Responsible Netism

Committed to the cause of Women and Child Online Protection Since 2012

About Us

Our Purpose

“Responsible Netism empowers women, children and community members to co-exist with technology, to foster well-being in cyberspace.”

What We Do

Our theory of change is based on the following two Key Verticals:

EMPOWER

AWARENESS

  • Host the Annual National Cyber Psychology Conference, that serves as the only platform to reflect upon issues related to cyber wellness and empower educators about cyber hygiene culture.
  • Organize college-level Internship Programs, to spread awareness and distribute flyers about online safety tips, at the community level.
  • Organize school-level Drawing Competitions, Online Quizzes, Panel Discussions on Safe Online Gaming etc. for school students.
  • Run Radio campaigns across cities, for advocating cyber wellness.
  • Train investigating officers from law enforcement on women and child online safety, and define laws pertaining to online crimes.

EDUCATION

  • We provide various customized, age-appropriate modules of online and offline awareness programs for children, women, youth and adults.

SUPPORT

Responsible Netism has built a multi-layered support system to address online distress and promote cyber wellness across different states:
  • Cyber Wellness Helpline (7353107353): A pan-India, free-of-cost helpline offering counselling, emotional support, legal and technical guidance, and help with navigating reporting mechanisms for victims of cybercrime and online abuse.
  • Cyber Support Centre, Jaipur (Rajasthan): Launched in collaboration with the Jaipur Police Commissionerate and supported by Kogta Financial (I) Ltd., this is Rajasthan’s first dedicated on-ground centre for cyber support. It offers immediate emotional counselling, legal and technical assistance, and helps citizens report cybercrimes. The Centre also runs awareness programs to build cyber resilience and promote responsible digital behavior in the community.
  • Cyber Wellness Centre, Goa: India’s first Cyber Wellness Centre, established in Panjim, Goa. This holistic Centre offers a 360-degree healing approach through education, awareness, training, counselling, legal and technical support, and prevention strategies to help victims of online distress.
  • Cyber Wellness Cell, Vikram University – Ujjain, Madhya Pradesh:
    A joint initiative with the university, the Cell addresses online safety concerns among students. It offers support for cyber distress, technical guidance, and conducts awareness sessions to promote cyber wellness and build student cyber ambassadors.
  • Collaboration with META, Snapchat, and StopNCII.org: Responsible Netism is the official India partner for these global platforms to support the removal of non-consensual intimate images (NCII) shared online. We help victims report and take down harmful content and provide emotional support during the process.
  • Escalation to Law Enforcement: When required, Responsible Netism escalates cases to local and state police departments for legal intervention and justice. We assist victims in filing complaints and guide them through the legal redressal process.

FOSTER

CAPACITY BUILDING

  • Capacity Building to strengthen women and child protection mechanisms across the country, to build First Responders to online distress. These intensive training are for:
  1. Teacher Training Programs (Maharashtra, Goa, Uttar Pradesh & Madhya Pradesh).
  2. Appointed by NCPCR as external resource people, to train Principals across 5 states (Tripura, Nagaland, Jharkhand, Assam, and Delhi), educating 2,500+ Principals.
  3. Law Enforcement Agencies (Maharashtra & Goa)
  4. Community Centric Organizations.

RESEARCH

  • To advocate for the cause of Child Online Protection, we conducted research on various topics to understand user trends.

ADVOCACY

  • Tabled recommendations to the Ministry of Information & Technology on OTT Platform guidelines and Safe Online Gaming guidelines.
  • Created Cyber Safety content for SCERT Maharashtra.
  • Tabled various recommendations to the Women and Child Ministry’s Parliamentary Committee on action on Child Sexual Abusive Material (CSAM).
  • Presented recommendations on Digital Personal Data Protection of Women and Children in the upcoming Digital Personal Data Protection Bill.

Why We Do?

Rationale

Equipping children, youth and adults with cyber hygiene practices and building cyber resilience is a necessity today

Diving deep into the children’s world of the internet.

