India’s Push to Eliminate Tuberculosis: Progress and Challenges

India still records the world’s highest number of tuberculosis (TB) cases. According to available estimates, about 220 million Indians carry the TB bacteria, of whom around 2.8 million develop the disease and about 300,000 die from it each year. India has set an ambitious goal of eliminating TB.

Tuberculosis is an infectious disease that mainly affects the lungs and spreads through the air. It is both preventable and curable, but it requires early diagnosis, a full course of treatment and good nutrition. People with weak immunity or poor nutrition are at higher risk.

Experts say that to move from controlling TB to eliminating it, India needs better diagnostics, shorter treatment courses, stronger primary healthcare, improved nutrition support and the use of digital tools to track patients. Treating TB as a disease to be eliminated, rather than only managed, requires a stronger overall system.

For aspirants, India’s national TB programme and its elimination target are important topics under health and government schemes. They connect to wider issues of public health, nutrition and primary care.