➔ Towards a TB-Free India Clinical Innovations, AI-Driven Triage & Grassroots Community Mobilization (UPSC/RAS/PSI) Current Affairs {Science & Technology}

Nodal Ministry/Division- Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW) / Central TB Division

Declining Incidence Trajectory- According to the WHO Global Tuberculosis Report 2025, new emerging TB cases in India dropped by 21% between 2015 and 2024 (from 236.7 to 186.6 cases per lakh population).
Outpacing Global Averages- India’s 21% incidence reduction nearly doubled the global average decline of 12% over the same nine-year period.
Mortality Reductions- National TB mortality dropped by 25% to 28%, falling from 28 deaths per lakh population (4,26,190 deaths) in 2015 down to 21 per lakh (3,05,041 deaths) in 2024.
High Treatment Coverage- India achieved a treatment coverage rate of 92% (against a global benchmark of 78%) and a treatment success rate of 90% (exceeding the global average of 88%).
Fiscal Commitment- Supported by a nearly ten-fold increase in government funding over nine years, reaching ₹6,356 crore in 2025–26.
Attributable Comorbidities & Risk Drivers (2024 Data)- Nutritional and metabolic vulnerabilities remain primary risk factors driving active cases-

a. Undernutrition- 3,58,000 cases

b. Diabetes Mellitus- 3,22,000 cases

c. Alcohol Use Disorders- 2,45,000 cases

d. Tobacco Smoking- 93,000 cases

e. HIV Co-infection- 33,000 cases

Detect (Early & Accurate Diagnosis)- Expands access to free rapid diagnostic assays; proactive community outreach in high-risk zones targets hidden cases among vulnerable populations.
Treat (Ensuring Timely Cure)- Deploys standardized, quality-assured regimens across public and empanelled private hospitals, scaling treatment for drug-resistant strains.
Prevent (Interrupting Transmission)- Expands shorter TB Preventive Treatment (TPT) to household contacts, children, and people living with HIV (PLHIV) to stop latent infections from progressing.
Build (Institutional Capacity)- Strengthens laboratory networks, digital surveillance, multi-sectoral coordination, supply chain logistics, and emergency health resilience.
From Control to Elimination- Rebranding the legacy Revised National Tuberculosis Control Programme (RNTCP) to the National TB Elimination Programme (NTEP) in 2020 reflected India's commitment to end TB ahead of SDG 3.3 targets.
Decentralized Delivery Network- Care delivery is integrated into 1,87,250 functional Ayushman Arogya Mandirs (AAMs), providing grassroots symptom screening, sputum collection, and primary diagnostics.

The BPaLM Drug Cocktail- Introduces an all-oral, shorter regimen consisting of Bedaquiline, Pretomanid, Linezolid, and Moxifloxacin for multi-drug and rifampicin-resistant TB (MDR/RR-TB).
Dramatic Reduction in Treatment Duration- Slashes the conventional drug-resistant treatment cycle from 18–24 months down to just 6 months.
Elimination of Injectable Toxicity- Replaces older injectable aminoglycosides (which carried risks of irreversible hearing loss and nephrotoxicity) with an oral, well-tolerated regimen.
Programmatic Implementation- More than 15,000 MDR/RR-TB patients have been initiated on the BPaLM regimen under NTEP.
Scaling TB Preventive Treatment (TPT)- Over 20 lakh individuals at high risk (including close household contacts of active patients) have received preventive therapy.
Infection Control in High-Altitude Zones- Mobile testing vans with portable digital radiography and rapid molecular tools screened remote populations (e.g., Gurez Valley, Bandipora, at 2,400 meters altitude).

Acoustic AI via Cough Against TB (CATB)- Analyzes a 3-second smartphone audio recording of a patient's cough using neural networks to identify frequency signatures of Mycobacterium tuberculosis; screened over 1.62 lakh individuals with a 12% to 16% additional yield over routine methods.
DeepCXR (Radiology AI)- Employs deep-learning algorithms to scan digital chest X-rays automatically, identifying cavities and apical infiltrates within seconds; deployed across 8 States/UTs to address radiologist shortages.
Predictive Risk Analytics- Machine learning models process patient data to predict individuals at high risk of treatment interruption or clinical failure, contributing to a 27% drop in adverse outcomes.
Portable X-Ray Deployment- Nationwide deployment of handheld chest X-ray units drove a 34-fold increase in community X-ray screening.
World's Largest Diagnostic Footprint- Backed by >9,800 rapid molecular testing laboratories(CBNAAT/Truenat) and 107 liquid culture/Drug Susceptibility Testing (DST) facilities.
TB Mukt Bharat App & 'Khushi' Chatbot- Deployed a public interface featuring the multilingual AI chatbot Khushi to guide citizens on symptoms, map nearby diagnostic centers, and track patient entitlements.

Ni-kshay Poshan Yojana (NPY)- Disburses direct benefit transfer (DBT) nutritional assistance of ₹1,000 per month to every notified patient; disbursed ₹4,454.68 crore directly to 1.38 crore beneficiaries .
Ni-kshay Mitra Initiative- Engages corporate donors, civil society organizations, and individual citizens to adopt TB patients; 6.77 lakh Ni-kshay Mitras distributed over 45 lakh monthly food baskets along with psychosocial and vocational support.
100-Day TB Mukt Bharat Abhiyaan-
a.     Intensified drive launched across 347 high-priority districts, conducting over 1.7 lakh Ayushman Arogya Shivirs across 1.2 lakh high-risk villages.
b.     Screened over 28.1 crore individuals, adding 5.7 lakh new Ni-kshay Mitras.
c.      Awarded 46,118 Gram Panchayats formal TB-free certification.
Launch of the JOSH Campaigns -
a.     Rolled out the Joint Squad for Health (JOSH) initiative on a pilot basis across 11 States and 55 districts.
b.     Mobilized 6,347 JOSH Squads, 31,429 MY Bharat youth volunteers, and 26,794 NCC Cadets, each squad supported by a designated Class-I administrative officer.
c.      Focuses on door-to-door community awareness, finding asymptomatic patients, ensuring medication adherence, and dismantling social stigma.

Transforming Healthcare from Bureaucracy to Jan Andolan- Mobilizing youth networks, local panchayats, and community sponsors shifts disease elimination from an isolated medical program into a participatory social movement.
Mitigating Catastrophic Health Expenditures- Providing free rapid molecular testing, subsidized drug regimens, monthly nutritional DBTs, and community food baskets shields low-income households from medical debt traps.
Tackling Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR)- Shortening drug-resistant therapy to six months via BPaLM improves patient completion rates, curbing the emergence of extensively drug-resistant (XDR) strains.
Leveraging Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI)- Integrating Ni-kshay, electronic patient tracking, and AI triage establishes a data-driven model for managing infectious diseases.
Addressing Deep-Rooted Structural Determinants- Sustained elimination requires continued interventions addressing adult undernutrition, occupational silica exposure, urban overcrowding, and tobacco use.
Alignment with Global Goals- Accelerating India's decline in incidence supports Sustainable Development Goal 3.3 (ending the epidemics of AIDS, tuberculosis, malaria, and neglected tropical diseases).

Source: PIB