Amit Shah announces three-year nationwide campaign against drugs from March 31
New Delhi (PTI): Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Friday announced a crackdown on narcotics from March 31 with a three-year nationwide campaign to weed out the drug menace from the country.
Addressing the 9th Apex-level meeting of the Narco-Coordination Centre (NCORD), Shah said that as part of the collective campaign, a working methodology for all pillars against drug abuse will be defined, targets will be set, and time-bound reviews will be conducted.
According to the date announced by the home minister, the campaign against drugs will be launched immediately after the deadline set by him to wipe out Naxalism ends on March 31.
Shah also virtually inaugurated a Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) office in Amritsar on the occasion.
The meeting, organised in hybrid mode by the NCB, was attended by key stakeholders from Central ministries and departments, representatives from state governments, as well as drug law enforcement agencies, according to a government statement.
Shah directed all the departments to prepare a roadmap by March 31 to deal with the drug problem, establish a monitoring mechanism, and focus completely on it, so that a comprehensive solution can be found.
“In the next three years, we have to fight on all fronts against drugs across the country and make India 'drug-free’, and make every effort to protect the country's youth from drugs,” Shah said.
“Only continuous awareness can keep us safe,” Shah said, and asserted that the government wants to create a permanent system capable of fighting this battle against drugs.
The home minister said the government's policy is clear that no compassion should be shown to those who manufacture or sell narcotics.
“We should move forward with a humanitarian approach towards the victims of drugs,” he said.
In the fight against drugs, all departments of the Central government should prepare a roadmap up to 2029 and establish a time-bound review mechanism for its implementation, he said.
Shah also appealed to all the DGPs to prepare a roadmap for their respective states and take concrete steps for the timely destruction of drugs.
“Prime Minister Narendra Modi has set the goal of making India number one in the world in every field by 2047, when the centenary of Independence is celebrated. To create such an India, it is the responsibility of all of us to provide complete protection to the young generation from drugs,” the home minister said.
He also said that the challenge is linked more to the issue of narco-terror than to law and order, and most importantly, it is a conspiracy to ruin the coming generations of the country.
The health of the youth, their ability to think and perform, and the growing discontent in society are all linked to this problem, he said.
Under Prime Minister Modi, considerable success has been achieved in the past 11 years in the fight against drugs, and after the reorganisation of NCORD in 2019, “we have also ensured the path to complete control over this problem”, Shah said.
“Now we have gained speed and will move forward with a three-pronged plan of action,” he said.
Only a "collective ruthless approach" towards the drug supply chain, a strategic approach towards demand reduction, and a humane approach towards harm reduction will achieve the goal of a drug-free India, he said.
“We must proceed in this fight only by strengthening command, compliance and accountability,” the home minister said.
He added that instead of the number of meetings, their outcomes should be reviewed, with strict action taken against the kingpins of the drug trade, financiers, and logistics routes as subjects of such assessments.
The minister also said that the utilisation of forensic science laboratories (FSLs) and increasing the rate of timely filing of chargesheets and securing convictions should be included in the targets.
A top-to-bottom and bottom-to-top approach is extremely essential for investigating the entire drug network, he said.
From 2004 to 2013, drugs weighing 26 lakh kg worth Rs 40,000 crore were seized, whereas from 2014 to 2025, 1.11 lakh kg of drugs worth Rs 1.71 lakh crore were seized, marking an 11-fold increase, Shah said.
In 2020, opium crop on 10,770 acres of land was destroyed, and by November 2025, crops on 40,000 acres of land were destroyed, he added.
“The NCORD mechanism has a four-tier structure with an apex-level NCORD committee, which is headed by the Union home secretary; an executive-level NCORD committee headed by the special secretary, Ministry of Home Affairs; state-level NCORD committees headed by chief secretaries; and district-level NCORD committees headed by district magistrates,” the statement said.
The mechanism was established in 2016 to enhance coordination between the states, the Ministry of Home Affairs and concerned stakeholders in addressing the challenge of drug menace holistically, it said.
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Real Madrid fines Valverde and Tchouaméni half a million euros each for altercation
Barcelona (AP): Real Madrid slapped players Federico Valverde and Aurélien Tchouaméni with half-a-million-euro ($588,000) fines on Friday for their altercation during practice.
The massive fines came a day after the midfielders tussled when the team trained. Valverde said in a post on social media on Thursday that no punches were thrown. But Valverde knocked his head on a table and he suffered a small cut that required a brief hospital visit.
On social media, Valverde initially called it a “meaningless fight” with a teammate and said “everything has been blown out of proportion."
His employers, however, considered it a significant enough breach of team discipline to nail both Valverde and Tchouaméni with fines that bite even the bank account of a top soccer player. The half-a-million euro penalties reflect the reputational damage the club was enduring in a chaotic end to a disappointing season.
In a statement, the 15-time European champion said its disciplinary action was concluded after both players expressed to the club “their complete remorse for what happened and apologized to one another.”
Madrid added they also apologized to their teammates, the coaching staff and club supporters, as well as showing their willingness to accept whatever disciplinary action the club deemed “opportune.”
Tchouaméni was back training with Madrid on Friday, two days before they play at Barcelona in a clasico. Madrid has to win otherwise Barcelona will be crowned La Liga champion.
After being notified of the fine, he posted a public apology to the club and its fans on social media.
“What happened this week in training is unacceptable,” Tchouaméni wrote. "I say this while thinking about the example we are expected to set for young people, whether in football or at school.
“Above all, I am sorry for the image we projected of the club.”
Valverde was not at practice due to the head knock.
Both players are set to play in the World Cup next month, with Tchouaméni playing for France and Valverde for Uruguay.
Chaotic end to a poor season
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The run-in between the players, who for seasons have played side by side in Madrid's midfield, came after they argued this week in previous training sessions. But tempers boiled over on Thursday. Spanish media was rife with reports that the players previously disagreed over the club's decision to let coach Xabi Alonso go after just months on the job.
It was not the only altercation involving Madrid players during training this week. Álvaro Carreras confirmed he was in a “minor” incident with a teammate. Spanish media said he and fellow defender Antonio Rüdiger got into a scuffle.
Álvaro Arbeloa, the coach who was promoted from Madrid's reserve team when Alonso was fired in January, will face tough questions on what went wrong inside the changing room when he gives a press conference on Saturday ahead of the clasico at Camp Nou.
Madrid is facing a second consecutive campaign without a major trophy amid rumors in the Spanish media that club president Florentino Pérez is considering bringing back Jose Mourinho to straighten out his underperforming team.
