"Weak data hampers India's drug policy." Critically analyse with reference to substance-use surveys and overdose mortality reporting.

A drug policy built on evidence needs two numbers: how many people are dependent on drugs and how many die from them. India has only one full national estimate of dependence, the AIIMS-NDDTC survey Magnitude of Substance Use in India, carried out in 2018 [1]. Overdose deaths are known only from police records compiled by NCRB [3]. The statement largely holds, but data is not the only constraint.

How weak data hampers policy

• Outdated baseline: The survey was carried out in 2018. The national survey before it was UNODC's in 2000-01 [1]. No repeat survey has followed, so nobody can tell whether crackdowns or de-addiction programmes have reduced dependence.
• Blind to new trends: A one-time snapshot misses changes since 2018, such as pharmaceutical diversion through retail chemists and drone-borne supply.
• Undercounted deaths: ADSI compiles only police-recorded deaths [3]. Deaths from long-term complications or unsafe injecting are left out. Punjab recorded just 89 (2023) and 106 (2024) overdose deaths [3], although the survey placed its opioid use among the highest in India [2].
• Uneven data: Enforcement data is fresh. The MoD reported 782 drone incidents on the Punjab/Rajasthan border in 2025 [5]. Health data lags years behind, which pushes policy towards policing over treatment.

Counter-view: data is a partial bottleneck

• The 2018 survey was large and the first to give state-level estimates. It covered people aged 10-75 in all States and UTs [2].
• That data was used. Nasha Mukt Bharat Abhiyaan chose its first 272 most-vulnerable districts using the survey and NCB inputs [4].
• NCRB publishes every year [3], so trends are visible even if the totals are too low.
• Better numbers alone would not fix weak chemist regulation, too few de-addiction centres or poor coordination between agencies.

In short, weak data is a real handicap but not the only cause of poor outcomes. The way forward is to institutionalise a national survey every 3-5 years under MoSJE and set up standard overdose-death certification that links hospitals, forensic labs and NCRB. NMBA should also run district dashboards. Reliable evidence would turn the Article 47 directive and SDG 3.5 from goals into results that can be measured.