Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Wednesday warned that drug abuse endangers future generations and funds organisations involved in anti-national activities, urging police forces nationwide to work towards eliminating narcotics by the end of 2029.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has set a deadline of December 31, 2029 for elimination of narcotics in the country.
Paying homage to police martyrs at the National Police Memorial in Delhi on Police Commemoration Day, Shah said the remaining months of 2026, along with 2027, 2028 and 2029, would be devoted to a united fight against drugs.
He described the target as a major national priority, warning that drug abuse threatens future generations, places an undue burden on the economy and provides financial support to organisations involved in anti-national activities.
Police forces across the country should work toward the government's goal of a drug-free India, he said, stressing the campaign was essential to protect the country's future generations.
The minister noted that the country has eliminated decades of Naxalism by March 31, 2026, crediting Chhattisgarh Police, the Central Armed Police Forces, the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) and CoBRA for their role in combating insurgency.
Shah said more than 3,600 security personnel and approximately 13,700 civilians had been killed in violence associated with Naxalism between 1981 and March 2026.
He also praised the CRPF, its CoBRA battalion and the Chhattisgarh Police for their efforts in combating Naxalism.
Shah presided over the annual event, which included a joint parade of Central Armed Police Forces and Delhi Police.
The annual function is organised in remembrance of 10 police personnel killed in an ambush by heavily armed Chinese troops at Hot Springs in Ladakh on October 21, 1959.
The minister also flagged off a motorcycle rally themed "Fight Against Drugs" involving about 90 police riders from several states and union territories, Central Armed Police Forces and other central police organisations
"Fight Against Drugs," is part of a nationwide initiative in which riders from across India will travel to Ekta Nagar in Gujarat to participate in the Ekta Parade on October 31, an official statement said.
The riders from Jammu and Kashmir, Ladakh, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Haryana, Chandigarh and Delhi, CRPF, Central Industrial Security Force, Border Security Force, Sashastra Seema Bal, Indo-Tibetan Border Police and National Security Guard, along with the Railway Protection Force, National Disaster Response Force and National Investigation Agency are participating in the rally.