Hyderabad: After a one-and-half decade, the Central government has taken up the survey on the “Extent and Pattern of Substance (drugs) abuse in India”. The ministry of Social Justice and Employment is taking up the survey through the National Drug Dependence Treatment Centre (NDDTC) of AIIMS.
The ministry has written to all state governments saying the survey will be carried out in about 25 per cent of the districts in each state. It informed the Telangana state government that the survey would be conducted in the districts of Hyderabad, Karimnagar and Warangal.
The survey will include a household sample survey (HSS) to determine the proportion of people who use narcotic substances and people who are suffering from substance use disorders. The survey would approximately cover 16,000 persons per state and approximately 6, 00,000 eligible persons.
In addition to this, a Respondent Driven Sampling (RDS) survey will also be conducted to determine the number of substance-dependent individuals in about two-thirds of the districts selected for the survey. The survey will identify available services and interventions for individuals suffering from substance-use disorders.
