Large outreach numbers do not by themselves show policy success. Suggest outcome indicators for India's drug demand-reduction framework.

The Nasha Mukt Bharat Abhiyaan (NMBA) is MoSJE's flagship campaign under NAPDDR. It has reached over 35 crore people since 2020 [1]. Outreach counts activity, not results. Policy success should be judged by less drug use and more recovery.

Why outreach alone misleads

• Reach–treatment gap: about 6.47 lakh people used supported treatment centres in 2024-25 (as of March 2025) [2], against 35 crore reached.
• Need vs capacity: India has about 2.26 crore opioid and 3.1 crore cannabis users [3]. Against this there are only 145 District De-Addiction Centres and 344 IRCAs [4].
• Outdated baseline: the only national survey, by NDDTC-AIIMS, was conducted in 2018 [5]. Nobody can show that use has fallen since then.
• Input-focused evaluations: the DRS (2024) and NITI Aayog (2025) reviews found progress in institutional capacity [4], not in recovery.

Suggested outcome indicators

Awareness → Help-seeking → Treatment → Recovery → Lower prevalence

Fig: Results chain. Measure each link, not just the first.

• Prevalence: repeat the AIIMS survey every 3–4 years with the same method [5]. Track past-year use, dependence and age of first use among 10–17-year-olds.
• Treatment coverage: people treated ÷ estimated dependent users, by district. Add the share of 14446 helpline calls that lead to admission [2].
• Recovery quality: treatment-completion rate, 12-month relapse rate, and return to school or work.
• Harm reduction: overdose deaths, HIV and hepatitis among people who inject drugs, and drug-related hospital admissions.
• Equity and stigma: share of women and adolescents in treatment, community attitude surveys, and how many users take the treatment route under Section 64A, NDPS Act [6].
• System quality: share of certified de-addiction centres, and trained counsellors per district.

NMBA has built strong awareness, but it still has to prove impact. The plan that replaces NAPDDR (2018–2025) [7] should include a results framework. That means district dashboards on the NMBA App, outreach targets tied to treatment capacity, and independent evaluation. Measuring outcomes would serve Article 47 (the State's duty to prohibit harmful drugs) and SDG 3.5 (prevent and treat substance abuse). It would also help India move from campaign to cure.