Studies say,

Source: TOI, MCAFEE, IPA, NORTON, ECONOMIC TIMES, CYBER PEACE FOUNDATION, RESPONSIBLE NETISM

Children’s unmindful and ignorant internet behaviour makes them extremely vulnerable in cyberspace. Severe cyber threats faced by children ranging from exposure to predators and cyber-crimes like stalking, photo morphing, cyber bullying, exposure to age-inappropriate sexual content, addiction to pornography leading to sleep deprivation and depression to name a few. With the technological world developing at a gigantic pace, the need to prepare children and educators to cope with it has been felt intensely gearing towards a more evolved approach toward its usage.

How We Do?

Responsible Netism works on Education, Training, Advocacy and Research We provide training to Govt. and Non-Govt. institutions and the law enforcement about online safety and reporting mechanisms.

Responsible Netism runs a PAN India Helpline that provides legal guidance and psychological support to victims of online distress. Cases reported to us are referred to the law enforcement for legal aid or for psychological support and guidance.

We provide customised modules of various programs online and offline, equipping children, youth and adults with cyber hygiene practices in order to become cyber resilient.

Being Responsible Netizens

- A customised one-time education module on online safety for students, teachers and parents within educational institutions

Cyber Smart Schools

- A 1 year intensive research-based programme to convert the entire schools ecosystem to being cyber smart and cyber safe

Building Digital Guardians

- Workshops on empowering parents to protect children online, thereby becoming effective cyber caregivers and digital guardians

Digital Stree Shakti

- An intensive education module for financial inclusion and digital empowerment of women from marginalised communities across the state

Cyber Sakhi

- A one-time education programme to educate young girls about online safety and making them cyber safety ambassadors

Digital Rakshaks

- Training leaders and staff of community centric organisations to combat online distress in order to safeguard children in cyberspace

Vittiya Saksharta

- A module on Digital Financial Empowerment

ToTs

- Train the Trainers as cyber safety ambassadors and cyber caregivers

Internet Ka Safar

- Short user-friendly modules on digital literacy for community mobilisation and empowerment, also catering to senior citizens

Achievements & Recognitions

Our Team

Sonali Patankar

Founder & CEO - Responsible Netism

Sonali has conceptualised and founded Responsible Netism.

She has to her credit more than 25 years of professional experience with eminent organisations such as CRY – Child Rights and You, PCGT – Public Concern for Governance and Trust, IL&FS and Salaam Bombay Foundation.


She has been instrumental in hosting the Tobacco-Free Mumbai Campaign with the Mumbai Police in partnership with Salaam Bombay Foundation.

Unmesh Joshi

Co-Founder & COO - Responsible Netism

Unmesh is closely associated with Maharashtra Police and Cyber Lawyers in the Country. He is involved in doing a comparative study of Cyber Laws and Law Enforcement Agencies of various Countries and passionately talks about Legal Implications of irresponsible online behaviour.

Unmesh is a Social Entrepreneur, Philanthropist. He is the founder of ‘Anviksha Pratishthan’ and the Director of ‘Marathi Asmita Cultural Foundation’. He owns Bharatiya Vastra Shilpa – a leading Souvenir and Garment manufacturing company that has pioneered in the field of promoting Marathi Calligraphy Poetry and Marathi Culture on his souvenirs. He has several Young Entrepreneurs Awards to his credit and is also actively involved in reviving Theatre, Promoting Films and Events.

Utpal Madane

Executive Director - Operations and Infrastructure, Responsible Netism

Utpal provides design and printing expertise at Ahaan Foundation. Utpal Madane is a young entrepreneur who is mainly into offset printing business for the last 16 years. He has his business spread across Mumbai, Nashik and Jalgaon.
Utpal is a Versatile Entrepreneur who along with Printing, is also working with Prasad Pawar Foundation, Nashik who is working towards Digital Restoration of Ajintha Caves for last 10 years.

He is also a Director in Marathi Asmita Cultural Foundation, a Production House which is formed to promote Marathi Music and Literature across the globe.

Manjula Nair

Treasurer & Trustee - Responsible Netism

Manjula has been associated with Ahaan Foundation since its inception. She adds her expertise in content creation and in mental health services required during online distress, and the promoter of Digital Literacy at Responsible Netism.

Manjula is the Secretary of Bharatiya Stree Shakti (BSS), Mumbai. She is also a member of the National Executive Council of BSS. She has around two decades of experience in the areas of family counselling, life skills training and teaching. She has worked extensively with women and adolescents and has also taught Science, Mathematics and Geography at some of the top schools in Mumbai.

