In October 2022, in Rupnagar, an officer sat with a case file that would not leave her mind.
A woman had walked into the One Stop Centre not once, not twice, but three times. Each time she left believing things would improve. Each time she returned to the same violence. Her medical report recorded something chilling: she had been given rat poison.
“Why do you keep going back?” Dr. Preeti Yadav asked her gently.
The answer was not about fear. It was about children. No income. No place to go. No system could hold her beyond crisis.
“I realized the problem wasn’t just violence. It was that women had nowhere to stand financially or socially. After a point, the breaking point comes, and they go back because they have no alternative,” she shared in an exclusive conversation with Indian Masterminds.
That realization led to the creation of Sakhi, a digital convergence platform that ensures a woman in distress never has to knock on more than one door again.
Today, Sakhi operates across Rupnagar and Patiala districts, with 100% block coverage in all 14 blocks of both districts. It has supported over 500 survivors. Complaint registration time has dropped from two hours to just three to five minutes. Standard cases are resolved within 24–48 hours. Emergency cases within six hours.
But Sakhi is not just a portal. It is a redesign of how the government responds.
FROM PILLAR TO POST; TO ONE PORTAL
Before Sakhi, survivors of gender-based violence in Punjab often moved between police stations, hospitals, courts, welfare offices, and employment centres. The One Stop Centre existed physically but functioned in isolation. There was no digital convergence. No shared tracking. No real-time accountability.
Women repeated their trauma at every counter.
Dr. Yadav’s idea was simple in design but ambitious in execution: integrate everything.
“So, the idea was simple,” she says. “To make a portal where SOS complaints can be made — audio, video, text. If someone cannot type, they can record. Then we merge all departments so she doesn’t have to go anywhere else.”
ONE PORTAL, TWENTY-FOUR SERVICES
Sakhi integrates more than 20 government departments and agencies on a single cloud-enabled platform:
Police, Cyber Crime, Health, District Legal Services Authority (DLSA), Education, Red Cross, PSRLM, NULM, District Employment Office, DCPO, Social Justice & Empowerment, Social Security, District Industries Centre (DIC), Lead Bank, PSDM Block Mission Manager, District Hub for Empowerment of Women, CMO, DSP Crime Against Women, CMFO, and the District Programme Officer.
A complaint, submitted as text, audio, or video, is reviewed by the One Stop Centre Administrator and simultaneously assigned to relevant departments. The District Programme Officer serves as the Nodal Officer. The Deputy Commissioner has a real-time admin dashboard to monitor every case.
No complaint can be closed without a documented action-taken report.
Departments missing timelines must upload explanations. Timestamps are auto-recorded. Delays become visible. Accountability is built into the system.
“Earlier, survivors were sent from police to court to hospital to welfare office,” Dr. Yadav explains. “Now, through the portal and app, they receive complete support without moving.”
DESIGNED FOR THE WOMAN WHO CANNOT TYPE
Sakhi was built with a fundamental principle: literacy cannot be a barrier.
A woman can file her complaint as:
- Typed text
- Audio recording
- Video message
For many women, particularly those confined at home or under surveillance, the ability to record instead of type is the difference between silence and seeking help.
Once registered, the survivor receives real-time SMS updates at every stage. She does not need to follow up. The system informs her automatically.
The mobile app includes GPS location sharing. In emergency cases, alerts are sent directly to the nearest mapped police station. Jurisdiction is handled by the system, not the survivor.
VIRTUAL JUSTICE: POLICE AND LEGAL AID ON VIDEO
Among Sakhi’s most transformative features is its video conferencing capability.
A survivor can request a live video call with:
- A police officer
- A para-legal personnel or advocate from DLSA
- A medical facilitation officer
If accepted, the department sends a conference link via WhatsApp. No additional apps. No learning curve. No travel.
This is not a hotline. It is a structured consultation tied to a registered complaint, monitored by the Deputy Commissioner, and requiring documented follow-up before closure.
“For a woman who cannot leave home or cannot afford travel, this removes the biggest barrier,” says Dr. Yadav. “The system comes to her.”
A REAL CASE: CONVERGENCE IN ACTION
A survivor, referred to as Y, registered her complaint quietly through Sakhi.
During review, the Centre Administrator noticed she had a disability. Under the old system, that detail might have gone unnoticed.
Through Sakhi:
- The police were immediately assigned.
- The Red Cross arranged and delivered a wheelchair.
