Department of Social Justice & Empowerment signed a MoU with International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON) for Nasha Mukt Bharat Abhiyaan (NMBA) in the presence of Union Minister of Social Justice & Empowerment Dr. Virender Kumar, senior officers of the Department and senior members of the ISKCON in New Delhi today.
While addressing the gathering, Dr. Virendra Kumar, MSJ&E said that association of religious/spiritual organizations for carrying out various activities under NMBA would get a boost towards achieving drug-sensitized India. He said that this MoU with ISKCON would help in spreading the message of NMBA among the youth, women, students etc.
Dr. Virender Kumar asked ISKCON to publicize NMBA campaign at all their meetings and gatherings. The Minister said that our Ministry is continuously running programs for providing proper treatment, publicity, reaching out to the community and making them aware through more than 550 voluntary organizations across the country.
The Minister further informed that our Ministry has developed Navchetna module, which will increase awareness and education on life skills and drug abuse among school students in India. The main objective of this project is not only to slow down the onset of drug abuse among school children but also to stop it forever. Additionally, training material on NavChetan is being translated into 12 regional languages. Each module will also be available for online uploading on Diksha Portal to assist the teachers.
He said that this ministry has set a target to cover 300 districts, 30,000 schools, 10 lakh teachers and 2.4 crore students through Navchetna module in one year. Dr Kumar said that this module would prove to be a game changer in the journey of Drug Free India Campaign (NMBA).
The Ministry has initiated ambitious Nasha Mukt Bharat Abhiyaan (NMBA) currently operational in all the districts of the country with an aim to create awareness about ill effects of substance abuse among the youth, with special focus on higher education institutes, university campuses, schools and reaching out into the community and garnering community involvement and ownership of the Abhiyaan. Till now, more than 10.71 crore people including more than 3.37 crore youth, more than 2.26 crore women and more than 3.27 lakh educational institutions have become part of the Drug Free India Campaign.
Achievements of NMBA
a. Till now through the various activities undertaken on-ground 10.71+ crore people reached out so far.
b. 8,000 Master Volunteers have been selected and trained to lead the Abhiyaan activities in the NMBA districts.
c. More than 3.37+ crore youth have actively participated in the activities of the Abhiyaan and spreading on-ground the message against substance use. Around 4,000+ Yuva Mandals, NYKS & NSS Volunteers, Youth Clubs have also been associated with the Abhiyaan.
d. The contribution of 2.26+ Crore women have also been vital in reaching out to a larger community through the Anganwadi & ASHA Workers, ANMs, Mahila Mandals & Women SHGs.
e. Technology and social media have been effectively utilized to spread the message of the Abhiyaan online by creating handles on Facebook, Twitter & Instagram and sharing daily updates on them.
f. An Android based mobile Application has been developed to capture the data of activities happening on ground on a real time basis by the districts and master volunteers. This App has been placed on the Google Play Store.
g. All the de-addiction facilities have been geotagged for ease of access by the public.
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MG/MS/VL