Union Health Minister J.P. Nadda addresses a summit on World TB Day, in New Delhi on March 24, 2025. Photo: X/@JPNadda

Under the 100-day TB-Mukt Bharat Abhiyaan, which started on December 7, 2024, 12.97 crore people were screened for tuberculosis (TB) with over 7.19 lakh TB patients notified across India. Approximately 2.85 lakh of the notified patients were asymptomatic, who might have otherwise gone undetected without the stratified screening strategy of the campaign, said Union Health Minister J. P. Nadda on Monday (March 24, 2025), while speaking at the World TB Day, 2025 summit.

“TB treatment coverage in India has now increased from 59% to 85%. More than 5,000 MLAs and 10,000 Gram Panchayats participated in the campaign. We now plan to scale up the campaign nationwide to cover all districts in India because TB is not yet over,’’ said the Minister.

He said the Central government’s TB elimination strategy is based on ‘whole of the society’ and ‘whole of the government’ approach. Lauding the 100-day Intensified TB Elimination campaign’s strategy to deploy cutting-edge technologies, including handheld X-ray units and upfront Nucleic Acid Amplification Testing (NAAT) some of which were deployed using mobile vans (Nikshay Vahans), the Minister said this intensified use of technology had helped the campaign shatter geographical barriers and brought vital screening and diagnostic services to remote and underserved areas. The theme for this year’s World TB Day summit is “Yes! We Can End TB: Commit, Invest, Deliver”.

Under the 100-day intensified campaign, over 13.46 lakh Nikshay Shivirs, or community screening and awareness camps were organised in the districts, bringing essential TB services directly to the doorsteps of crores of people. During this time, over 1,05,181 new Nikshay Mitras have registered and distributed over 3,06,368 food baskets among TB patients and their family members.

Enforced screening

The Minister, in his address, noted that during the recently concluded 100-day Intensified TB Elimination Campaign, there was enforced screening of the vulnerable populations, including asymptomatic individuals, household contacts of TB patients, those with a history of TB, undernourished individuals, and those with chronic comorbidities such as diabetes and HIV.

“India is one of the top global funders of TB research and RT-PCR machines used during the COVID pandemic are adapted for use in TB screening. Similarly, indigenous diagnostic kits developed by the ICMR not only reduce the cost for TB detection but also improve efficiency by conducting 32 tests in one go. Hand-held X-ray machines with AI support have also played a huge role in detecting asymptomatic TB”, said the Minister. 

A digital Coffee Table Book on TB-Mukt Bharat Abhiyaan, capturing and showcasing the implementation of the Abhiyaan, was unveiled on the occasion. The Minister also launched a ‘Guidance Document on Differentiated TB Care’ to ensure timely and effective care for high-risk patients. This document provides guidelines for triaging high-risk patients (for instance, those suffering from severe undernutrition or respiratory insufficiency) at diagnosis and refers to a comprehensive treatment plan for them. Also States and union territories were awarded for the exemplary performance during the 100- day intensified TB-Mukt Bharat Abhiyan and also for their performance in the TB-Mukt Gram Panchayat Initiative.