Union Home Minister and Minister of Cooperation Amit Shah will inaugurate the 3rd National Conference of Anti-Narcotics Task Force (ANTF) Heads of States/UTs in New Delhi on Tuesday, September 22, and lay the foundation stones for new Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) Zone complexes in Lucknow and Dehradun.
HM Shah will also release television commercials (TVCs) aimed at spreading awareness against drugs during the event.
Conference to review progress under Vision Document on Narcotics Control
Based on the theme “United Resolve, Shared Responsibility”, the conference will review progress on targets assigned to State/UT ANTFs under the recently released Vision Document on Narcotics Control (2026-29) and deliberate on initiatives and efforts undertaken by stakeholders to combat drug trafficking and substance abuse across the country, according to a press release issued by the Ministry of Home Affairs.
The two-day conference, being organised by the NCB, will bring together Heads of ANTFs from all 36 States and Union Territories, along with representatives of concerned government departments and other stakeholders. The best-performing ANTF among the States and Union Territories will also be felicitated during the event, while the revamped NCB website will be launched.
Centre working in ‘mission mode’ to combat drug abuse
The conference will also deliberate on issues related to identifying and adopting appropriate strategies to further strengthen the Government of India’s supply reduction, demand reduction and harm reduction measures, the ministry said.
Eight technical sessions to focus on four strategic pillars
Eight technical sessions have been lined up for the conference, structured around the four strategic pillars of the Vision Document: (I) Enforcement, Intelligence and Operations; (II) Precursors and Synthetic Drugs Control; (III) Demand and Harm Reduction; and (IV) Capacity Building and Coordination.
States, agencies to strengthen whole-of-government approach
Reiterating the need for a whole-of-government approach, the deliberations will enable participating States, departments and agencies to move forward with renewed commitment towards effectively combating drug trafficking across the country over the next three years, it stated.
The discussions are expected to generate actionable strategies to further strengthen drug law enforcement and keep the youth of the country away from drugs. The national event will also seek to deepen a future-ready partnership between the NCB and State/UT ANTFs to combat drug abuse and realise the vision of a Drug-Free India.
-with PIB inputs
