Panaji, Sep 6: Union Home Minister and Minister of Cooperation Amit Shah on Sunday said terrorism in Jammu and Kashmir has declined significantly and the region has progressed on the path of development following the abrogation of Article 370, while asserting that the fight against narcotics has now become a coordinated national-security campaign.
Addressing a press conference in Panaji, Shah said that when Prime Minister Narendra Modi assumed office, the country was facing three major internal-security challenges—rising terrorism in Jammu and Kashmir, Naxalism and unrest caused by several armed organisations in the Northeast. The country was also grappling with bomb blasts and widespread concerns over women’s safety.
Looking back from 2019 to 2026, Shah said the situation had changed significantly. After the abrogation of Article 370, the feeling of separatism in Jammu and Kashmir had reduced considerably, while the figures of terrorism were “gradually shrinking and moving towards zero”.
He said Jammu and Kashmir had also progressed on the path of development and efforts had been made to bridge the “mental distance” between the region and the rest of the country.
Shah said the five-decade-old problem of Naxalism had almost become a thing of the past, with most people who had imagined the “Red Corridor” surrendering their arms and joining the mainstream.
In the Northeast, around 11,000 youth have laid down arms and the government has signed more than 14 agreements with them, he said, adding that the region too was moving on the path of development.
On action against fugitives, Shah said that from 2019 to July 2026, 274 fugitives had been extradited from 36 countries. They included people accused of serious economic offences, terrorism, narcotics-related crimes and gang wars, he said, adding that all had been brought before Indian courts.
In the last three years, 401 Red Corner Notices have been issued, including 182 up to July this year alone. Shah credited the new “BHARATPOL” system for strengthening international coordination. More than 14 central agencies and police forces of all states are connected to the platform, he said.
From 2019 to 2026, properties worth approximately Rs 17,874 crore belonging to fugitives had been sealed or confiscated, while the new criminal laws and justice codes had made legal action against fugitives easier, Shah said.
He also said a systematic mechanism had been created to deal with cybercrime, with Prime Minister Modi personally monitoring the initiative. The 1930 helpline had become an effective mechanism for protection against cybercrime, he said.
The Home Minister credited the Ministry of Home Affairs and state governments with taking the implementation of the three new criminal laws down to the police-station level. He also thanked Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant and the Goa Police for implementing the new Nyaya Sanhita and the three criminal laws in a short period.
According to Shah, Goa’s conviction rate had risen to 53.2 per cent, representing an increase of approximately 30 per cent in the rate of securing convictions in registered FIRs.
Turning to narcotics, Shah said drugs posed a grave threat to future generations and that proceeds from narcotics were also being used to finance terrorism. He said narco-terror modules were active in several countries and the entire world was grappling with the problem.
Since 2019, he said, the government had changed the system for tackling narcotics, targeted drug networks, broken their financial chains and provided support for the rehabilitation of people addicted to drugs.
Shah said that before 2014, the fight against drugs had largely been conducted in a piecemeal manner, with agencies focusing on individual seizures and smaller accused persons. Since 2019, however, the Modi government had made narcotics a national-security priority.
The anti-drug campaign had consequently moved beyond individual files and the actions of separate agencies to become a coordinated and continuous national campaign, he said.
A four-tier NCORD mechanism was created in 2019, while a model for dedicated Anti-Narcotics Task Forces was sent to all states and Union Territories and a Joint Coordination Committee was constituted.
With coordination between central agencies, state governments and their departments, a scientific approach was adopted to tackle large drug networks, inter-state and international links and operational gaps, Shah said.
The government also launched the “1933” MANAS helpline for rehabilitation of drug-addicted youth, restructured the cadre of the Narcotics Control Bureau and created a national database of narcotics offenders through the NIDAAN portal.
Using CCTNS data and integrated data fusion, a data-based map of drug hotspots, modus operandi and seizures across the country was prepared, he said.
