There is bad news for the Modi government that has promised to anchor the prosperity of the country on the ‘demographic dividend’ of India’s young population. Census 2011 data reveals that India has the largest student population in the world. This ‘great asset’ of India is increasingly coming under the influence of drugs and narcotics. There have been disturbing reports of large number of youth, particularly students in the border states of Punjab, Rajasthan and Northeast succumbing to this deadly ‘intoxication’. This is facilitated by a steady flow of drugs from the Golden Triangle of Laos, Vietnam and Myanmar into Manipur and Nagaland for distribution to markets throughout the country.