Nasha Mukt Bharat Abhiyaan-Signing of MoU between Department of Social Justice & Empowerment and Gayatri Parivar

Newdelhi:21/9/23:Substance use disorder is an issue that is adversely affecting the social fabric of the country. Dependence on any substance not only affects the individual’s health but also disrupts their families and the whole society. Regular consumption of various psychoactive substances leads to dependence of the individual. Some substance compounds may lead to neuropsychiatric disorders, cardiovascular diseases, as well as accidents, suicides, and violence. Therefore, substance use and dependence need to be viewed as a psycho-social-medical problem.

As per report of first comprehensive national Survey on extent and pattern of substance use in India conducted by Department of Social Justice & empowerment through National Drug Dependence Treatment Centre (nddtc), AIIMS, New Delhi, alcohol is the most common psychoactive substance used by Indians followed by cannabis and opioids.

To curb the menace of drug demand, the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment (mosje), government of India has been implementing national action plan for drug demand reduction (napddr) which is an umbrella scheme under which financial assistance is provided to state Governments/ union territory (ut) administrations for preventive education and awareness generation, capacity building, skill development, vocational training and livelihood support of ex-drug addicts, programmes for drug demand reduction by states/uts  etc.  And NGOs/VOs for  running and maintenance of integrated rehabilitation centers for addicts  (lrcas), community-based peer-led intervention (cpli) for early drug use prevention among adolescents and outreach and drop-in centers (odic) and district de-addiction centers (ddacs) in the identified districts and addiction treatment facilities (atfs) in government hospitals.

Further, the ministry has initiated ambitious Nasha Mukt Bharat Abhiyaan (NMBA) currently operational across the country with an aim to create awareness about the ill effects of substance abuse among the youth, with a special focus on higher education institutes, university campuses, and schools and reaching out into the community and garnering community involvement and ownership of the Abhiyan.

Meanwhile, NMBA plays a crucial role in overcoming this addiction. Till now Nasha Mukt  Bharat Abhiyaan (NMBA) through the various activities undertaken on-ground 10.61+ crore people reached out so far. 8,000 master volunteers have been selected and trained to lead the abhiyaan activities in identified districts. More than 3.36+ crore youth have actively participated in the activities of the Abhiyan and spreading on-ground the message against substance use. Around 4,000+ yuva mandals, nyks & NSS volunteers, and youth clubs have also been associated with the abhiyaan. The contribution of 2.24+ crore women has also been vital in reaching out to a larger community through the Anganwadi & Asha workers, anms, mahila mandals & women SHGs.

Technology and social media have been effectively utilized to spread the message of the Abhiyan online by creating handles on Facebook, Twitter & Instagram and sharing daily updates on them. An android-based mobile application has been developed to capture the data of activities happening on ground on a real-time basis by the districts and master volunteers. This app has been placed on the Google Play Store. All the de-addiction facilities have been geo-tagged for ease of access by the public.

A special initiative under the NMBA is an association of religious/spiritual Organizations for carrying out various activities under NMBA and to spread the message of NMBA under their banner. Taking a step in this direction, department of Social Justice & Empowerment is entering into an MoU with Gayatri Parivar to spread the message of   NMBA among the youth, women, students, etc. The ceremony will be held in Dr. Ambedkar International Centre, 15 Janpath, New Delhi on 22nd September 2023 at 09:00 am in the Presence of Dr. Virendra Kumar, Union Minister of Social Justice & Empowerment, Senior Officers of the department and senior members of the Gayatri Parivar management.

With the signing of this MoU, department of Social Justice & empowerment feels that implementation of NMBA will get a boost towards achieving drug sensitized India.