Modi government prepared roadmap to make India drug-free by 2029, says Amit Shah
A three-year roadmap (July 2026-July 2029) has been prepared with the target of dismantling 100 national and international drug trafficking networks and securing the extradition of 100 fugitives by March 2029
The roadmap is structured around four pillars: intelligence and operation-based enforcement, precursor and synthetic drug control, demand and harm reduction, and capacity building and coordination
Interim milestones include end-to-end supply chain visibility by March 2027 and the destruction of at least 75 clandestine drug-manufacturing labs in 2026
The government also announced plans to train one lakh "Nashamukti Mitras" (community volunteers) as part of the demand-reduction pillar
Between July 2019 and July 2026, 274 wanted or absconding offenders were extradited to India from 36 countries, cited as the base for the new fugitive-return target
The announcement was made in the context of the Narco-Coordination Centre (NCORD), the apex-level inter-ministerial body on drug enforcement
The NDPS Act, 1985 — Legal Backbone of Drug Enforcement
The Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, 1985 is India's primary statute criminalising the production, manufacture, sale, purchase, transport, and consumption of narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances, except for medical/scientific use. It received presidential assent on 16 September 1985 and came into force on 14 November 1985, replacing earlier colonial-era laws such as the Opium Act.
The target of dismantling 100 "networks" (rather than individual seizures) draws on NDPS provisions like Section 27A that specifically target the financing and organisational backbone of trafficking, not just possession offences.
NCORD — The Institutional Coordination Mechanism
The Narco-Coordination Centre (NCORD) is a four-tier institutional mechanism, established in 2016 and strengthened in 2019, meant to coordinate drug-enforcement action across the Centre, States, and Union Territories. It sits under the Ministry of Home Affairs and is distinct from the NCB, which is the primary central investigating/coordinating agency under the NDPS Act.
Key Details
- Four tiers: Apex Level (chaired by the Union Home Minister), Executive Level (Special Secretary, MHA), State Level (Chief Secretaries), District Level (District Magistrates/SPs)
- The apex-level NCORD committee meets periodically to review enforcement progress and set targets — the current 2029 roadmap was framed through this mechanism
- NCB (created 1986 under NDPS Section 4(3)) is the nodal central agency for drug-law enforcement and coordination with State police, Customs, and international agencies (INTERPOL, etc.)
The 100-network and 100-fugitive targets, along with the four-pillar roadmap, were set through the NCORD apex-level review structure — illustrating how India's federal drug-enforcement architecture coordinates central and state action.
Constitutional and Policy Basis — Article 47 and Demand Reduction
Article 47 of the Constitution, a Directive Principle of State Policy under Part IV, places a duty on the State to endeavour to bring about prohibition of the consumption of intoxicating drinks and drugs injurious to health, alongside raising nutrition and public health standards. This non-justiciable but foundational provision underpins India's demand-reduction policy architecture.
Key Details
- Article 47 (DPSP, Part IV) — not enforceable in court but guides legislative and policy action, including NDPS enforcement and demand-reduction schemes
- National Action Plan for Drug Demand Reduction (NAPDDR), launched 2018 by the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, with a roadmap through 2025
- Nasha Mukt Bharat Abhiyan (NMBA), launched 15 August 2020 in 272 vulnerable districts; expanded to 372 districts in August 2022; extended to all districts nationwide from 15 August 2023
- The current roadmap's "demand and harm reduction" pillar and the Nashamukti Mitra volunteer scheme extend this existing demand-side framework
The new roadmap's four pillars combine supply-side enforcement (networks, labs, precursor chemicals) under the NDPS/NCORD framework with the pre-existing demand-reduction architecture rooted in Article 47 and the NMBA.
- Roadmap period: July 2026 to July 2029
- Targets by March 2029: 100 national/international drug networks dismantled; 100 fugitives extradited
- Interim target: end-to-end supply-chain visibility by March 2027; at least 75 clandestine labs destroyed in 2026
- Four roadmap pillars: enforcement, precursor/synthetic drug control, demand/harm reduction, capacity building and coordination
- Fugitive extradition track record cited: 274 offenders returned to India from 36 countries, July 2019-July 2026
- NDPS Act, 1985: 83 sections across 6 chapters; in force from 14 November 1985
- NCB established: March 1986, under NDPS Section 4(3)
- NCORD: four-tier mechanism established 2016, strengthened 2019
- Nasha Mukt Bharat Abhiyan: launched 15 August 2020 (272 districts); nationwide coverage since 15 August 2023