‘Country’s biggest fight’: Amit Shah outlines roadmap for ‘drug-free’ India by 2029

Union Home Minister Amit Shah has declared the war against drugs as India's biggest national challenge, following the eradication of Naxalism. During a press conference in Goa on Sunday, Shah unveiled a three-year roadmap and a vision document to achieve a "drug-free India" by 2029. He emphasized that narcotics trafficking destroys future generations and finances terrorism, affecting countries worldwide.

Since 2019, the government has intensified efforts to combat narcotics trafficking, dismantling criminal networks and breaking financial links. Prior to 2014, action against narcotics was fragmented and limited, but in 2019, the BJP government prioritized it as a national security issue. A four-tier NCORD mechanism was established, integrating local police with national strategies and forming dedicated anti-narcotics task forces in all states and union territories.

This shift from isolated actions to a coordinated campaign has led to an unprecedented surge in drug seizures, from 26 lakh kilograms between 2004 and 2014 to over 1.19 crore kilograms from 2014 to 2026. Shah outlined a three-pronged strategy focusing on supply reduction, demand reduction, and harm reduction, encompassing intelligence and operation-based enforcement, precursor and synthetic drug control, demand and harm reduction, and capacity building and coordination.