What is ‘Nashe se Azadi’? NCB campaign against drug abuse

New Delhi, Aug 04: As India celebrates Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav to mark the 75th year of India's independence, Nasha Mukt Bharat Abhiyaan is organising Nashe se Azadi- National Youth and Students Interaction Program wherein 75 institutions have been identified by the ministry that shall be participating in a day-long event.

The Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerme

nt, Government of India, is running a flagship campaign known as Nasha Mukt Bharat Abhiyaan that was launched on 15 August 2020 in 272 districts of India.

It is a three-pronged attack combining the supply curb by Narcotics Control Bureau, outreach activities, awareness generation and demand reduction effort by Social Justice and Empowerment and treatment through Health Department.

Why it is important

The 'Nashe se Azadi' campaign is significant as the consumption of drugs and narcotic substances like heroin, cannabis and other opioids has increased significantly in India.

The consumption rate of various narcotics substances in the country has seen a 70% increase in the past eight years and the number continues to rise. There are roughly around 10 crore (100 million) Indians consume drugs. It used to be around 2 crore (20 million) 15 years ago. My sense is that, yes, drug consumption is increasing.

An online event that is being chaired by the Honorable Union Minister for Social Justice and Empowerment, Dr. Virendra Kumar, along with the representatives from faculty and students of the identified institutions. The event would be conducted through CISCO WEbEx and live streamed on facebook.

The best performing education institutions will be honored by the ministry and a certificate of participation will be provided to all the students who participate in the offline and online events.