India’s fight against narcotics
This article is authored by Divya Dhingra, research scholar, IIT Delhi.
Across India, from remote towns to bustling city streets, stories of shattered families and wasted youth are becoming grimly familiar. India, once viewed mainly as a transit route between global narcotics hubs, is now grappling with the rising domestic consumption. According to the National Crime Records Bureau, lakhs of drug-related cases are reported each year.
For many families, the menace is deeply personal. In a village near Punjab’s Amritsar district, 42-year-old Manmeet Kaur recalls how her son Gurdeep, once an aspiring cricketer, fell into heroin abuse at the age of 19. Despite repeated rounds of treatment, he relapsed and died last year. “He was full of dreams,” she says quietly, clutching his old cricket bat. “If only the drugs hadn’t reached our village.”
Amid this rising crisis, the government has stepped up its fight against drugs. On September 16, the second National Conference of Anti-Narcotics Task Force (ANTF) was inaugurated by Union Home Minister Amit Shah in New Delhi, bringing together officials from all 36 states and Union Territories to frame a nationwide strategy. The aim: Reinforce Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s call for a “Drug-Free India” as India marches towards the vision of a developed nation by 2047.
Enforcement efforts have intensified such that in 2024 alone, Indian agencies seized narcotics worth ₹25,330 crore, a 55% jump over the previous year. Between 2019 and 2024, more than 7.37 million kg of drugs valued at ₹1.1 lakh crore were intercepted, with synthetic drug seizures rising nearly six-fold in that period.
The government’s strategy under the leadership of Union Home Minister Amit Shah has shifted from isolated crackdowns to integrated action. Every state now has an Anti-Narcotics Task Force, supported by digital tools such as SIMS, NIDAAN and the NCORD portal. The fight has extended beyond the police, involving agencies from the NIA and Coast Guard to Customs and the Enforcement Directorate.
However, the government acknowledges that enforcement is only half the battle. Under the Nasha Mukt Bharat Abhiyan, a nationwide awareness and rehabilitation initiative, over 16.5 crore people have been sensitised about substance abuse. Almost 27 lakh individuals have received treatment through a network of 730 rehabilitation centres across the country. The campaign now extends across 372 districts, engaging nearly 10 crore citizens and three lakh educational institutions. Further, a 24x7 toll-free helpline (1993) and Manas Portal is accessible for counselling and anonymous reporting.
India has also moved the fight beyond the borders, signing agreements with 46 countries to share intelligence and strengthen joint action against cartels. Further, underscoring the gravity of the challenge, India has shifted global discourse by renaming the narcotics-producing zones formerly known as the Golden Triangle and Golden Crescent to the Death Triangle and Death Crescent.
The fight against drugs is a responsibility that defines our society. Vigilance must remain uncompromising, as every crack risk another young life lost to addiction. Each seizure is more than a statistic, it is a life safeguarded, and a family spared anguish. True victory will come as this collective resolve translates into a stronger, united front. In this fight against drugs, vigilance is about acting with conviction and social support.
The fight against narcotics is not just about law enforcement. It is about safeguarding India’s youth — and ensuring that stories like Gurpreet’s are not repeated across a generation.
This article is authored by Divya Dhingra, research scholar, IIT Delhi.
