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Drug demand reduction: NAPDDR and Nasha Mukt Bharat Abhiyaan

By CAShorts DeskPublished Source: PIB (Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment); Department of Social Justice and Empowerment; NDPS Act, 1985

Why in news: On 15 October 2026, PIB released a case study of an Odisha man who recovered from alcohol dependence at a NAPDDR-supported centre in Dhenkanal.

Drug demand reduction: NAPDDR and Nasha Mukt Bharat Abhiyaan
Illustration (AI-generated)

The National Action Plan for Drug Demand Reduction, run by the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment since 2018, funds prevention, counselling, treatment and rehabilitation for people dependent on drugs and alcohol. Its campaign, the Nasha Mukt Bharat Abhiyaan, began on 15 August 2020 and now covers every district. A PIB case study on 15 October 2026 traced a recovery.

Syllabus: Prelims · Economy & Social Development; GS2 · Government Policies; GS2 · Welfare of Vulnerable Sections

Why this matters for UPSC

GS2 welfare schemes and health: Prelims can ask NAPDDR's ministry, the IRCA, ODIC and CPLI centres, Article 47 and Section 64A of the NDPS Act; Mains, whether drug use should be treated as a health problem.

In short

Drug demand reduction cuts the need for drugs and alcohol through prevention, counselling, treatment and rehabilitation; rooted in Article 47, it is led by the Social Justice Ministry.

From outreach toreintegrationCommunityreachResidentialcareLivelihoodandreintegration

Demand reduction works only when outreach leads to treatment and treatment to lasting recovery; funding and outcome tracking must match the campaign's reach.

Why it matters

A family watching a member sink into alcohol or drug dependence often does not know where to turn, and stigma keeps many from asking. This scheme is meant to give them a nearby door: a helpline, a counsellor, a bed in a rehabilitation centre, and help to return to work afterwards. Its success decides whether young people caught in addiction end up treated and employed or jailed and jobless. It also tests a larger choice in public policy: whether drug use is handled mainly as a crime to be punished or as a health condition to be treated, with police and social workers pulling in the same direction.

Prelims pointers

  • Article 47 falls among the Directive Principles of State Policy and places a moral obligation on the State to curb intoxicating substances injurious to health.
  • NAPDDR is carried out with State and UT governments, panchayats, urban local bodies, NGOs, trusts and hospitals; NGO centres must register under the Mental Healthcare Act, 2017.
  • Nasha Mukt Bharat Abhiyaan began in 272 districts chosen from the national survey and the Narcotics Control Bureau's list; it has covered all districts since August 2023.
  • NDPS Act, 1985, Section 64A covers section 27 and small-quantity offences; care must be at a Government- or local authority-recognised institution, and be completed.
  • National Drug Dependence Treatment Centre, AIIMS New Delhi conducted the first national survey on extent and pattern of substance use with the Ministry in 2018.
  • National Fund for Control of Drug Abuse: administered by the Department of Revenue, Ministry of Finance, under NDPS rules notified in 2006.
  • District Nasha Mukt committees are headed by District Collectors or Magistrates; Navchetna modules sensitise students of classes 6 to 11.

Practise a UPSC-style question

With reference to drug demand reduction in India, consider the following statements:

1. The National Action Plan for Drug Demand Reduction is implemented by the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment.

2. Under the Nasha Mukt Bharat Abhiyaan, supply control is handled by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

  1. (a) 1 only
  2. (b) 2 only
  3. (c) Both 1 and 2
  4. (d) Neither 1 nor 2
Show the answer

Answer: (a) 1 only

Answer: (a) 1 only. The scheme is Social Justice's; supply control sits with the Narcotics Control Bureau.

Statement 1: correct. The Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment launched NAPDDR in 2018 and is the nodal agency for demand reduction.

Statement 2: incorrect. The Abhiyaan's three prongs give supply control to the Narcotics Control Bureau; the Health Ministry handles treatment.

Eliminate: Be sure of statement 2 first: supply control is the Narcotics Control Bureau's, not the Health Ministry's. Out: (b), (c).

Eliminate: Statement 1 is right, since NAPDDR is a Social Justice scheme, so 'Neither' goes too. Out: (d).

Trap: Swapped attribution. The three-pronged design is true, but the supply prong is pinned on the ministry that actually runs the treatment prong.

Remember: Demand: Social Justice. Supply: NCB. Treatment and harm reduction: Health.

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