Union Health Minister J. P. Nadda on Friday, 19 June 2026 chaired a high-level virtual review meeting with Health Ministers, Chief Secretaries and senior officials of States and Union Territories to assess the progress of the TB Mukt Bharat Abhiyan and chart the roadmap towards a tuberculosis-free India.

Context

Nadda stated that since the launch of the first phase of the Intensified 100-Day TB Mukt Bharat Abhiyan, over 28 crore people have been screened and 20 lakh individuals have received TB Preventive Treatment. An additional 5.7 lakh new Nikshay Mitras — community volunteers who provide nutritional and treatment support to TB patients — have joined the national movement, expanding its grassroots reach significantly.

The large-scale deployment of handheld X-ray machines has produced a 34-fold increase in X-ray screening, substantially strengthening active case-finding efforts across the country. This shift from passive to proactive surveillance marks a decisive departure from earlier detection methods under the National TB Elimination Programme (NTEP).

Policy Backdrop

India's push to eliminate tuberculosis predates this campaign. At the Delhi End TB Summit in 2018, Prime Minister Narendra Modi committed India to eliminating TB by 2025 — five years ahead of the global Sustainable Development Goal timeline. The National Strategic Plan for TB Elimination 2017-2025 reoriented the programme from control to elimination, placing active case-finding at its centre.

The Nikshay Poshan Yojana, also launched in 2018, underpins the nutritional support pillar of the campaign by delivering direct benefit transfers to TB patients. The current intensified campaign builds on this architecture, adding technology-driven screening and community mobilisation at scale.

The second phase of the campaign, launched on 24 March 2026, has seen more than 1.7 lakh Ayushman Arogya Shivirs organised, covering over 1.2 lakh high-risk villages, wards and congregate settings, bringing screening and awareness services closer to vulnerable populations.

Stakeholders and Impact

The review meeting brought together the full administrative chain — state Health Ministers, Chief Secretaries and senior officials — reflecting the 'Whole-of-Government and Whole-of-Society' approach Nadda described as central to the mission. TB patients, rural and peri-urban communities, and frontline health workers are the primary beneficiaries of the campaign's last-mile outreach.

Nikshay Mitras play a particularly critical role: as community sponsors, they provide nutritional baskets and moral support to patients who might otherwise drop out of treatment. The addition of 5.7 lakh new Nikshay Mitras in this phase represents a substantial expansion of that volunteer network.

Nadda emphasised that reducing TB mortality, ensuring nutritional support and accelerating last-mile action remain the highest priorities as the campaign enters its final phase, stating: 'Every missing TB case must be found and treated.'

What's Next

With the intensified campaign in its concluding phase, attention will turn to state-wise TB notification and mortality data expected in the coming quarter. Nadda made clear that the mission's success depends on every State, every UT and every district achieving TB-free status — setting a high bar for sub-national performance.

Any revision to NTEP allocations in the next parliamentary session will be closely watched as an indicator of the Centre's fiscal commitment to sustaining the gains made during the campaign. India's ability to meet its accelerated elimination target now hinges on converting screening numbers into confirmed case treatment and cure at scale.