The Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB), established in 1986 under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, 1985, serves as India’s apex coordinating and enforcement agency for combating drug trafficking. 

Operating under the Ministry of Home Affairs, it derives its constitutional mandate from Article 47 of the Directive Principles of State Policy, which tasks the State with prohibiting the consumption of intoxicating drugs except for medicinal purposes. 

The agency is headquartered in New Delhi and is led by a Director General, typically an IPS or IRS officer. Notably, the NCB is exempted from the Right to Information (RTI) Act under Section 24(1), reflecting its sensitive role in national security and intelligence.

The NCB is the nodal agency for coordinating with various central ministries (such as Finance, Health, and Social Justice), state governments, and international bodies like the UNODC, INCB, and INTERPOL.

Its legislative framework is supported by three primary acts: the NDPS Act, 1985, the Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940, and the PITNDPS Act, 1988 (Prevention of Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances). 

These laws empower the bureau to interdict illicit trafficking, eradicate illegal crops (cannabis and poppy), and fulfill India’s international treaty obligations under conventions such as the Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs (1961) and the UN Convention against Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs (1988).