PIB TrackerHealth Ministry pushes 'last-mile' drive to find every missing TB case
Reviewing the TB Mukt Bharat Abhiyan, the Health Minister urged states to find every missing case and cut TB deaths, noting India's TB incidence has fallen to 187 per lakh in 2024 from 243 in 2014.
What happened
- Union Health Minister J.P. Nadda chaired a high-level virtual review of the TB Mukt Bharat Abhiyan with states and UTs, urging a 'last-mile' push to find every missing TB case and reduce mortality.
- He said the second phase of the intensified 100-day campaign, due to conclude in early July 2026, is critical to ensuring no vulnerable person is left behind.
- India's TB incidence has fallen to 187 cases per lakh in 2024 (from 243 in 2014), and TB mortality to 21 per lakh (from 34 in 2014).
- Under intensified campaigns since December 2024, over 28.1 crore people were screened, 20 lakh given TB preventive treatment, and 5.7 lakh new Nikshay Mitras added; X-ray screening rose 34-fold via handheld machines.
- Over 1.7 lakh Ayushman Arogya Shivirs covered 1.2 lakh high-risk villages/settings, with 1.9 lakh MY Bharat volunteers joining the effort.
For Prelims
- India's TB target: India aims to eliminate TB by 2025 — five years ahead of the UN Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) target of 2030.
- NTEP: The National Tuberculosis Elimination Programme (renamed from the RNTCP in 2020) is the nodal programme for TB control and elimination.
- PM TB Mukt Bharat Abhiyaan: Launched in 2022, it mobilises community support, including Nikshay Mitra ('donors' who adopt TB patients for nutritional/other support).
- Nikshay & Ni-kshay Poshan Yojana: Ni-kshay is the digital TB patient-management portal; the Ni-kshay Poshan Yojana gives direct nutritional support to TB patients.
- TB Preventive Treatment (TPT): Treatment given to latent-TB / high-risk contacts to prevent progression to active disease.
- Ayushman Arogya Mandirs/Shivirs: Primary-health and screening platforms used for community-level TB and NCD screening.
- Don't confuse: TB 'incidence' (new cases per year) differs from 'mortality' (deaths); 'elimination' here means reducing incidence to a very low threshold, not zero cases.
For UPSC: A TB Mukt Bharat Abhiyan review pushed a last-mile drive to find every missing TB case, with incidence down to 187/lakh (2024) from 243/lakh (2014). Anchor India's 2025 TB-elimination target (vs SDG 2030), the NTEP, PM TB Mukt Bharat Abhiyaan and Nikshay Mitra, Ni-kshay/Ni-kshay Poshan Yojana, TB preventive treatment, and the incidence-vs-mortality distinction.
What it is NOT: India's TB-elimination target is 2025 — ahead of the SDG's 2030 deadline; 'elimination' means reducing incidence to a very low threshold, not literally zero cases. TB incidence (new cases) is distinct from mortality (deaths); the programme is the NTEP (formerly RNTCP), with the Abhiyaan as the community-mobilisation arm.
For Mains
Syllabus: GS2.13 · GS2.10 · Linkage L1
Anchor
Public health and disease elimination — a mission-mode, community-driven push to end tuberculosis as a public-health threat.
Substantiation (data)
TB incidence 187/lakh (2024) vs 243 (2014); mortality 21 vs 34; 28.1 cr+ screened, 20 lakh on TB preventive treatment, 5.7 lakh new Nikshay Mitras; X-ray screening up 34-fold.
Exemplification
Cite the TB Mukt Bharat Abhiyan and Nikshay Mitra (with NTEP and handheld X-ray) as examples of mission-mode, community-led public-health delivery.
Problematisation
Missing/undiagnosed cases, drug-resistant TB, nutrition and social determinants, and sustaining last-mile reach challenge the 2025 target.
Way-forward
Intensify active case-finding, expand preventive treatment and nutrition support, tackle drug-resistant TB, and strengthen primary-health screening.
Position
Government stance: a last-mile, whole-of-society drive will find every missing case and accelerate India towards a TB-free nation.
Deploys into: Disease elimination & public health (TB Mukt Bharat, NTEP) · community mobilisation (Nikshay Mitra) · nutrition & social determinants · primary healthcare (GS2.13 health & social sector, GS2.10 government policies & interventions).
Ministry of Health and Family Welfare · 2026-06-19 · PRID 2275402 · PIB source ↗