New Delhi, Jun 26: Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Friday said the Centre is “relooking” at the NDPS Act to plug loopholes exploited by narco syndicates and underlined the need for a ruthless approach towards drug peddlers and suppliers.
Addressing the 10th apex-level meeting of the Narco-Coordination Centre (NCORD) on Friday, Shah asked the states to share their suggestions with the Centre on amending the law.
The home minister also spoke about the success achieved by agencies in tackling the drug menace in the country.
“During 2004 to 2014, 26 lakh kilograms of synthetic drugs were seized. In contrast, from 2014 to 2026, we seized 1.18 crore kilograms of synthetic drugs. This shows that our campaign is steadily progressing towards success,” he said.
Shah said the value of the drugs seized between 2004 and 2014 was approximately Rs 40,000 crore, whereas the value of the drugs seized between 2014 and 2026 was approximately Rs 1.84 lakh crore.
This reflects the remarkable increase in the effectiveness and scope of the government’s actions, he said.
Shah said the Union Ministry of Finance is “relooking” at the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act to strengthen it and asked states to share their suggestions.
He said the directors general of police can send their suggestions to the Ministry of Home Affairs and the chief secretaries to the Department of Revenue under the Ministry of Finance.
During the event, Shah unveiled a three-pronged approach against drug trafficking — detect, disrupt and destroy.
He said a ruthless approach should be adopted against traffickers and operatives and a sympathetic approach towards the victims.
The minister called for an approach based on four pillars of enforcement, intelligence collection and dissemination and operations; control against precursors and synthetic drugs; demand reduction and awareness among people; and capacity building, coordination and monitoring by the anti-narcotics agencies.
Shah asked the state governments to ensure real-time information sharing under all circumstances.
“For this, the Narcotics Control Bureau has developed several portals. I urge all chief secretaries and police chiefs to upload crime details for their respective states to these portals in a time-bound manner. This will enable the government of India to review these cases and provide you with necessary feedback and suggestions,” Shah said.
He urged all chief secretaries and police chiefs to move towards making NCORD meetings result-oriented.
“The number of meetings is certainly increasing, but it is also essential that they are result-oriented.
“Is effective implementation taking place of the decisions taken in the meetings? Are those decisions reviewed in the next meeting? Is there a rigorous and serious analysis of them? Efforts made at the state level in the direction of making meetings result-oriented alone can lead us to success,” he added.
Shah said the country stands at such a delicate juncture in the battle against narcotics that the coming three years will determine “whether addiction conquers us or we conquer addiction”.
“For the future of our nation over the next 100 years, we must collectively fight this with unwavering resolve. For this, all governments must come together on a single platform. We must also include seers who guide the public, youths who shape the future, and the power of mothers in this endeavour,” he said.
The NCORD meeting brought together key stakeholders from 44 central ministries and departments, along with representatives from state governments and drug law enforcement agencies in hybrid mode.
The discussions focused on further strengthening the government’s efforts to achieve a drug-free India.
Challenges posed by synthetic drugs, darknet-enabled trafficking and expanding the reach of rehabilitation centres for drug users over the next three years were also discussed.
Shah also released a vision document on narcotics control for three years (2026-2029) prepared through wide-ranging consultations with central government departments, drug law enforcement agencies and other stakeholders.
The document will provide a shared road map for addressing the “demand-reduction, supply-reduction and harm-reduction” aspects of the drug menace.
The road map envisages a network-centric enforcement approach, clearly defines responsibilities, timelines and measurable targets for all stakeholders and integrates enforcement, demand reduction, rehabilitation, public awareness, capacity building and inter-agency coordination.
Earlier, a government statement had said, “This vision document will serve as a guiding framework for policy formulation, implementation and institutional strengthening across the country to curb the menace of drugs.”
Shah also released the Narcotics Control Bureau’s annual report 2025 and inaugurated the agency’s zonal offices in Jammu and Guwahati.
He e-inaugurated the Drug Disposal Fortnight Campaign, under which approximately 2,09,500 kg of drugs worth Rs 6,000 crore will be destroyed across India by various central and state law enforcement agencies. (PTI)
