Shri Thaawarchand Gehlot to Address Through Webcast A Gathering of 272 District Collectors & 32 State Secretaries Involved With ‘Nashamukt Bharat Campaign’ Tomorrow

Union Minister of Social Justice and Empowerment Shri ThaawarchandGehlotwill address the gathering of 272 District Collectors, 32 State Secretaries, more than 500 NGOs / VOs, Officers of Narcotics Control Bureau, Doctors and Professionals of NDDTC, AIIMS, and all the officers involved with this campaign in the States and Districts tomorrow (14.08.2020) at 4.00 PM through a Webcast of NIC to provide a significant impetus to the launch of the campaign.  The event will also have messages from the Ministers of State for Social Justice and Empowerment Shri Krishan Pal Gurjar, Shri Ram Das Athawale and Shri Rattan Lal Kataria. The programme will also showcase NashaMukt Bharat campaign through a Power Point Presentation which will encompass the modalities and the activities to be carried out during the campaign period.

On this occasion, Shri Gehlot will e-inaugurate the new building of National Institute of Social Defence (NISD) in Dwarka, New Delhi. NISD became an autonomous body onJuly 15, 2002, and is the nodal training and research institute in the field of Social Defence. The institute focuses on human resource development for drug abuseprevention, welfare of senior citizens and trans-genders, beggary prevention, andother social defence issues. It provides inputs for the social defence programmes to the Governmentof India and also conducts training and research in the field, apart from ensuring theimplementation of various programmes under the National Action Plan for DrugDemand Reduction and National Action Plan for Senior Citizens.

Substance abuse is emerging to be a matter of concern in the country having adverse consequences not just for the person using drugs, but on the family and society at large.  Prevention has proven to be the most effective strategy to counter this problem.  Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment being the Nodal Ministry for Drug Demand Reduction coordinates, implements and monitors several interventions which include prevention, assessment of extent of the problem, treatment and rehabilitation of users, dissemination of information and generation of awareness among public. To assess the magnitude of the problem of substance use in the country, Ministry has done a comprehensive National Survey on Extant and Pattern of Substance Use to ascertain the proportion of Indian population using various substances and those affected by substance use disorders. The findings of the National Survey were published in the year 2019.

Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment has formulated ‘NashaMukt Bharat Campaign’ to be implemented in 272 districts which are identified as most affected in terms of usage of substances. State Governments and the 272 District Collectors are going to launch the NashaMukht Bharat Campaign on 15^th August 2020 which will run for 7 months till 31^st March 2021. District and State level NashaMukt Bharat Committees formed would devise a strategy and Action plan for the campaign. These committees would ensure that campaign activities are effectively implemented, and the objectives of the campaign are met.

These 272 districts have been identified based on the inputs received from Narcotics Control Bureau and the findings on the comprehensive National survey done by the Ministry. The Campaign focuses on 272 most affected districts by launching a three-pronged attack combining efforts of Narcotics Bureau, Outreach/Awareness by Social Justice and Treatment through the Health Department. The Campaign Plan has the following components:

• Awareness generation programmes;
• Focus on Higher Educational institutions, University Campuses and Schools;
• Community outreach and identification of dependent population;
• Focus on Treatment facilities in Hospital settings; and
• Capacity Building Programmes for Service Provider.