Amit Shah to Inaugurate 3rd National Conference of Anti-Narcotics Task Force (ANTF)

Union Home Minister Amit Shah will inaugurate the 3rd National Conference of Heads of Anti-Narcotics Task Forces (ANTF) of States and UTs in New Delhi on 22 September 2026. The Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) is organising this two-day event. Heads of ANTFs from 36 States and UTs, along with officials from other departments and stakeholders, will attend.

During the programme, Amit Shah will release TV awareness films against drugs and launch the revamped NCB website. He will also lay the foundation stones of new NCB Zone complexes in Lucknow and Dehradun. The best-performing state ANTF will be felicitated as well.

National Conference of Heads of ANTF of States/UTs: Theme

The theme of the conference is "United Resolve, Shared Responsibility". The meeting will review how far State and UT ANTFs have achieved the targets set for them in the Vision Document on Narcotics Control (2026-29). Participants will also discuss better strategies to strengthen supply reduction, demand reduction and harm reduction. Supply reduction means stopping drugs from being made and moved, while demand reduction means reducing their use among people.

The government says it is working in "mission mode" to protect young people from drug abuse. It links a drug-free India with the goal of Viksit Bharat by 2047, set by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Four Strategic Pillars of the Vision Document

The Vision Document rests on four pillars:

1. Enforcement, Intelligence and Operations
2. Precursors and Synthetic Drugs Control
3. Demand and Harm Reduction
4. Capacity Building and Coordination

Precursors are the chemicals used to make drugs.

Eight Technical Sessions Lined Up for the Event

Eight sessions have been planned in line with these four pillars:

1. Vision Document Part I: Institutional Mechanisms
2. Vision Document Part II: Demand Reduction, Prevention and Rehabilitation
3. Dismantling Network Linkages and Cartels (Part I)
4. Dismantling Network Linkages and Cartels (Part II)
5. Improving Effectiveness of Enforcement
6. Precursors, Synthetic Drugs and Clan Labs (illegal drug-making labs)
7. Destruction of Illicit Cultivation and Alternate Cropping
8. Darknet and Crypto Investigation

The conference stresses a whole-of-government approach. It aims to produce practical strategies for the next three years, keep the youth away from drugs, and deepen the partnership between the NCB and State/UT ANTFs to build a Drug-Free India.