Health Ministry launches a capacity building programme to train 10,000 drug de-addiction service providers

27 October 2026

Union Health Minister J.P. Nadda launched a capacity building programme for medical and allied healthcare professionals engaged in drug de-addiction services on 26 October 2026 at Kartavya Bhawan-1, New Delhi. The training runs under the Drug De-addiction Programme (DDAP) and follows the Vision Document on Narcotic Control 2026-2029 that was unveiled in June 2026. The National Drug Dependence Treatment Centre (NDDTC) of AIIMS New Delhi coordinates the programme, working with five other DDAP institutions: NIMHANS Bengaluru, PGIMER Chandigarh, the Central Institute of Psychiatry at Ranchi, Dr. Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital in New Delhi and AIIMS Bhubaneswar. The programme has weekly online live sessions for doctors and medical officers over 12 weeks with a capacity of 300 participants a week, self-paced online modules for doctors, nurses, community health officers, auxiliary nurse midwives, counsellors and psychologists, and five-day in-person training on a common curriculum. The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare is to build capacity for 10,000 service providers by 2028-29, with 2,000 in the current financial year, 3,000 in 2027-28 and 5,000 in 2028-29. More than 800 nominations have come through the National Health Mission. The second edition of the manual Substance Use Disorder: Manual for Physicians was released at the event; the first edition appeared in 2005.