Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Sunday said India’s fight against narcotics has entered “mission mode” for the 2026-29 period, with the Centre setting time-bound targets and more than 200 action points under a four-pillar strategy aimed at dismantling drug networks and reducing demand.
Addressing a press conference in Panaji, Shah said the government had made the fight against drugs a national security priority and moved it beyond isolated seizures and the actions of individual agencies to a coordinated nationwide campaign.
He said the government has prepared a three-year roadmap from July 2026 to July 2029, with quarterly reviews, measurable outcomes and accountability assigned to different ministries.
“The fight against drugs is one of the biggest national battles of the country,” Shah said, adding that Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s goal was to ensure that a drug-free youth population forms the foundation of a developed India by 2047.
According to Shah, the roadmap is based on four pillars — intelligence- and operations-based enforcement; control of precursor chemicals and synthetic drugs; demand and harm reduction; and capacity building and coordination.
He said the strategy would include preparing dossiers on drug kingpins, tracing backward and forward linkages in narcotics networks and strengthening financial investigations in cases involving commercial quantities of drugs.
Shah said security and enforcement agencies, including the BSF, CISF, Indian Coast Guard, Customs and the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence, would undertake risk-based profiling and install scanners at land borders, ports, airports and cargo facilities.
The CBI, Ministry of External Affairs and Interpol would work to bring back fugitives, while the Enforcement Directorate, Financial Intelligence Unit and the banking system would focus on tracing the money trail, he said.
Highlighting the government’s efforts since 2019, Shah said a four-tier Narcotics Coordination Mechanism (NCORD) was created and a model for dedicated Anti-Narcotics Task Forces was circulated to all states and Union Territories.
He said a Joint Coordination Committee was also established to improve coordination among central agencies, state governments and their departments in tackling large drug networks, including their inter-state and international links.
Shah said the government had adopted both “bottom-to-top” and “top-to-bottom” approaches in narcotics investigations.
“If a small packet of drugs is seized, it is examined where it originated from in the country. Similarly, if a large consignment is seized at the border, it is traced how it was going to reach the youth in the form of small packets,” he said.
According to figures cited by Shah, drug seizures increased from 26 lakh kg, valued at around Rs 40,000 crore, during 2004-14 to more than 1.19 crore kg, valued at approximately Rs 1.89 lakh crore, during 2014-26.
He also said that 3.36 lakh kg of drugs were destroyed between 2004 and 2014, compared with 48.68 lakh kg between 2014 and 2026.
The Home Minister said the government had also stepped up action against drug-related financial networks, with a dedicated task force focusing on financial investigations and action under the Prevention of Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act.
Technology-based investigations targeting the dark web, encrypted communications, cryptocurrency transactions and “dead drop” deliveries have also been initiated, he said.
A dedicated Dark Net-Crypto Cell is being developed within the Anti-Narcotics Task Force, while an inter-ministerial mechanism has been established to tackle precursor chemicals and synthetic drugs, according to Shah.
On rehabilitation and prevention, Shah said the government had launched the 1933 Manas helpline for drug-addicted youth and created a national database of narcotics offenders through the NIDAAN portal.
He said 25 crore citizens had been contacted and administered an anti-drug pledge under the Nasha Mukt Bharat Abhiyan, while 5.7 lakh people had been made drug-free through treatment and rehabilitation efforts.
The government plans to prepare lakhs of “Nashamukti Mitra” volunteers through the NCC, NSS and My Bharat platforms, Shah said.
He added that the number of de-addiction centres would be increased threefold to 1,751 through the combined efforts of the Social Justice, Health and Jail Administration departments, with around 10,000 volunteers expected to support the campaign.
For capacity building, Shah said 7 per cent central assistance would be provided to establish fully equipped Anti-Narcotics Task Forces in every state by March 2027. The Ministry of Home Affairs would also make arrangements for forensic reports to be received within 30 days, he said.
“Foreigners are welcome in India, but not with drugs,” Shah said, asserting that the government was taking action against drug smuggling through routes linked to the “Death Triangle” and “Death Crescent” under what he described as a Quadrangular Approach.
Shah also linked the government’s anti-narcotics campaign to its broader internal security efforts, saying the Modi government had adopted a similar approach in tackling terrorism, Naxalism and insurgency.
He said that since 2019, 274 fugitives had been extradited from 36 countries up to July 2026, including those accused in economic offences, terrorism, narcotics cases and gang-related crimes.
He said 401 Red Corner Notices had been issued over the last three years, including 182 in 2026 up to July, and properties worth around Rs 17,874 crore belonging to fugitives had been sealed or confiscated between 2019 and 2026.
Shah also highlighted the government’s efforts to strengthen the broader criminal justice and cybercrime framework, saying the 1930 helpline had emerged as an effective mechanism for protection against cybercrime.
He praised the Goa government and police for implementing the three new criminal laws and said the state’s conviction rate had risen to 53.2 per cent.
The Home Minister said the Centre and state governments would work together to achieve the targets under the anti-narcotics roadmap, with 25 components and more than 200 action points to be implemented in a time-bound manner.
