The Narco-Coordination Centre (NCORD) is an institutional mechanism established under the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) to serve as India's central coordination platform against drug trafficking and substance abuse. It was constituted on November 22, 2016, to solve the problem of fragmented anti-drug efforts by ensuring uniform, coordinated, and intelligence-led enforcement across the country.
The mechanism was restructured on July 29, 2019, and again on March 25, 2022, to enhance its efficiency and establish a robust four-tier structure. This structure includes the Apex Level Committee, headed by the Union Home Secretary, and extends down to the District Level NCORD Committees, headed by District Magistrates, ensuring coordination from the national to the grassroots level.
NCORD connects various stakeholders to enforce the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, 1985. The Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) is the apex coordinating agency under the MHA and manages the NCORD Portal, which facilitates real-time data and intelligence sharing. Key digital initiatives under the NCORD framework include the NIDAAN database, which tracks national drug offenders, and the MANAS toll-free helpline (1933) for substance abuse support. The restructuring strengthened the institutional framework and improved operational clarity, while the core mandate of inter-agency coordination remained constant.