Union home minister Amit Shah on Sunday pledged that not a single gram of narcotics would either enter or leave India through its borders as he launched a roadmap for Nasha Mukt Bharat 2029 (Drug-Free India 2029), focused on supply reduction, demand reduction and harm reduction.
Shah, who was in Goa on an official trip, chaired a meeting to review the state’s security preparedness before cancelling his events and rushing back to Delhi in the wake of a building collapse that has trapped and killed several people.
During his press conference, Shah said that since 2019, the Government of India had begun a coordinated campaign to tackle drug networks.
“Before 2014, action against narcotics was done in bits and pieces and in isolated silos; the scope of action was limited to small seizures and small-time accused. After becoming the Home Minister in 2019, I ensured that the fight against narcotics transitions from files and isolated actions by different agencies into a national, coordinated, and continuous campaign,” he said.
He said that in 2019, a four-tier NCORD mechanism was created with apex, executive, state and district levels.
{{/usCountry}}He said that in 2019, a four-tier NCORD mechanism was created with apex, executive, state and district levels.
{{/usCountry}}“We integrated local police with the national strategy by forming dedicated Anti-Narcotics Task Forces in all states and union territories along with a Joint Coordination Committee, so that central agencies and states take joint decisions on every major network, interstate links, and operational gaps,” he said.
Among the other changes were the launch of a national helpline for the rehabilitation of drug-addicted youth, increased manpower and zonal presence, and a national database of narco offenders, ‘NIDAN’. Other measures included initiating integrated analysis through a data-driven map of networks, hotspots, modus operandi and drug-wise seizures through CCTNS data and integrated data fusion, and making financial investigation and PIT-NDPS the core investigation standards, thereby simultaneously striking at hawala, benami properties, bank accounts and proceeds of crime, the Home Minister said.
In the last six years, i.e., 2020-2026 (till July), over 29,968 kg of synthetic drugs (ATS, MDMA, Methaqualone and Mephedrone) worth more than ₹19,600 crore were seized.
“From 2019 to 2026 (till July), a total of 93 lakh 34 thousand kilograms of narcotics and psychotropic substances were seized. From just the year 2024 to June 2026, all enforcement agencies confiscated properties worth ₹1,841 crore in 3,016 cases - we seized the drugs along with their money,” he added.
Shah said that between 20014-2016, agencies collectively seized 1.19 crore kg of narcotics, which is 4.6 times higher than what was seized during 2004-2014, and the value too jumped from Rs. 40,000 crore to Rs. 1.89 lakh crore.
Shah, who was on a two-day visit to the state to inaugurate a new Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) state office later on Sunday and chair a meeting of the West Zonal Council on Monday, cut short his schedule and headed back to Delhi.