Union Home Minister and Minister of Cooperation Amit Shah chaired the 10th apex-level meeting of the Narco-Coordination Centre, or NCORD, in New Delhi, according to a Press Information Bureau release.
At the meeting, Shah released the Vision Document on Drug Control (2026-2029) and the NCB Annual Report-2025. He also e-inaugurated Narcotics Control Bureau zonal offices in Jammu and Guwahati.
The Home Minister also launched an Online Drugs Disposal Fortnight Campaign for the destruction of narcotics weighing 2,09,500 kg. The value of the drugs marked for destruction was stated as ₹6,000 crore.
Four-pillar roadmap for drug control
The vision document has been prepared as a roadmap for the period 2026 to 2029. Shah said it is linked to the goal of a Nasha Mukt Bharat and the larger vision of Viksit Bharat by 2047.
The roadmap is built around four broad pillars: enforcement, intelligence and operations; precursor and synthetic drug control; demand and harm reduction; and capacity building, coordination and monitoring.
According to the release, the plan aims to support targeted, intelligence-led action against drug networks. It also calls for efforts to stop drugs at the production stage, reduce demand through society, education and rehabilitation, and improve coordination across government departments.
Shah said the fight against drugs cannot be handled by one department, one state or one government alone. He asked states and departments to work on a common platform and involve youth, women and public influencers in awareness and prevention efforts.
Focus on networks, financing and technology
The Home Minister described the anti-drug approach in three words: Detect, Disrupt and Destroy. He said agencies must target cartels involved in bringing drugs into India, moving them from borders to states, and distributing them to end users.
He referred to the use of human intelligence, technical intelligence and community policing, especially in border and sensitive districts. He also called for coordinated monitoring of the Dark Web, hawala transactions, crypto payments, ports and airports.
The release said Shah pointed to new methods used by drug traffickers, including drone-based drops, containerised cargo through sea routes, parcel shipments, crypto payments and order-to-delivery models. He said the response should be organised, intelligence-led and technology-driven.
Shah also said agencies should act firmly against drug traffickers while taking a sympathetic approach towards drug victims. He said treatment and rehabilitation are needed to help affected children and young people return to normal life.
Directions to states and agencies
The Home Minister asked state police chiefs to make financial investigation mandatory in major NDPS cases. He said the process of identifying, freezing and seizing proceeds of crime should be evidence-based and supported by modern technology.
He also said real-time data sharing is needed to follow the money trail in drug cases. The Ministry of Home Affairs has taken up the issue of special courts with High Courts, including adequate judges and daily hearings in major cases for faster disposal, the release said.
Shah asked states to strengthen their Anti-Narcotics Task Forces as full-time, dedicated and accountable units. He said state and district-level NCORD meetings should be output-oriented and effectively monitored.
The release also mentioned roles for several ministries and agencies. The Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment was asked to expand the Nasha Mukt Bharat campaign, awareness activities, community participation, treatment and rehabilitation services. The Ministry of Health was asked to monitor pharmaceutical diversion and online pharmacies. The Education Ministry was asked to take forward a Drug-Free Campus framework and awareness among parents and teachers.
Shah also referred to the role of NCRB, NFSU, DFSS, I4C and NATGRID in cartel identification. He said cases involving commercial quantities of drugs should include financial investigation and backward-forward linkages as important parts of investigation.
Seizure and destruction figures cited
The release cited comparative figures for seizures, destruction of drugs, illegal cultivation and arrests. Shah said that between 2004 and 2014, drugs worth ₹40,000 crore, weighing 26 lakh kg, were seized. From 2014 to 2026, drugs worth ₹1,84,000 crore, weighing 1 crore 18 lakh kg, were seized.
On destruction of seized drugs, he said drugs worth ₹8,000 crore, weighing 3,26,000 kg, were destroyed between 2004 and 2014. Between 2014 and 2026, drugs worth ₹89,896 crore, weighing 42,47,000 kg, were destroyed.
The release also said 10,000 acres of illegal opium crops were destroyed in 2020, while 42,282 acres were destroyed in 2025. It stated that 1,73,000 cases and 1,95,000 arrests were recorded between 2004 and 2014. From 2014 to 2026, 8,75,000 cases were registered and 10,97,000 people were arrested.
Shah said district, state and apex-level NCORD meetings should be made more result-oriented. According to the release, 15,876 district-level NCORD meetings, 266 state-level meetings, seven Executive Committee meetings and 10 apex-level meetings have been held so far.
Source: Press Information Bureau, Government of India.