Mobilizing Youth Against Substance Abuse: Assessing the 'Nasha Mukt Yuva' Strategic Framework

The Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports has intensified its ‘Nasha Mukt Yuva for Viksit Bharat’ (Drug-Free Youth for a Developed India) campaign, marking the second month of this sustained initiative. By leveraging the vast network of the MY Bharat platform and the National Service Scheme (NSS), the government is pivoting from traditional punitive drug control measures toward a proactive, youth-centric empowerment model. The campaign identifies physical fitness and psychological resilience as the primary bulwarks against substance abuse, recognizing that socio-economic vulnerabilities and lack of positive engagement often drive youth toward addiction. At its core, the initiative functions as a behavioral intervention strategy. By promoting sports, yoga, and community service, the policy seeks to re-orient the youth energy towards nation-building, thereby mitigating the risk factors associated with drug dependency. The integration of the NSS—a volunteer-based organization—with the digital infrastructure of MY Bharat allows for a grassroots-level execution, ensuring that the message of wellness reaches even the most remote districts. This decentralized approach is vital for long-term social transformation, as it shifts the responsibility of drug prevention from a purely medical issue to a collective societal effort.