The Department of School Education and Literacy (DoSEL), Ministry of Education, organized a National Meet on 29 May 2026 in New Delhi to commemorate World No Tobacco Day and felicitate winners of the "Towards a Tobacco-Free Generation: School Challenge 2025" MyGov Innovate Campaign. The event was attended by officials, school heads, teacher representatives from States/UTs, and officials from NCERT, NVS and KVS.
Shri Sanjay Kumar, Secretary of DoSEL, presented awards to 12 winning schools across four categories: Foundational, Preparatory, Middle, and Secondary, with three schools selected from each category. The winning schools received trophies along with cash awards of ₹50,000 for first position, ₹25,000 for second position, and ₹15,000 for third position, totaling ₹3.8 lakh in prize money. Additionally, 41 schools received appreciation prizes for their commendable efforts. Over 17,000 schools from across the country participated in the challenge.
The event marked the launch of DoSEL's Three-Year Action Plan (2026–2029) under the Nasha Mukt Bharat initiative and the Nasha Mukt Vidyalaya Portal (https://tofei.education.gov.in/), which will serve as a key platform for monitoring and documenting the progress of educational institutions in implementing the Nasha Mukt Vidyalaya Abhiyan.
The Three Year Action Plan is built around four key interventions: Nasha Mukt Vidyalaya Portal for school self-declaration, monitoring, and compliance tracking through UDISE+; enforcement of a 500-metre drug-free zone around educational institutions; integration of age-appropriate substance abuse prevention and health education into NCERT, CBSE, and State Board curricula; and development of standardised multilingual IEC materials for awareness generation for teachers, students and parents. The initiative also focuses on teacher capacity building through pre-service and in-service training, early identification and referral of at-risk students, mental health support through Manodarpan (national helpline 844 844 0632), and a robust monitoring framework from school to national level.
Shri Sanjay Kumar emphasized the transformative reach of the school education system, noting that schools connect with nearly 24.69 crore children and can influence 15–20 crore households, enabling the tobacco-free movement to evolve into a nationwide social campaign. He highlighted the pivotal role of teachers in identifying early behavioural changes and safeguarding students' mental and emotional well-being.
Ms. A. Srija, Economic Advisor, DoSEL, highlighted the Government's sustained policy and institutional efforts to control tobacco consumption, including the enactment of the COTPA Act in 2003, the prohibition of electronic cigarettes in 2019, and the imposition of the highest GST rates and cesses on tobacco products. She mentioned that DoSEL developed the Manual for Implementation of TOFEI Guidelines in Schools in 2024 to support schools and States in strengthening awareness, compliance, and enforcement efforts.
The programme also featured expert panel discussions on tobacco and substance abuse prevention, mental well-being, behavioural change, and the importance of collaborative action by schools, families, communities, and government institutions in building a Nasha Mukt Bharat.