Dr Mukul Joshi

Executive Director - HR and OD, Responsible Netism

With more than 22 years of work experience, Mukul has extensively partnered with CEOs and senior executives, project and cross functional teams and systems (small, medium and large scale organisations) to facilitate complex business transformation and change. His areas of expertise include transformation and change management, strengthening organisation effectiveness through diagnosing organisational performance issues (structure, competency, talent) – designing and implementing large-scale transformational journeys, talent strategies, as well as senior team and leadership development and coaching.
Mukul’s industry experience includes IT and Services, Semiconductor, Infrastructure, Financial Services, Manufacturing, Non-Profit Organizations and education.

Shilpa Chandolikar

Executive Director - Brand and Communications, Responsible Netism

Shilpa is the Trustee of Ahaan Foundation and the Executive Director at Responsible Netism, where she serves as the brand custodian and leads strategic communications and outreach initiatives. With over 25 years of experience in branding and communications, she has worked with multinational companies, shaping impactful marketing and communication strategies.

Since 2012, Shilpa has been an integral part of the Responsible Netism movement, actively contributing to its vision of creating a safer and more inclusive digital world. She has conducted over 500 awareness sessions on cyber safety and mental well-being across various age groups.

A passionate advocate for cyber wellness, Shilpa continues to amplify the cause through compelling storytelling, meaningful partnerships, and awareness campaigns that aim to protect individuals and promote mental well-being in the digital space.

Sumeet Rathod

Trustee - Responsible Netism

Sumeet, a young tech-savvy Cyber Security Expert, has been one of the founding members of Responsible Netism. His expertise in the field of Cyber Security and Cyber Forensics is a great value addition to the project Responsible Netism. He has developed a software and application called MOBICID to monitor and improve online behaviour of children and adults.
Sumeet is a Computer Science Graduate with over 16 years of experience in the IT Industry. He specialises in the field of Social Networking sites and is the Co-fFounder Laibhaari.com (a Marathi Facebook look-alike). He has worked with the Anti-Terrorist Squad and SID for Security Application and continues to assist the Cyber Cell.

Sanjay Sabnis

Trustee - Responsible Netism

Sanjay is a seasoned HR professional with 35+ years of experience across diverse industries, including Automobile, Textile, Shipping & Logistics, and IT. He excels in strategic leadership, resource optimization, and talent management within multinational settings. Currently, the Director of HR at a global IT company, he’s also an ICF-certified coach, guiding corporate leaders and individuals on their professional journeys.

Advisory Board

The following are our Advisory Board Members who have been our strong pillars of support since inception:

Mr. Mahesh Varde

Director at Pristine Aerosols Pvt. Ltd.

Mr. Varde has been a strong pillar of support for Responsible Netism. Based on his experience and expertise, he provides guidance on legal issues, tax and organisational compliances to be followed by the organisation.

Dr. Anuradha Sovani

Former H.o.D Dept. of Psychology, SNDT Women's University

Dr Sovani has been a guide and mentor to Responsible Netism on research related to online trends and behaviours of children and adults related to their online behaviour. She has been appointed as a committee member of the National Scientific Committee for Addiction Prevention and has been working on building content on prevention of internet addiction.

Mr. Ashok Panvalkar

Former Executive Editor Maharashtra Times

Mr. Panvalkar provides his expertise to Responsible Netism on Media visibility and publicity. His expertise and experience in the field of media has been instrumental in crafting Responsible Netism’s media presence.

Dr. Harish Shetty

Renowned Senior Psychiatrist

Dr Shetty has been instrumental in supporting the cause of mental well-being in cyberspace. He specialises in the space of internet addiction, cases of internet addiction received by Responsible Netism are referred to him and to mental health professionals across the country through him.

Adv. Vaishali Bhagwat

Senior Practising Lawyer Civil and Cyber, Chevening Scholar

Adv. Bhagwat is a well-known practising cyber lawyer. She provides her expertise on legal compliances, provides support to victims of cyber-crimes reported through Responsible Netism and is a strong voice that advocates for online safety across various government platforms.

