Panaji, February 27 The Centre's 'Nasha Mukt Bharat Abhiyan' (NMBA) has reached out to 25 crore people across the country since its launch, Union Minister for Social Justice and Empowerment Virendra Kumar said on Friday.
Addressing a campaign-related event in St Cruz village near Panaji, the Union Minister for Social Justice and Empowerment said that the drug-free nation initiative, launched in 2020, has been implemented in 16 lakh places, including educational institutions.
"We have created awareness among 25 crore people, including 9 crore youth and 6 crore women," he said.
He said that institutions like Patanjali Yog, Brahmakumaris, and Art of Living have been associated with the mission.
The Brahmakumaris themselves have reached out to 60 lakh people with the message of an addiction-free India, the minister said.
Recalling his visit to a de-addiction centre, Kumar said that he was shocked to see that the inmates were MBBS, engineering, and MBA students.
"I asked them how they got involved in this. They said that it was peer group pressure that led them into it," he said.
The inmates were moved to tears when asked about the mental and emotional toll their addiction had on their parents, the minister said, asserting that the campaign should reach every individual in the country.