MANAS: National Narcotics Helpline

India’s first nationwide drug-use survey found tens of millions of people needing help. One phone number, 1933, now connects them to it.

MCQ Questions

MANAS Helpline

1933

India’s National Narcotics Helpline, launched 18 July 2024

Run by NCB, Ministry of Home Affairs, with the Digital India Corporation

16 cr

Alcohol users, 2019 survey

2.26 cr

Opioid users, 2019 survey

30 + 36

NCB Zonal Units + State/UT ANTFs coordinated

14446

Transfer line to Social Justice Ministry

One number, two systems: MANAS links enforcement (NCB, for reporting trafficking) and welfare (counselling, transferable to 14446) at a single confidential entry point.

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📑 Contents

1Timeline
2Must Know
3Good to Know
4Current Affairs
5Test Yourself
6Great to Know

Timeline

2019: AIIMS’s NDDTC submits “Magnitude of Substance Use in India,” the country’s first comprehensive nationwide drug-use survey.
2024: MANAS launches on 18 July, at the 7th NCORD meeting, chaired by Home Minister Amit Shah.
2026: A PIB Backgrounder, dated 2 July, details MANAS’s current reach and planned upgrades.

Must Know

MANAS stands for Madak Padarth Nishedh Asoochna Kendra, India’s National Narcotics Helpline.
It launched on 18 July 2024, run by the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB), Ministry of Home Affairs, with the Digital India Corporation (DIC).
It is accessible via the helpline 1933, a web portal, email, and the UMANG app.
Citizens can confidentially report drug trafficking, peddling, or illegal cultivation, without revealing their identity.
People affected by addiction get counselling support. Calls can transfer to the Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment’s own helpline, 14446.
Digital ticketing speeds up coordination with 30 NCB Zonal Units and 36 State/UT Anti-Narcotics Task Forces (ANTFs).

Good to Know

Multilingual support, Smart IVRS, and chatbot integration are being added to MANAS.
Public-awareness campaigns run through MyGov: quizzes, and poster and reel contests, aimed mainly at youth.
MANAS is the helpline arm of a wider campaign: the National Action Plan for Drug Demand Reduction, known as the Nasha Mukt Bharat Abhiyaan. It is described as aligned with PM Modi’s vision of a drug-free India. See CA0075 — Nasha Mukt Yuva for Viksit Bharat Sankalp Abhiyan for its 2026 youth-mobilisation phase.
MANAS complements India’s wider anti-narcotics architecture. See Polity0151 — Counter-Narcotics Enforcement in India: NCB and the Drug Enforcement Architecture and Polity0153 — India’s National Anti-Narcotics Coordination Mechanism (NCORD).

Current Affairs

15 July 2026: MY Bharat announced the Viksit Bharat Yuva Connect Programme (VBYCP), starting 16 July, for one month.
- It carries the theme “Nasha Mukt Yuva for Viksit Bharat,” across universities and colleges nationwide.
- Youth Icons, including VBYLD State Champions and NSS Awardees, will visit institutions to speak with students.
- Sessions include an awareness film, the Nasha Mukt Bharat Pledge, and testimonials from Recovery Warriors.
(Source: PIB)
12 July 2026: MY Bharat opened registrations for District-Level Competitions, under the “Nasha Mukt Yuva for Viksit Bharat” campaign. Registrations began 13 July, on the MY Bharat Portal. The three-tier competition covers five categories: Dance, Music, Reel & Short Film, Nukkad Natak, and Slam Poetry. (Source: PIB)
District rounds run 24-27 July, feeding into State-Level rounds from 30 July to 6 August. State Champions then compete at the National Finale, on 12-13 August, at the National Youth Summit in New Delhi. Youth aged 15 to 29 can enter individually or in groups. (Source: PIB)
10 July 2026: India announced a National Mass Pledge Against Drug Abuse, to be held on 18 August 2026, marking NMBA’s 6th anniversary. PM Modi is expected to lead the pledge, with over 12 crore citizens targeted to take part. (Source: PIB)
The Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment is organising the pledge. It will run through both physical and online participation, across the country. (Source: PIB)
16 July 2026: NMBA’s reach grew further, to over 29.32 crore individuals, including more than 11.20 crore youth and 7.92 crore women. (Source: PIB)
The campaign has run over 21 lakh awareness activities, across schools, colleges, and universities. (Source: PIB)
The Drug De-addiction Helpline 14446 has received over 4.60 lakh calls, for counselling and referrals. (Source: PIB)
768 Integrated Rehabilitation Centres and related facilities have treated over 28.29 lakh people. Treatment-seekers rose 294%, from 2.08 lakh in 2020 to 8.20 lakh in 2025. (Source: PIB)
A new NMBA App 2.0 now enables real-time reporting. Citizens can also take the NMBA Pledge and register as Nasha Mukti Mitra volunteers. (Source: PIB)
23 July 2026: A written Rajya Sabha reply said NMBA has reached more than 29.68 crore citizens, including over 11.43 crore youth and 8.05 crore women. (Source: PIB)
Under NAPDDR, the Ministry supports 344 Integrated Rehabilitation Centres, 145 District De-Addiction Centres, 76 Outreach and Drop-in Centres, 45 Community-based Peer-Led Interventions, and 155 Addiction Treatment Facilities. (Source: PIB)
AIIMS’s first National Survey on Substance Use estimates about 15.10 crore adult alcohol users, 2.90 crore cannabis users, and 1.90 crore opioid users nationally. (Source: PIB)
2 August 2026: PM Modi launched the Nasha Mukt Yuva for Viksit Bharat Sankalp Abhiyan, addressing over 1 crore youth connected from more than 28,000 locations nationwide. (Source: PIB)
He said the campaign was for “the individual, the family, and society; above all, it is for the nation,” and recalled that it began as a pilot project in Kashi the previous year. (Source: PIB)
Union Minister Mansukh Mandaviya said MY Bharat already connects over 2.3 crore youth, and compared the campaign’s ambition to Swachh Bharat and Fit India. (Source: PIB)
The campaign will build towards a National Nasha Mukti Youth Conclave, proposed for 14 August 2026 in New Delhi, recognising outstanding contributors. (Source: PIB)
7 August 2026: A separate Rajya Sabha reply, to questions from Shri Kanad Purkayastha and Shri Babubhai Jesangbhai Desai, put NMBA’s reach at more than 29.05 crore people, including 11.05 crore youth and 7.81 crore women. (Source: Odisha Diary, reporting the Rajya Sabha reply)

Test Yourself

Great to Know

MANAS was built to address a scale revealed in 2019. India’s first comprehensive survey found about 16 crore alcohol users, with 5.7 crore severely affected.
The same survey counted 3.1 crore cannabis users, 2.26 crore opioid users, and roughly 1.18 crore sedative users.
About 2.8 crore people were opioid-dependent. Roughly 28 lakh needed urgent treatment.
MANAS’s anonymous, confidential design targets a specific barrier: stigma, a well-known reason people avoid seeking help for addiction.
Its 1933-to-14446 call transfer links two separate government systems into one entry point. Enforcement (NCB) and welfare (Social Justice Ministry) meet at a single phone number.