Tuberculosis Cases In India Drop By 21%, Almost Double The Rate Of Decline Globally

India has achieved a significant reduction in tuberculosis (TB) incidence, with new cases declining by 21 percent between 2015 and 2024. This marks a substantial achievement, as the pace of this decline is nearly double the global rate of 12 percent observed during the same period, according to the World Health Organization's (WHO) 'Global TB Report 2025'.

The Ministry of Health attributes this success to India's innovative case-finding strategies. These include the rapid adoption of newer technologies, the decentralization of services, and extensive community mobilization efforts. Consequently, India's treatment coverage for TB has surged to over 92 percent in 2024, a dramatic increase from 53 percent in 2015.

In 2024, 26.18 lakh TB patients were diagnosed out of an estimated incidence of 27 lakh cases. This has significantly reduced the number of "missing cases"—those who have TB but are not reported to the program—from an estimated 15 lakhs in 2015 to less than one lakh in 2024. The country has also seen no significant increase in the number of multidrug-resistant (MDR) TB patients.

The treatment success rate under the TB Mukt Bharat Abhiyan has risen to 90 percent, surpassing the global treatment success rate of 88 percent. Furthermore, India's TB mortality rate has decreased from 28 per lakh population in 2015 to 21 per lakh population in 2024, indicating substantial progress in reducing deaths caused by the disease.

This remarkable progress is supported by a strong government commitment, evidenced by a historic near-ten-fold increase in funding for the TB program over the past nine years. Since its launch in December 2024, the TB Mukt Bharat Abhiyan has screened over 19 crore vulnerable individuals, detecting more than 24.5 lakh TB patients, including 8.61 lakh asymptomatic cases.

The Ministry has also enhanced nutritional support for TB patients. The Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) under the Ni-kshay Poshan Yojana (NPY) was increased from Rs 500 to Rs 1000 per month per patient for the entire treatment duration. Since April 2018, Rs 4,406 crore have been disbursed to 1.37 crore beneficiaries. Additionally, 6,77,541 individuals and organizations have enrolled as Ni-kshay Mitras, distributing over 45 lakh food baskets to TB patients, fostering a robust public-private-community partnership.