The Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment is undertaking a National Survey on Extent and Pattern of Substance Use in collaboration with the National Drug Dependence Treatment Centre, AIIMS , New Delhi. The Survey activity initiated from July 2025. The Survey proposes to provide State-Level and District-Level estimates of people using various psychoactive substances.

Objectives

• a) To provide national and state-level estimates of proportion and absolute number of people who use various substances and people who are suffering from substance use disorders in India.
• b) To map the presence of services and interventions for individuals suffering from substance use disorders and identify the gaps in service delivery.

Substances proposed to be surveyed

• a) Alcohol
• b) Cannabis and Cannabinoids
• c) Opioids
• d) Sedative-hypnotics
• e) Cocaine
• f) Synthetic Stimulants
• g) Hallucinogens and dissociative drugs
• h) Inhalants (volatile solvents)

Methodological approaches

• (a) Household Sample Survey (HHS) in the general population:
• i. To determine the proportion of people who use substances and people who are suffering from substance use disorders.
• ii. A total of 4,40,000 households will be visited across all states and UTs, covering approximately 17,60,000 individuals.
• (b) RDS survey with multiplier among substance dependent individuals:
• i. To determine the number of substance dependent people.
• ii. At every RDS site, 600 drug dependent individuals will be recruited and interviewed. Thus, at the National level a total of 2,10,000 (600 × 350 sites) drug dependent individuals will be interviewed.
• (c) Focused thematic studies
• To be conducted on specific topics or vulnerable populations (in some selected districts) which are likely to remain underrepresented in the methods above.

The survey is being executed as a collaborative project between NDDTC, AIIMS and various Government Medical Colleges and Non-Governmental Organizations.