogi Bharat (capacity-building under Mission Karmayogi) [S1].
Venue of Conference: Vigyan Bhawan, New Delhi [S1].

Legal/Constitutional
Operationalises Articles 14, 15, 19(1)(g) and 21 read with PoSH Act, 2013 [general].
SHe-Box reduces gap between Vishaka guidelines and on-ground IC formation; LC data plug rural/unorganised-sector lacuna [S2].
Administrative
Single-window complaint filing with auto-routing to concerned IC/LC and real-time tracking enhances accountability [S2].
Voluntary Compliance Checklist signals soft-nudge regulation alongside statutory duty [S1].
Social
Targets gender equity at workplace; covers domestic workers and informal sector (often excluded historically) [S2].
Scientific/Technological
Digital public infrastructure (DPI) for grievance redress; multilingual, confidentiality-preserving [S2].
Karmayogi PoSH Training Link embeds capacity building into civil-services upskilling [S1].
Ethical/Governance
Confidentiality vs transparency trade-off; data of ICs publicly visible while complaint content is restricted [S2].

29 Aug 2024: Revamped SHe-Box portal launched by MWCD [S3].
14 Feb 2026: National Conference at Vigyan Bhawan; logo, PoSH Voluntary Compliance Checklist, Mission Shakti App integration, Karmayogi PoSH Training link, National Workplace Safety Pledge [S1].
By 27 Mar 2026: 1.61 lakh+ workplaces, 68,460+ ICs, 777 LCs onboarded [S2].

SHe-Box = Sexual Harassment Electronic Box [S2].
Implementing Ministry: MWCD (not Ministry of Labour & Employment) [S1].
Statutory backing: PoSH Act, 2013 — full name: Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013 [S2].
Internal Committee mandatory in workplaces with ≥10 employees; Local Committee constituted at district level by District Officer [S2].
Revamped SHe-Box portal launched 29 August 2024 [S3].
National Conference held at Vigyan Bhawan, New Delhi on 14 February 2026 [S1].
Union Minister WCD in 2026: Annapurna Devi; MoS: Savitri Thakur [S1].
SHe-Box integrated with Mission Shakti App and Karmayogi Bharat PoSH module [S1].
777 Local Committees listed on SHe-Box (as of Mar 2026) [S2].
PoSH Act covers organised & unorganised, rural & urban, irrespective of age/employment status [S2].

GS-II: Welfare schemes for vulnerable sections; Government policies & interventions; Mechanisms for the protection of women.
GS-I: Role of women and women's organisations; Social empowerment.
Question stems: 1. "Despite the PoSH Act, 2013, workplace sexual harassment remains under-reported. Examine how digital platforms like SHe-Box can bridge the enforcement gap." 2. "Discuss the convergence of Mission Shakti, iGOT-Karmayogi and SHe-Box as an integrated architecture for women's workplace safety." 3. "Evaluate the journey from Vishaka Guidelines to the SHe-Box portal in institutionalising gender justice at the workplace."

Vishaka v. State of Rajasthan (1997) — judicial origin of PoSH framework.
Mission Shakti (Sambal + Samarthya sub-schemes) — umbrella MWCD scheme [S1].
Mission Karmayogi / iGOT-Karmayogi Bharat — civil services capacity building [S1].
Nirbhaya Fund — financing women's safety projects.
National Commission for Women (NCW) — statutory body, NCW Act 1990.
ILO Convention C-190 (2019) on violence and harassment at work — India not yet ratified [S-general].
Beti Bachao Beti Padhao — adjacent MWCD flagship.
Working Women Hostels & One Stop Centres (Sakhi) — physical safety infrastructure.

Ministry confusion: SHe-Box is under MWCD, not Ministry of Labour & Employment or Home Affairs [S1].
Year of revamped portal: Original 2017 (central govt employees only) vs revamped pan-India 2024 — both are correct but for different scopes [S3].
Threshold: IC is mandatory at ≥10 employees, not 50 (50 is the CSR/Companies Act threshold) [S2].
Local Committee is constituted by the District Officer, not by the employer [S2].
PoSH Act covers all women — not limited to formal sector employees [S2].

[S1] Ministry of Women and Child Development organises National Conference on Safety of Women at Workplace (SHe-Box) — https://www.pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=2228130 — (tier 1)
[S2] An Overview of SH Act 2013 and SHe-Box Portal — https://www.pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=2227013 — (tier 1)
[S3] Union Minister of Women and Child Development launches new She-Box Portal to make Workplaces safer for Women — https://www.pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=2049765 — (tier 1)