Casebook on AI and Gender Empowerment 

Syllabus: GS1/Women Empowerment; GS3/Science and Technology

Context

• The Casebook on AI and Gender Empowerment was launched at the India AI Impact Summit 2026.

About

• Developed By: IndiaAI Mission under the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) in partnership with UN Women and supported by the Ministry of Women and Child Development (MoWCD).
• The casebook brings together 23 real-world AI solutions from across the Global South that demonstrate measurable impact on gender equality and women’s empowerment.
• The featured solutions span critical sectors including:
  • Healthcare including menstrual health.
  • Economic empowerment and financial inclusion.
  • Digital safety and prevention of technology-facilitated gender-based violence.
  • Climate resilience and sustainable agriculture.
  • Access to justice and legal services.
  • Education and skills development.

Major Initiatives Highlighted

• NyayaSakhi-SWATI: NyayaSakhi-SWATI is India’s first large language model and retrieval-augmented generation-powered decision-support assistant for domestic violence survivors. 
  • It provides estimates of likely statutory reliefs and approximate case duration, enabling safer, more informed and financially realistic decisions.
  • It supports domestic violence survivors in understanding potential legal outcomes before filing a case.
  • It is deployed in India, with an initial focus on Maharashtra, serving women from low-income and marginalized communities.
• HELPSTiR is an AI-powered platform that enables civil society actors to raise hyperlocal help requests on behalf of vulnerable women and children and automatically match them with nearby local NGOs, shelters, healthcare providers and welfare linkage organizations.
  • By removing digital access barriers, the system accelerates gender-responsive benefits delivery across multiple domains.
  • It is currently at the pilot stage of deployment, and is being implemented in Delhi with future prospects for expansion to Tier 1, Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities.
• YASHODA AI is a human-centered, blended AI solution that combines accessible AI tools with facilitated, in-person learning to support women’s digital safety and understanding of AI-enabled risks. 
  • The system functions primarily as a learning and decision-support mechanism, designed to build awareness and confidence rather than to automate decision-making or enforcement.
  • Following pilot development 5,500 women across 29 cities in 12 Indian states and 4 Union Territories were served by Yashoda AI. 

Need for Such Initiatives

• Bridging the Gender Digital Divide: Women face lower digital access, skills, and online safety. AI tools like YASHODA AI address digital literacy and cyber-risk awareness gaps.
• Improving Access to Justice and Welfare: Survivors of domestic violence and vulnerable women often lack legal clarity and service access. Tools like NyayaSakhi–SWATI and HELPSTiR reduce information asymmetry and last-mile exclusion.
• Addressing Algorithmic Bias: AI systems can produce gender bias. Gender-responsive design and bias audits are needed to ensure fairness and inclusion.
• Strengthening Public Service Delivery: AI enables targeted health, financial inclusion, and welfare interventions, especially in low-resource settings.

Significance

• Operationalising Women-Led Development: Aligns with India’s development vision by positioning women as AI creators, leaders, and beneficiaries.
• Global South Leadership in Ethical AI: Through initiatives led by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology and the IndiaAI Mission, India showcases scalable, responsible AI models.
• Advancing SDG 5 (Gender Equality): Moves from policy rhetoric to measurable impact across justice, health, finance, and digital safety.
• Scalable and Replicable Governance Frameworks: Provides tested deployment models that policymakers can replicate across sectors and states.
• Embedding Ethics in AI Ecosystems: Demonstrates that inclusion, transparency, and human oversight can coexist with innovation and scale.

Source: PIB