PM Modi to launch nationwide campaign against drug abuse among youth on Aug 2: Mandaviya

Union Minister for Youth Affairs and Sports Mansukh Mandaviya on Thursday, July 30, said that to tackle the issue of drug abuse among the country’s youth, Prime Minister Narendra Modi would launch a nationwide 100-week campaign on August 2 to raise awareness against substance abuse.

Titled ‘Nasha Mukta Yuva for Viksit Bharat Sankalp Abhiyaan’, the campaign will involve weekly activities such as sports competitions, walkathons, meditation sessions, street plays, etc., Mandaviya said in the Rajya Sabha during Question Hour.

“On August 2, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will address the nation, and more than one crore youth will take the ‘Nasha Mukti’ pledge, reaffirming their commitment to be drug-free and help others to be drug-free,” he said.

The campaign will be led by MY Bharat, a youth-centric platform that is an initiative of the Department of Youth Affairs.

It will witness participation from youth clubs, schools, colleges, universities, non-governmental organisations, industrial associations, and more than 125 spiritual organisations, making it one of the largest youth-led public movements against substance abuse in the country, Mandaviya said.

“We need to bring our youth into the field of sports, and help spread awareness (about the drug issue). The government cannot do this alone. The entire society has to take responsibility for this,” the minister said.