Panaji: Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Sunday said the Narendra Modi government has adopted a coordinated, nationwide strategy to dismantle the entire narcotics network, from drug trafficking and financing to rehabilitation, as part of its goal to make India a “Drug-Free India” by 2029.
Addressing a press conference in Goa, Shah said the government had changed the approach to tackling narcotics by moving away from isolated action against small-time offenders to targeting the entire network, including international links and financial channels.
He said a four-tier National Coordination Committee for Countering Drug Trafficking (NCORD) mechanism was created in 2019 at the executive, state and district levels to ensure coordinated action against the drug menace.
“Dedicated Anti-Narcotics Task Forces (ANTFs) have been constituted in all states and Union Territories and local police have been linked with the national strategy,” Shah said.
He said a Joint Coordination Committee was also formed in 2019 to enable central agencies and state governments to take joint decisions against major drug networks, their international connections and operational gaps.
Shah said the government had also strengthened the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) by reorganising its cadre and enhancing its manpower, zonal presence and operational capabilities.
Emphasising that the fight against drugs was not limited to enforcement, Shah said the government had linked awareness, treatment, counselling, rehabilitation and livelihood opportunities with the anti-narcotics campaign.
He said the government had also introduced the 1933 MANAS helpline to support people affected by drug addiction.
Shah said the government’s broader internal security strategy had succeeded in addressing three long-standing challenges — terrorism in Jammu and Kashmir, insurgency in the Northeast and Left-Wing Extremism.
He said India ended the nearly six-decade-old challenge of Left-Wing Extremism on March 31, 2026, through a coordinated strategy combining security, development and trust.
Referring to the Northeast, Shah said 14 major peace agreements had been signed since 2019 and around 11,000 armed youths had laid down their weapons and joined the mainstream.
He said the government had also adopted a mission-mode approach to bring back fugitives hiding abroad.
Between July 2019 and July 2026, as many as 274 wanted or absconding criminals were brought back to India from 36 countries, he said.
Over the past three years, 401 Red Corner Notices have been issued, including 182 up to July 2026, Shah said.
He said more than 1,400 Central and state agencies were connected through Interpol, facilitating faster information sharing.
Between 2019 and 2026, assets worth Rs 17,874 crore belonging to fugitives were attached, while Rs 18,762 crore was recovered or restored, he said.
Shah also highlighted the government’s efforts against cybercrime, saying the cyber system had helped save more than Rs 11,158 crore across 32.8 lakh complaints as of June 30, 2026.
He said strengthening border and coastal security, implementation of three new criminal laws and the Vibrant Villages Programme were among the measures taken to strengthen internal security.
The Union minister said the government had adopted a “zero tolerance” policy towards terrorism and a first-responder approach to disaster management.
He said the government was committed to achieving the goal of a “Drug-Free India 2029” through political will, coordinated enforcement and measures aimed at preventing addiction and rehabilitating victims.
Shah said that Modi government’s three year roadmap to a drug-free India is based on a four-pillared approach to destroy narcotics networks. “These pillars include intelligence and operation based enforcement, control on synthetic drugs, demand and harm reduction and creation of capacity and coordination,” he said.
The union home minister said that the centre has a target to demolish 100 national and international networks by March 2029 and bring back 100 fugitives back in the country. He said that till March, 2027, there will be clear end-to-end visibility of supply chain while at least 75 secret labs would be destroyed in the year 2026.
