Nasha Mukt Bharat Abhiyaan Reaches Over 35 Crore People

The Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment has placed on record the outreach achieved by its flagship anti-drug campaign. As on date, the Nasha Mukt Bharat Abhiyaan (NMBA) has touched more than 35 crore people, and the figure includes over 13.94 crore young people and 10.86 crore women. The campaign has also engaged more than 32 lakh educational institutions in its awareness activities.

Where the campaign sits in policy

NMBA runs under the National Action Plan for Drug Demand Reduction (NAPDDR). It was launched on 15 August 2020 and began with 272 vulnerable districts, chosen for the scale of substance use found there, before widening to cover the country as a whole. Its stated focus is on youth, women and local communities, on the reasoning that prevention works best where families, schools and neighbourhoods take part.

The Home Minister's target

Speaking at the third National Conference of Anti-Narcotics Task Force (ANTF) Heads of States and Union Territories in New Delhi in September, Union Home Minister Amit Shah said the country would collectively succeed in uprooting the drug trade from India by 31 December 2029. He pressed for coordinated action, clear targets, accountability and the dismantling of drug networks, and tied the protection of young people from substance abuse to the national goal of a developed India by 2047.

Demand reduction alongside enforcement

The campaign is deliberately built as the demand side of the anti-narcotics effort. While enforcement agencies work on trafficking and supply, NMBA concentrates on awareness, community participation and access to help. Its approach runs from prevention and assessment through treatment, rehabilitation and aftercare, and it also tries to reduce the stigma attached to substance-use disorders so that families seek assistance sooner. Educational institutions, youth clubs and women's groups serve as its main platforms, and volunteers described as Nashamukt Mitras carry the message into schools and colleges.

The helpline and the numbers to remember

Anyone looking for information or assistance can call the National De-Addiction Helpline, 14446. For an examination, the figures that matter are the overall reach of 35 crore, the youth and women figures of 13.94 crore and 10.86 crore, the 32 lakh institutions, the launch date of 15 August 2020, the 272 districts the campaign began with, and the deadline of 31 December 2029 set for ending the drug trade.