The Union government is preparing the next round of the National Drug Use Survey (NDUS), scheduled through 2026. It is India’s main household-based evidence base for substance use patterns and now includes new questions on indigenous forms of use, vulnerable groups, and emerging substances.
About the National Drug Use Survey
- NDUS is India’s primary survey for estimating the prevalence, patterns, and harms of substance use and substance use disorders.
- It is funded by the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment.
- It is conducted by the National Drug Dependence Treatment Centre (NDDTC), AIIMS.
- Its findings are used for policy design, budget allocation, de-addiction programmes, and international drug control commitments.
2025–26 Round: Coverage and Sampling
- The round will cover nearly 20 lakh individuals across States and districts.
- The household component will cover about 4.4 lakh households across 400 districts.
- This household sample includes men and women aged 10–75 years, covering nearly 17.6 lakh persons.
- The respondent-driven sampling component will target about 2.1 lakh drug-dependent individuals across roughly 350 districts.
- The 2017–18 round covered about five lakh individuals.
New Areas Covered in the Survey
- For the first time, NDUS will document indigenous and locally accepted substance use.
- Examples include locally brewed alcoholic beverages, opium preparations, and cannabis used with social or ritual acceptance.
- The survey will examine health and socio-economic harm linked to such use.
- It will also study use among prison inmates, school students, and college or higher education students.
Technical and Public Health Features
- The survey will explore wastewater-based epidemiology for community-level drug consumption estimates.
- It will also track “new and rarer” psychoactive substances.
- The approach combines population-wide household estimates with targeted data from high-risk groups.
Key Facts for Prelims
- NDUS is India’s main official survey on substance use.
- Ministry: Social Justice and Empowerment.
- Implementing institution: NDDTC, AIIMS.
- New areas: indigenous substance use, wastewater testing, and emerging psychoactive substances.