New Delhi: Union Home Minister Amit Shah will inaugurate the 2nd National Conference of Heads of Anti-Narcotics Task Forces (ANTF) in New Delhi on September 16, as the government intensifies its campaign against narcotics with a zero-tolerance approach. The two-day event, organised by the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB), will see participation from ANTF heads of all 36 States and Union Territories, along with senior officials from key government departments.
“Drugs are the biggest scourge for our youth, and the government is taking aggressive action against narco-cartels to rescue the addicted and restore their lives,” Shah had remarked earlier this year on the International Day Against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking. That conviction will shape the conference’s deliberations, which focus on Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision of a Drug-Free India. With the theme “United Resolve, Shared Responsibility”, the gathering aims to build a coordinated national roadmap to combat both the supply and demand side of the drug problem.
Shah will also release the NCB’s Annual Report 2024 and launch an online Drug Disposal Campaign during the inaugural session. Across eight technical sessions, participants will deliberate on dismantling cartels and network linkages, addressing synthetic drugs and clandestine labs, financial investigations, extradition of fugitives, and strengthening investigations and trials. Equally, the conference will focus on demand reduction strategies and community-level interventions to ensure that prevention and rehabilitation receive as much attention as enforcement.
The Modi government has consistently highlighted the need for a “whole of government” approach to tackle narcotics, framing drug abuse not only as a law-and-order challenge but also as a national security and societal threat. Shah’s call for every State and UT to set up dedicated Anti-Narcotics Task Forces in 2021 laid the groundwork for coordinated action. After the first ANTF conference in April 2023, this second edition is expected to generate actionable outcomes and a future-ready strategy integrating technology, intelligence, and community participation.
BI Bureau