Mr. Brijesh Singh

Principal Secretary, CMO

Mr. Singh has been instrumental in supporting Responsible Netism on cyber-crime related cases from the Law enforcement perspective and on research related to cyber-crimes and strengthening reporting mechanisms.

Mr. Ninad Chhaya

Senior Vice President, Reliance Games

An entrepreneur and an avid gamer at heart, Ninad has over 25 years of experience in gaming and the interactive media space. He is currently the Chief Metaverse Officer of GoPhygital, an award-winning Metaverse and Web3 focused venture on building solutions for the Metaverse using Augmented Reality, Virtual Reality, AI-ML, and Gaming/Gamification as the four core offerings.
 

Ms. Rasika Kulkarni

Co-Founder & Managing Director at International Institute of Sports Management

Ms. Kulkarni has over two decades of experience in the Events Industry. Rasika is also the Director at NSE (National School of Events), the first ever Event Management Institute in central suburbs of Mumbai in the year 2003.

Our Team

Swapnil Pange

Head Counselling Services

Swapnil is an experienced clinical psychologist with over 15 years of dedicated work in the mental health field. He leads the counselling services at Ahaan Foundation in Mumbai, where he plays a key role in developing and expanding community mental health initiatives. Driven by a clear and compassionate vision, Swapnil is committed to making comprehensive and accessible mental health support available to communities in need.

Praison Varghese

Co-Founder & COO - Responsible Netism

Praison is the Project Coordinator at Responsible Netism’s Head Office in Mumbai. He oversees projects across the Pune Division and leads the Cyber Wellness Centres in Pune and Jaipur, working closely with stakeholders to ensure effective implementation and impact. He plays a key role in planning, monitoring, and streamlining project operations for timely and efficient execution.

Rohit Jagtap

Project Coordinator

Deeply committed to social impact, Rohit brings a grassroots understanding and creative approach to engage communities, especially youth, on issues of digital safety and responsible behavior. Rohit currently works with dedication at the Head Office of Responsible Netism, based in Mumbai as the Project Coordinator, where he leads advocacy efforts, training sessions, community engagement initiatives and client-based programmes.

Kehkasha Chaudhary

Counsellor

Kehkasha is a Counseling Psychologist. At Responsible Netism, she specializes in addressing cases of cyber distress, where she provides crucial guidance and support as a Counsellor for the pan-India Cyber Wellness Helpline as well as in-person and online cases at the Head Office of Responsible Netism, based in Mumbai.

Rutuja Karande

Counsellor

Rutuja holds a Master’s degree in Social Work and an MPhil in Psychiatric Social Work, with a strong interest in mental health awareness. As a counsellor, she provides psychological support and counselling to cybercrime victims and individuals facing cyber distress, while also conducting cyber safety awareness sessions in schools. Rutuja currently works with commitment at the Cyber Wellness Centre in Pune, actively promoting cyber wellness and digital well-being.

Owee Bhalerao

Trainer & Counsellor

Owee holds a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology and a Master’s in Forensic Psychology. Driven by a strong interest in human behaviour in cyberspace, she understands the critical need to educate both children and adults on safe and responsible digital practices from an early age. She currently works with dedication at the Cyber Wellness Centre in Parel, Mumbai, promoting cyber awareness and well-being.

Christabelle Dias

Trainer & Counsellor

Christablle is a certified Child & Adult Counsellor, Trauma-Informed Coach, working at the Cyber Wellness Centre in Panaji, Goa. She provides counselling and leads cyber safety sessions for schools and communities, supporting children, youth, and families with a compassionate approach.

Yukta Kumbhar

Trainer & Counsellor

Yukta has a Master’s in Psychology, working at the Cyber Wellness Centre in Panaji, Goa. She conducts training sessions for parents, equipping them with effective strategies to manage childrens screentime and advocates on managing healthy digital habits with empathy and evidence-based methods.

Mamtha Mallik

Trainer & Counsellor

Mamtha holds a Masters in Wellness Counseling and is dedicated to empowering individuals. At the Cyber Wellness Centre in Panaji, Goa, she conducts sessions on digital responsibility, cyber safety, and mental health in schools and communities, fostering safe spaces for young people to make positive, informed choices.
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