Government is making various efforts jointly with State Governments and Union Territories to strengthen the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) and other enforcement agencies and to ensure effective implementation of Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act. Some of them are detailed below: -

1. A 4-tier Narco-Coordination Centre (NCORD) mechanism for ensuring better coordination between Central & State Drug Law Enforcement Agencies and other stakeholders in the field of controlling drug trafficking and drug abuse in India has been established. An all in one NCORD portal has been developed for information related to drug law enforcement.
2. A dedicated Anti Narcotics Task Force (ANTF) headed by Additional Director General/ Inspector General level Police Officer has been established in each State/ Union Territory to function as the NCORD Secretariat for  the State/   Union Territory and follow-up on compliance of decisions taken in NCORD meetings at different levels.
3. To monitor the investigation of important and significant seizures, a Joint Coordination Committee (JCC) under the chairmanship of Director General, Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) has been set up by Government of India.
4. Border Guarding Forces (Border Security Force, Assam Rifles and Sashastra Seema Bal) have been empowered under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, 1985 to carry out search, seizure and arrest for illicit trafficking of narcotic drugs at international border. Further, Railway Protection Force (RPF) has also been empowered under NDPS Act to check drug trafficking along the railway routes.
5. The Indian Coast Guard has been empowered under the Narcotic Drugs & Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985 for making interdiction of narcotic drugs in coastal and high seas.
6. Narcotics  Control Bureau (NCB)  coordinates   with   other  agencies  like, Navy,  Coast  Guard,  Border  Security  Force, State ANTF, etc., to conduct joint operations to control the drug trafficking.
7. Towards the capacity building of drug law enforcement agencies of the country, NCB is continuously imparting training to the officers of other drug     law enforcement agencies.
8. A task force on Darknet and Crypto-Currency has been set up under the Multi Agency Centre (MAC) mechanism with a focus on monitoring all platforms facilitating Narco-trafficking, sharing of inputs on drug trafficking amongst Agencies/MAC members, interception of drug networks, continuous capturing of trends, modus operandi & nodes with regular database updates and review of related rules & laws.
9. A National Narcotics Helpline “Madak-Padarth Nished Asoochna Kendra” (MANAS) has been created as a 24x7, toll-free National Narcotics Call Centre. Accordingly MANAS has been envisioned as an integrated system providing a single platform for citizens to log, register, track and resolve drug related issues/problems through various mode of communications like call, SMS, Chat-  bot, e-mail & web-link.
10. Assistance is provided by the Government to the states for upgradation of existing forensic science laboratory in the states under different schemes.
11. Financial assistance is provided to eligible States for strengthening their anti-narcotics units under the scheme “Assistance to States & UTs”.

     Government of India has taken several measures to coordinate with international agencies and neighboring countries to deal with cross-border drug trafficking. Some of which are as under:-

(i)       Director General Level Talks are being organized with neighboring and other countries such as Myanmar, Iran, Bangladesh, Indonesia, Singapore, Afghanistan, Sri Lanka, etc. to resolve various issues on drug trafficking having international implications.

(ii)      As a part of International co-operation, India has signed Bilateral Agreements with 27 countries, Memorandum of Understanding with 16 countries and Agreements on Security Cooperation with 02 countries for combating illicit trafficking of Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) and Chemical Precursors as well as related offences.

(iii)     Intelligence Sharing and Controlled Delivery (CD) Operations within India and with foreign countries are being carried out regularly.

(iv)     India is closely associated with International Narcotics Control Board (INCB) and all its programs viz. PEN (Pre-Export Notification), PICS (Precursors Incident Communication System), and IONICS (International Operations on New Psychoactive Substances Incident Communication System).

(v) Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) co-ordinates with various international organizations such as South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation- Drug Offences Monitoring Desk (SAARC-SDOMD), Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa  (BRICS), Colombo Plan, Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), ASEAN Senior Officials on Drug Matters (ASOD), Bay of Bengal Initiative For Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Co-Operation (BIMSTEC), Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), International Narcotics Control Board (INCB), etc. for sharing information and intelligence to combat trans-national drug trafficking.

(vi)     NCB India takes part in real-time information sharing with various Drug Liaison Officers of other countries such as the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) of the United States of America, the National Crime Agency of the United Kingdom, Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) of Canada, Australian Federal Police (AFP) of Australia, Office Anti-Stupefiants (OFAST) of France, etc for operational and intelligence information.

(vii)    A high-level dedicated group has been created in National Security Council Secretariat (NSCS) to analyze drug trafficking through maritime routes, challenges, and solutions (Maritime Security Group – NSCS).

This was stated by the Minister of State for Home Affairs, Shri Nityanand Rai in a written reply to a question in the Rajya Sabha.

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RK/VV/ASH/RR/PR/PS/2632

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