The Ministry of Education marked World No Tobacco Day by recognising schools that demonstrated outstanding efforts in promoting tobacco-free environments under the “Towards a Tobacco-Free Generation: School Challenge 2025.” The National Meet, organised by the Department of School Education and Literacy (DoSEL) in New Delhi, brought together education officials, school leaders, and representatives from states and union territories.
Secretary of School Education and Literacy, Sanjay Kumar, presented awards to the winning schools and praised their commitment to creating healthy, substance-free learning environments. More than 17,000 schools from across the country participated in the challenge, highlighting growing awareness and engagement in tobacco prevention initiatives.
During the event, the Ministry launched the Three-Year Action Plan (2026–2029) under the Nasha Mukt Bharat initiative, along with the Nasha Mukt Vidyalaya (NMV) Portal. The portal will help schools monitor, document, and strengthen their efforts to maintain tobacco- and drug-free campuses.
The action plan focuses on four key areas: implementation of the NMV Portal for self-declaration and monitoring, enforcement of a 500-metre drug-free zone around educational institutions, integration of substance abuse prevention into school curricula, and development of multilingual awareness materials for students, teachers, and parents. The initiative also includes teacher training, early identification of at-risk students, mental health support through the Manodarpan helpline, and a comprehensive monitoring framework.
A total of 12 schools were honoured across four categories—Foundational, Preparatory, Middle, and Secondary. Winners received trophies and cash awards ranging from ₹15,000 to ₹50,000, while 41 additional schools received appreciation awards for their efforts.
Officials emphasised the vital role schools play in shaping healthy behaviours among children and adolescents. With schools reaching nearly 24.69 crore students nationwide, the ministry aims to transform the tobacco-free campaign into a broader social movement supporting the vision of a healthier, drug-free India.
