Union Health Minister J. P. Nadda on Tuesday, June 2, 2026, shared cumulative figures from India's national non-communicable disease screening programme, highlighting that 42 crore people each have been screened for hypertension and diabetes, and announced an ongoing 100-day tuberculosis elimination campaign aimed at accelerating case detection and treatment initiation.

Context

In his post, Nadda stated — 'NCD स्क्रीनिंग के तहत अब तक 36 करोड़ लोगों की Oral Cancer, 17 करोड़ महिलाओं की Breast Cancer, 9 करोड़ महिलाओं की Cervical Cancer तथा 42-42 करोड़ लोगों की Hypertension और Diabetes के लिए स्क्रीनिंग की जा चुकी है।' — meaning: 'Under NCD screening, 36 crore people have been screened for oral cancer, 17 crore women for breast cancer, 9 crore women for cervical cancer, and 42 crore each for hypertension and diabetes.' He also noted that a 100-day campaign is under way for TB elimination to identify the maximum number of patients and begin timely treatment.

The figures represent cumulative progress under population-based screening efforts linked to Ayushman Bharat Health and Wellness Centres, which were mandated in 2018 to deliver community-level NCD screening across India's primary healthcare network.

Policy Backdrop

The screening push draws from the National Programme for Prevention and Control of Cancer, Diabetes, Cardiovascular Diseases and Stroke (NPCDCS), launched in 2010-11 under the National Health Mission to operationalise NCD detection at district and sub-district levels. The programme covers the five conditions cited by the minister — oral cancer, breast cancer, cervical cancer, hypertension, and diabetes — as part of a shift from episodic curative care toward proactive early intervention.

On the tuberculosis front, the National TB Elimination Programme (NTEP) set a target to eliminate TB by 2025, five years ahead of the global Sustainable Development Goal timeline, following India's political commitment at the End TB Summit 2018. The current 100-day campaign is a time-bound intensified detection drive under NTEP, combining active case finding with digital tracking through the Nikshay portal.

Stakeholders and Impact

The NCD screening figures span the general population as well as women specifically — the 17 crore breast cancer and 9 crore cervical cancer screenings are entirely women-focused, reflecting the programme's targeted approach to gender-specific cancers. At 42 crore each, the hypertension and diabetes screening numbers represent one of the largest population-based chronic-disease detection exercises globally.

For TB, the 100-day campaign directly targets undiagnosed patients who remain outside the treatment cascade — a critical gap in India's elimination strategy, given that missed cases drive continued transmission. Early identification and treatment initiation are central to reducing both disease burden and community spread.

What's Next

Quarterly progress reports on the 100-day TB campaign and updated NCD screening tallies are expected through health ministry data releases and parliamentary disclosures. With the 2025 TB elimination deadline having passed, the government faces pressure to demonstrate trajectory, making the outcome of this intensified campaign a significant marker for the programme's credibility. Sustained expansion of Health and Wellness Centres will remain the structural backbone for pushing NCD screening coverage further into rural and underserved populations.