Digital addiction named serious public health challenge in Economic Survey 2025-26

Asked and answered by: Dr. Sambit Patra (asked), Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (answered)

What the government said

• IT Act, 2000 and IT Rules, 2021 establish framework for digital well-being
• IT Rules require intermediaries to remove harmful content for children
• DPDP Act, 2023 mandates parental consent for children's data and prohibits tracking/advertising to children
• Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Act, 2025 addresses digital addiction
• 50 OTT Platforms disabled in last two years for obscene content
• Economic Survey 2025-26 mentions digital addiction as public health challenge
• 6,650 awareness workshops conducted covering 11.37 lakh+ participants
• PRAGYATA Guidelines on Digital Education issued by Ministry of Education
• CBSE guidelines on digital etiquette and cyber-security training for teachers

Also in the document

• The Economic Survey 2025-26 identifies digital addiction as a serious public health challenge affecting children and youth aged 15-29
• The answer does not provide specific details on offline youth hubs or moderated school-hosted online spaces as requested in question (c)
• The answer does not provide specific details on simpler devices for children with usage limits as requested in question (d)