"While the Internet has made life easier by helping us share and receive day-to-day information, we also need to be aware of the consequences, negative experiences that make us vulnerable to threats.

"Women, children and adults are vulnerable to bad actors on Internet, hence there is an urgent need to sensitise them about the possible threats," Mohanty added.

India has the second largest Internet user base in the world.

In 2017, India crossed over 400 million Internet users and this number is expected to reach 650 million in the next two years.

With improved connectivity and affordable smartphones and data, Indians are taking to the web in a big way, spending over 200 minutes daily on their screens.

"Internet is like nuclear energy that can be used and misused. It has phenomenal abilities in helping us, but also has a potential to damage the social as well as the individual structures," Anil Swarup, Secretary - Department of School Education and Literacy, told reporters.

While much is being done for securing the Internet, "there is an urgent need to scale the safety efforts", Swarup said, adding that sensitising the teachers and spreading the safety measures through them to the students across the country can help.