E-Paper
Govt outlines use of AI and drones against narcotics
The Indian government is using AI, drones, and satellite imaging to combat illegal drug cultivation, collaborating with research institutes for effective monitoring.
New Delhi
The Union Government on Wednesday outlined the role of Artificial Intelligence (AI), drone technology, and satellite imaging in efforts to detect and destroy illicit cultivation of narcotics, including opium poppy and cannabis.
In a written reply to a question in the Lok Sabha, the Ministry of Home Affairs confirmed that the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) has been collaborating with specialised research institutions such as the Advanced Data Processing Research Institute (ADRIN), the Bhaskaracharya National Institute for Space Applications and Geo-informatics (BISAG-N), and other centres.
These agencies provide satellite images which help identify suspected areas of illegal cultivation. The NCB then shares the geo-spatial data with concerned state governments and other stakeholders to undertake ground-level destruction of such crops.
The Central Bureau of Narcotics (CBN) has also been using drones for detection and eradication. Over the past three years, surveys have been carried out to eliminate poppy cultivation in Namsai, Lohit, and Anjaw districts of Arunachal Pradesh and Uttarkashi and Tehri districts of Uttarakhand, along with cannabis cultivation in Kullu district of Himachal Pradesh. No drone-based surveys or eradication drives have been undertaken in Andhra Pradesh.
The government further clarified that enforcement data generated through these advanced technologies has not been integrated into the NIDAAN portal, which is a platform for tracking narcotics-related data.
On the issue of support to states, the Ministry stated that the NCB’s role is confined to sharing satellite imagery and geo-spatial data.
According to the annexed details, surveillance using satellite imagery has been extended to multiple states in recent years. For opium poppy cultivation, monitoring was conducted in Manipur (Kangpokpi, Senapati, Ukhrul, Churachandpur, Tengnoupal), Jharkhand (Chatra, Latehar, Palamu, Khunti, Ranchi), Bihar (Gaya), Arunachal Pradesh (Lohit, Namsai, Anjaw, Tirap, Longding, Upper Siang), Uttarakhand (Uttarkashi, Tehri Garhwal), Himachal Pradesh (Kullu, Mandi), Jammu & Kashmir (Anantnag, Badgam, Bandipore, Baramula, Kulgam, Pulwama, Shupiyan), and West Bengal (Birbhum, Coochbehar, Malda, Murshidabad)
For cannabis cultivation, the satellite-based data covered Andhra Pradesh (Visakhapatnam, Alluri Sitarama Raju), Odisha (Malkangiri, Rayagada, Kandhamal, Gajapati, Ganjam, Boudh), Tripura (West Tripura, Sipahijala, South Tripura, Gomati, Khowai), and Himachal Pradesh (Kullu, Mandi, Chamba, Hamirpur, Kangra).
