PM Modi to Launch 100-Week Anti-Drug Campaign on Aug 2: Union Minister Mandaviya

New Delhi: Union Minister for Youth Affairs and Sports Mansukh Mandaviya on Thursday announced that Prime Minister Narendra Modi will launch a nationwide 100-week anti-drug awareness campaign on August 2 to address the growing challenge of substance abuse among India's youth. The campaign, titled 'Nasha Mukta Yuva for Viksit Bharat Sankalp Abhiyaan', aims to mobilise young people across the country through weekly awareness and engagement activities, including sports competitions, walkathons, meditation sessions, street plays, and other community initiatives. Speaking during the Question Hour in the Rajya Sabha, Mandaviya said Prime Minister Modi will address the nation on the launch day, when over one crore young people are expected to take the 'Nasha Mukti' pledge, committing themselves to remain drug-free and encourage others to do the same. The initiative will be spearheaded by MY Bharat, a youth-focused platform under the Department of Youth Affairs. According to the minister, the campaign will bring together youth clubs, schools, colleges, universities, non-governmental organisations, industrial associations, and more than 125 spiritual organisations, making it one of the country's largest youth-led movements against drug abuse. Emphasising the need for collective action, Mandaviya said promoting sports and creating greater awareness are essential to steering young people away from substance abuse. He added that the government alone cannot tackle the issue and called upon society as a whole to actively support the campaign.