India cuts TB incidence by 23% in decade: JP Nadda

Newdelhi,UPDATED: Jun 19, 2026 23:00 IST

Union Health Minister JP Nadda on Friday said India has reduced its tuberculosis incidence by nearly 23 per cent over the past decade and significantly brought down TB-related deaths. He asked states and Union Territories to step up efforts in the final weeks of the intensified 100-day TB Mukt Bharat Abhiyan.

Chairing a high-level review meeting with state health ministers and senior officials through video conferencing, Nadda said the second phase of the campaign, which is scheduled to end in the first week of July, is a crucial "last-mile effort" to identify every missing TB case and ensure vulnerable populations are not left behind.

Highlighting the progress in the fight against tuberculosis, Nadda said India's TB incidence fell to 187 cases per lakh population in 2024 from 243 per lakh in 2014. TB mortality also declined to 21 deaths per lakh population in 2024 from 34 per lakh a decade earlier.

According to the health ministry, more than 28.1 crore people have been screened for TB, around 20 lakh individuals have received TB preventive treatment and over 5.7 lakh new Nikshay Mitras have been added under intensified campaigns launched since December 2024. "The campaign marks a paradigm shift in our TB control strategy. We are no longer waiting for patients to come to health facilities. We are proactively reaching communities, villages, urban wards and congregate settings to identify vulnerable individuals and detect cases early," Nadda said.

He said the remaining days of the campaign are critical and urged states needing additional attention to carry out district-wise reviews and speed up screening among high-risk and underserved groups. The minister also stressed the importance of nutritional support in reducing TB deaths and improving treatment outcomes. He asked states to involve Members of Parliament and Members of Legislative Assemblies in reviewing TB elimination efforts in their constituencies and encouraging wider public participation.

Officials told the meeting that since the start of the second phase of the campaign, more than 1.7 lakh Ayushman Arogya Shivirs have been organised, covering over 1.20 lakh high-risk villages, urban wards and congregate settings across the country. The campaign has also seen large community participation, with nearly 32 lakh students and youth from schools and colleges and around 1.9 lakh My Bharat volunteers supporting awareness and screening work.

Officials said X-ray screening under the campaign has risen 34-fold with the deployment of handheld X-ray machines, strengthening active case-finding efforts. A dedicated monitoring dashboard linked to the TB Mukt Bharat App is being used for real-time tracking.

The review also highlighted the launch of the TB Mukt Bharat App, integrated with the AI-powered chatbot Khushi, which gives information on TB symptoms, patient entitlements and nearby diagnostic facilities. Designed to work on entry-level smartphones, the platform aims to improve awareness and encourage timely diagnosis and treatment.

To strengthen diagnostic capacity further, the ministry has facilitated the creation of additional radiographer positions beyond the existing 13,702 posts.

Union Health Secretary Punya Salila Srivastava told the states that additional radiographers would be deployed through the National Health Mission and requirements for handheld X-ray devices, Truenat and CBNAAT machines would be addressed quickly. Concluding the meeting, Nadda reiterated the Centre's commitment to eliminating tuberculosis and said a TB-free India can be achieved only through sustained collective action and whole-of-society participation.

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