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Why India's Ambitious Goal of a Drug-Free Bharat by 2029 is Essential for the Nation's Future
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News18•06-10-2026, 14:35
Why India's Ambitious Goal of a Drug-Free Bharat by 2029 is Essential for the Nation's Future
- •India has set an ambitious, time-bound goal under Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah to completely uproot the drug trade from the country by 31 December 2029.
- •Data from national surveys highlights that millions of Indians suffer from substance use, with youth aged 15 to 35 being the most vulnerable demographic.
- •Law enforcement agencies seized narcotics worth Rs 25,330 crore in 2024 alone, reflecting a massive surge in drug trafficking and its dangerous links to organized crime and terrorism.
- •The government's Nasha Mukt Bharat 2029 roadmap relies on four pillars: enforcement, control of synthetic drugs, demand reduction, and massive expansion of rehabilitation infrastructure.
- •Rehabilitation capacity is targeted to grow from 334 to 1,751 de-addiction centers by March 2029, involving a whole-of-society approach to protect India's demographic dividend.
Key Questions Answered
India has set an ambitious, time-bound goal to uproot the entire drug trade from the country by December 31, 2029.
The government plans to increase the number of drug de-addiction centres from 334 to 1,751 by March 2029, representing a more than five-fold expansion.
The roadmap comprises four key pillars: intelligence and operations-based enforcement, control of precursors and synthetic drugs, demand and harm reduction, and capacity building and coordination.
