Amit Shah sets 2029 deadline for ‘drug-free India’, vows to choke narcotics at borders

Union Home Minister Amit Shah Sunday set a 2029 deadline for making India “drug-free”, unveiling an intensified three-year campaign aimed at choking narcotics trafficking across the country’s borders while simultaneously targeting domestic distribution networks and drug demand.

Addressing a press conference in Panaji, Shah said the Centre had prepared a roadmap running from July 2026 to July 2029 and would pursue a “zero tolerance” policy against narcotics. He said the government’s objective was to ensure that drugs neither enter India nor move out of the country through trafficking networks. Shah linked the narcotics battle to national security, arguing that drug trafficking could no longer be treated merely as a law-and-order or public-health problem because of its links with organised crime, terror financing and cross-border networks.

Four-pronged crackdown

The roadmap rests on four broad pillars — intelligence and operation-based enforcement; control of precursor chemicals and synthetic drugs; demand and harm reduction; and capacity building and coordination.

Shah said the strategy would focus on dismantling the entire narcotics chain rather than merely arresting street-level suppliers. Authorities have been asked to identify sources, transit routes, financiers and kingpins, while strengthening surveillance at borders, ports and airports.

The government also plans to intensify action against trafficking through the darknet, cryptocurrency transactions, drones, parcels and containerised maritime cargo, methods that enforcement agencies say are increasingly being adopted by organised narcotics networks.

State Anti-Narcotics Task Forces are to be strengthened as full-time, dedicated units, while financial investigations will play a greater role in major NDPS cases. The Centre has also pushed for dedicated NDPS courts to speed up trials and stronger coordination between state police forces, the Narcotics Control Bureau and other agencies.

Shah said enforcement agencies would follow a “Detect, Disrupt and Destroy” strategy to dismantle drug cartels, including networks operating from outside India.

Seizures surge

The Home Minister cited the sharp rise in narcotics seizures as evidence of intensified enforcement. According to government figures, around 1.18 crore kg of drugs valued at approximately Rs 1.84 lakh crore were seized between 2014 and 2026. This compares with about 26 lakh kg valued at Rs 40,000 crore during 2004-2014.

Drug destruction has also increased substantially. The government says narcotics weighing around 42.47 lakh kg and valued at nearly Rs 89,896 crore were destroyed between 2014 and 2026, compared with 3.26 lakh kg worth around Rs 8,000 crore in the preceding decade.

Enforcement action has expanded alongside seizures. Around 8.75 lakh narcotics-related cases were registered and 10.97 lakh people arrested between 2014 and 2026, according to government figures.

Rehabilitation part of plan

Shah stressed that the crackdown would distinguish between traffickers and people struggling with drug dependence, advocating a tough approach towards narcotics networks while calling for rehabilitation and support for affected youth.

The government plans to expand awareness campaigns in schools, colleges and communities, promote drug-free campuses and strengthen treatment and rehabilitation facilities. Parents, teachers, educational institutions and youth organisations are also expected to be brought into the campaign.

The 2026-29 roadmap was formally unveiled by Shah at a Narco-Coordination Centre meeting in June and lays down targets and timelines for ministries, central agencies, states and Union Territories. The government plans to review progress periodically and modify targets where necessary.

Shah said achieving a drug-free young population was essential to the government’s broader goal of making India a developed country by 2047, arguing that the next three years would be crucial in determining whether narcotics networks could be decisively weakened.