JP Nadda launches capacity building programme for drug de-addiction health workers

What has been launched

Union Health and Family Welfare Minister J P Nadda launched a capacity building training programme on 26 October 2026 at Kartavya Bhawan-1 in New Delhi. The programme is meant for doctors, nurses, counsellors and other health workers engaged in drug de-addiction services. Its aim is to strengthen the ability of healthcare professionals across the country in prevention, identification, assessment, treatment and management of drug use.

Who benefits

The direct benefit goes to health workers who treat addiction. These include doctors, nurses, counsellors, psychologists, social workers and other medical and allied healthcare staff. Participants will be nominated by state governments through the National Health Mission, and by the central government through its services such as the armed forces, central armed police forces and railways. Staff working in addiction treatment facilities funded by the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment are also covered.

How the training will work

Training will be delivered in three ways. For doctors and medical officers there will be online live sessions held every week over 12 weeks, with a combined capacity of 300 participants per week, including theoretical lectures and clinical case discussions. There will also be five-day in-person training for selected participants using a common curriculum, and self-paced online modules for different categories of health workers. The curriculum covers substances such as alcohol, cannabis, opioids, sleeping pills and inhalants, and also management of addiction in specific groups such as women and adolescents.

Which institutions will run it

The programme will run through six central institutions under the Drug De-Addiction Programme: the National Drug Dependence Treatment Centre (NDDTC), AIIMS New Delhi (located in Ghaziabad); NIMHANS Bengaluru; PGIMER Chandigarh; CIP Ranchi; Dr Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital, New Delhi; and AIIMS Bhubaneswar. NDDTC, AIIMS will coordinate the overall implementation. Certificates will be issued by the concerned institution on completion of training.

Why it was done

In June 2026, Union Home and Cooperation Minister Amit Shah presented the Vision Document on Narcotic Control 2026-2029, which sets out the government’s strategy to deal with the drug trade ecosystem. According to it, the Health Ministry has been given the task of building the capacity of 10,000 service providers, including medical and allied healthcare staff in de-addiction services, by March 2029. The ministry aims to train 2,000 providers this financial year, followed by 3,000 in 2027-28 and 5,000 in 2028-29. The ministry says more than 800 nominations have already been received from various states, and about 150 people from de-addiction centres supported by the Social Justice Ministry are expected to join in-person training in the next two months.

What it means for ordinary people

This is not a scheme that citizens apply for, so no one needs to fill a form for it. Its effect is that patients being treated for addiction may in future be seen by better-trained staff. At the event, the second edition of ‘Substance Use Disorder: Manual for Physicians (Management of Addictive Disorders)’ was also released to give doctors practical guidance on assessing and managing substance use disorders.