Union Minister for Social Justice and Empowerment Dr Virendra Kumar has said that the fight against substance abuse must be driven by awareness, people-centric interventions, inter-sectoral convergence, empathy and shared responsibility.
Dr Virendra Kumar
Union Minister for Social Justice and Empowerment Dr Virendra Kumar has said that the fight against substance abuse must be driven by awareness, people-centric interventions, inter-sectoral convergence, empathy and shared responsibility.
In a statement, Dr Kumar said that the Central Government is committed to creating a drug-free society through a whole-of-government and whole-of-society approach.
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The Minister said that the scale of the problem became evident with the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment’s first nationwide survey on the Magnitude of Substance Use in India in 2019. The findings revealed that more than 7 crore individuals were affected by substance use disorders, including nearly 1.2 crore children and 58 lakh women.
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“The Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment (MoSJE), being the nodal ministry for drug demand reduction, has launched the National Action Plan for Drug Demand Reduction (NAPDDR), a comprehensive framework aimed at prevention, awareness generation, capacity building, treatment, rehabilitation and social reintegration,” the Ministry said on Saturday.
To further strengthen these efforts, the Nasha Mukt Bharat Abhiyaan (NMBA) was launched in 2020 in line with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision of creating a Nasha Mukt Bharat.
Secretary, Department of Social Justice and Empowerment, Sudhansh Pant said that over the past few years, the Ministry has expanded treatment and rehabilitation services through 768 de-addiction and rehabilitation centres across the country.
“The growing trust in these services is reflected in a remarkable 294 per cent increase in the number of people seeking treatment without stigma or prejudice—from 2.08 lakh in 2020 to more than 8.20 lakh in 2025,” he added.
Pant said, “Only through a Jan Andolan approach can we pave the way towards a Sashakt, Viksit and Nasha Mukt Bharat, where every individual is empowered, healthy and productive.”
He urged everyone to join the movement by taking the Nasha Mukt Bharat pledge and registering as a Nasha Mukti Mitr.
Pant said that the Department of Social Justice and Empowerment has called upon all citizens, institutions, youth organisations, educational institutions and community stakeholders to continue joining hands in this national movement and contribute towards realising the vision of Nasha Mukt Bharat, Khushhaal Bharat.
He added that the Ministry’s toll-free de-addiction helpline, 14446, has received 4.69 lakh calls, serving as the first point of contact for individuals and families seeking assistance.
He further said that the launch of the NMBA App 2.0 supports states, districts, spiritual organisations and other stakeholders in uploading field-based activity data under the NMBA with real-time visibility, while also offering several newly introduced citizen-centric features.
Last month, the Nasha Mukt Bharat Saptah, observed from June 17 to June 26 at Dev Sanskriti Vishwavidyalaya (DSVV), Haridwar, Uttarakhand, witnessed the participation of more than 1.31 crore citizens through a series of awareness-generation and community mobilisation activities.
These included Nasha Mukti Mitra registration drives, seminars and webinars, training and awareness programmes for children and youth, street plays (Nukkad Nataks), skits, slogan-writing competitions, e-pledges, rallies, yoga sessions, signature campaigns, essay-writing competitions, painting competitions and several other community engagement initiatives.
Representatives from states and Union Territories, line ministries and departments, grant-in-aid institutions, addiction treatment facilities and other stakeholders from across the country also participated in the programme, reiterating their collective commitment to building a Nasha Mukt Bharat.
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