India & Drug Abuse: Harm Reduction | UPSCPDF

UPSCPDF Editorial Analysis: India between the Golden Crescent & Golden Triangle — NDPS Act, harm reduction, de-addiction gaps, NCORD, NMBA. UPSC GS-2/3/4 guide with MCQs, Mains, Essay, Interview.

Key Takeaways | Quick Facts Box | Evolution of India's Drug-Control Regime | Two Belts — Don't Confuse Them | Constitutional & Legal Foundations | India's Drug-Control & Demand-Reduction Architecture | The International & Comparative Frame | Marks Breakdown | More Mains Angles (Multi-GS) | Additional Essay Angles | Key Actors & Stakeholders | Quick Revision Tags | 📚 Explore More UPSC Editorial Analyses | 🇮🇳 UPSCPDF Editorial Analysis

Wedged between the Golden Crescent and the Golden Triangle, India must decide whether to keep counting seizures and arrests — or start counting lives restored. A deep dive into trafficking routes, the NDPS Act, de-addiction gaps, and the case for harm reduction. An editorial argues that India — sandwiched between the Golden Crescent (Afghanistan–Pakistan–Iran) to the west and the Golden Triangle (Myanmar–Thailand–Laos) to the east — can no longer rely on a strategy measured in seizures and arrests. With Myanmar having overtaken Afghanistan as the world's largest source of illicit opium, and rising domestic diversion of pharmaceutical precursors, the supply landscape is shifting faster than enforcement can adapt. Drugs now enter through maritime routes off Gujarat, Kerala and Tamil Nadu and via drones over the Punjab border, while traffickers organise through the darknet and cryptocurrencies. Domestically, the regime remains punitive: small users can be jailed, even as lar