WHY IN NEWS
- A National Pledge Against Drug Abuse marked the sixth anniversary of the Nasha Mukt Bharat Abhiyaan.
- The campaign was launched in 2020 as a focused awareness and drug-demand-reduction initiative under the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment.
- The issue is relevant because drug abuse is simultaneously a health, social, livelihood and internal-security challenge.
- For UPSC, the key distinction is between demand reduction and enforcement: awareness, counselling and rehabilitation complement but do not replace action against trafficking under criminal law.
TOP DATA & FACTS FOR UPSC
- Nasha Mukt Bharat Abhiyaan is abbreviated as NMBA.
- NMBA was launched in 2020.
- Its sixth anniversary was commemorated in 2026.
- The nodal ministry is the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment.
- The campaign focuses on awareness and demand reduction.
- Drug demand reduction includes prevention, treatment and rehabilitation.
- Drug supply reduction primarily involves enforcement against trafficking and illegal production.
- The NDPS Act, 1985 is the principal central law governing narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances.
- Awareness campaigns are most effective when connected with treatment services.
- Adolescents and young adults are important prevention groups.
- Schools and colleges can support early prevention.
- Families can help identify behavioural changes and support treatment.
- Stigma can prevent people from seeking help.
- Substance-use disorders require health-oriented treatment approaches.
- Relapse can occur and does not mean treatment is inherently futile.
- Counselling can be combined with medical care where clinically required.
- Community-based rehabilitation supports social reintegration.
- Employment and skill support can reduce vulnerability after treatment.
- Peer networks can support recovery.
- Alcohol dependence and illicit-drug dependence require substance-specific clinical approaches.
- Overdose prevention is a public-health concern.
- Drug abuse can contribute to household debt and violence.
- Trafficking networks can intersect with organised crime.
- Border and coastal security can have a supply-reduction role.
- digital platforms can be misused for illicit drug marketing.
- Prescription-drug misuse requires health-system monitoring.
- Reliable prevalence surveys are essential for targeting policy.