A new investigation model involving both bottom-to-top and top-to-bottom approaches had also been adopted. Even when a small packet of drugs was seized, investigators examined its source, while large consignments intercepted at the border were traced forward to determine how they were to reach young people in smaller quantities.
“This way, reverse investigation of the entire network has started,” Shah said.
He said special emphasis had been placed on financial investigation and PIT-NDPS, with a high-level dedicated task force constituted for the purpose.
Technology-based investigations were initiated against the dark web, encrypted communications, cryptocurrency transactions and dead-drop deliveries. Work had also begun on creating a dedicated Dark Net-Crypto Cell within the Anti-Narcotics Task Force.
An inter-ministerial mechanism was created to deal with precursors and synthetic drugs, Shah said.
He compared the seizure figures of the two periods, saying that between 2004 and 2014, 26 lakh kg of drugs worth approximately Rs 40,000 crore were seized. Between 2014 and 2026, the quantity seized had risen to more than 1.19 crore kg, valued at approximately Rs 1.89 lakh crore.
Similarly, while 3 lakh 36 thousand kg of drugs were destroyed between 2004 and 2014, 48 lakh 68 thousand kg had been destroyed between 2014 and 2026, he said.
Shah said 10 apex-level, seven executive-level, 277 state-level and 16,798 district-level NCORD meetings had been held. India had signed agreements with 46 countries for international cooperation in combating narcotics.
Under the Nasha Mukt Bharat Abhiyan, 25 crore citizens had been contacted and administered the anti-drug pledge, while 5.70 lakh citizens had been made drug-free through treatment and rehabilitation, he said.
In Goa, action against narcotics had increased approximately threefold during the same period, Shah said.
The Home Minister said a three-year roadmap for the period from July 2026 to July 2029 had been prepared, with a decision to achieve all targets in a time-bound manner.
He said the fight against drugs was being advanced as one of the country’s biggest national battles, with Prime Minister Modi’s goal being to ensure that drug-free youth power formed the foundation of a developed India by 2047.
The period from 2026 to 2029 has been declared a “mission mode” phase, Shah said, with timelines fixed, different ministries made accountable, measurable outcomes defined and quarterly reviews and outcome-based accountability put in place.
The roadmap is based on four pillars: intelligence and operation-based enforcement; control of precursors and synthetic drugs; demand and harm reduction; and capacity building and coordination.
Under the framework, dossiers of drug kingpins will be prepared, backward and forward linkages investigated and financial investigations undertaken in every case involving commercial quantities, he said.
The BSF, CISF, Indian Coast Guard, Customs and Directorate of Revenue Intelligence will undertake risk-based profiling and install scanners at land borders, ports, airports and cargo facilities to strengthen surveillance.
The CBI, Ministry of External Affairs and Interpol will work to bring fugitives back to India, while the Enforcement Directorate, Financial Intelligence Unit and banking system will trace the money trail, Shah said.
Through the NCC, NSS and My Bharat, lakhs of “Nashamukti Mitra” volunteers will be prepared. The Ministries of Education, Youth Affairs and Sports, along with educational institutions, will work towards making educational institutions drug-free.
The Social Justice Ministry, Health Department and Jail Administration will work together to increase the number of de-addiction centres threefold to 1,751. Around 10,000 volunteers will participate in the campaign.
For capacity building, seven per cent central assistance will be provided to establish fully equipped Anti-Narcotics Task Forces in every state by March 2027. The Ministry of Home Affairs will also make arrangements for forensic reports to be received within 30 days.
Shah said 25 components and more than 200 action points had been fixed under the four pillars of the roadmap.
“Foreigners are welcome in India, but not with drugs,” Shah said, asserting that the government was adopting a “Quadrangular Approach” to curb drug smuggling through the routes of the “Death Triangle” and “Death Crescent”.
He said that just as Naxalism had been eliminated from the country, the problem of drugs would also be eliminated with the same resolve.
The report keeps the J&K development and terrorism remarks near the top while giving the narcotics campaign a strong secondary news peg.