- She was enrolled in skill training under the Skill Mission.
- She was placed in a self-help group-run canteen.
- Her children were mapped for educational support.
She did not visit multiple offices. She did not repeat her story.
“This is what convergence means,” Dr. Yadav told Indian Masterminds. “You tell us your needs. Everything will be mapped and done.”
BEYOND CRISIS: LONG-TERM EMPOWERMENT
Sakhi provides 24 citizen-centric services covering:
- Police assistance and safety
- Temporary shelter (up to 10 days with DPO approval)
- Medical care
- Legal aid
- Ration through Red Cross
- Counselling and psycho-social support
- Children’s education and scheme enrolment
- Skill development under PSDM
- Employment through District Employment Office
- Loans via PSRLM, PMEGP, PMFME
- Urban livelihood support under NULM
- Pensions and welfare benefits
- Financial inclusion via Lead Bank
All accessible under a single complaint ID.
Dr. Yadav later expanded the platform’s scope to include child sponsorship and even support for senior citizens and persons with disabilities.
“When there is one solution, why limit it only?” she asks. “If a senior citizen or a disabled person needs help, they should also be able to register.”
BUILT FOR PUNJAB, READY FOR SCALE
Launched in Rupnagar in 2022 and expanded to Patiala in September 2024, Sakhi is now recognized by the Department of Social Security and Women & Child Development, Punjab, as a model initiative.
Technically, it is:
- Cloud-enabled
- API-integrated
- Mobile-enabled
- Configurable district-wise
- Hosted on Government DGR servers
The platform has cleared three VAPT security audits (iOS, Android, Web) with no critical vulnerabilities and full NIC compliance.
Data privacy is ensured through a mock data access system —departments can only view assigned cases. Raw data is inaccessible to unauthorized users.
Replication across Punjab requires near-zero additional cost, as the architecture is already built.
SKILL ON WHEELS: A LABORATORY THAT COMES TO THE CHILD
If Sakhi reimagined how the state reaches women, Dr. Yadav’s second innovation reimagined how science reaches children.
In 2023, as Deputy Commissioner Rupnagar, she launched a fully equipped Mobile STEM Lab, funded under State Collaborative Initiatives by the Government of India.
Punjab’s UDISE+ data showed declining government school enrolment and fewer students opting for science at the senior secondary level. Rural schools lacked laboratory access and exposure to emerging technologies.
The response: bring the laboratory to them.
A BUS WITH 300+ SCIENTIFIC INSTRUMENTS
The Mobile STEM Lab is a fully functional science and innovation hub on wheels.
Inside:
- 300+ laboratory equipment items
- Physics, chemistry, and biology apparatus (Classes 5–12)
- Robotics kits and programmable microcontrollers
- Advanced laptops for coding
- 3D printing modules
- AI and IoT learning kits
- Rocket models and space science kits
- Telescopes for astronomy
- GIS-based learning modules
- Digital microscopes and sensor-based experiments
- Mathematics innovation models
Designed in collaboration with IIT Ropar, the bus accommodates 35–40 students at a time, with modular workstations and adjustable stools.
It includes:
- Smart board for digital teaching
- LED screen outside for community awareness
- Foldable shed for outdoor sessions
- Air-conditioning and air purifiers
- Ramp access for specially-abled students
It runs on direct electricity or an onboard generator, ensuring uninterrupted sessions even in remote villages.
LEARNING WITHOUT BOUNDARIES
The Mobile STEM Lab extends beyond classroom experiments.
It supports:
- Nature trails and biodiversity mapping
- Zoology field studies
- Soil testing
- Environmental science modules
- Bird-watching and ecosystem interaction
Collaborations are envisioned with ISRO for space modules, NCSM for science exhibitions, IIT Ropar for mentoring, and NIELIT Ropar for digital certifications.
A proposed online dashboard will track outreach, student participation, and learning outcomes in real time. Future plans include structured certification programs and an online booking system to support sustainability.
GOVERNANCE THAT MOVES
Two initiatives. Two different domains. One common philosophy.
In Sakhi, the government moves toward the woman.
In the Mobile STEM Lab, science moves toward the child.
Dr. Preeti Yadav did not redesign policies. She redesigned access.
“The whole idea was that after coming to us, you don’t have to go anywhere else.”
In Rupnagar and Patiala, that idea is no longer conceptual. It is operational. And for hundreds of women and thousands of students, it has changed the direction of their next step.
