Why In News?

The Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW) launched the Joint Squad for Health (JOSH) Teams under the TB Mukt Bharat Abhiyaan across 55 districts in 11 States and Union Territories. 

𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐀𝐫𝐞 𝐉𝐎𝐒𝐇 𝐓𝐞𝐚𝐦𝐬?

• 𝐆𝐫𝐚𝐬𝐬𝐫𝐨𝐨𝐭𝐬 𝐎𝐮𝐭𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐜𝐡: JOSH Teams convert youth participation into organised community action under the TB Mukt Bharat Abhiyaan.

• 𝐓𝐞𝐚𝐦 𝐂𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐨𝐬𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧: Each team operates at the block or ward level and includes 5 MY Bharat Volunteers and 5 NCC Cadets.

• 𝐀𝐝𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐒𝐮𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐯𝐢𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧: A designated Class-I Nodal Officer supervises each team and coordinates its work with local health authorities.

• 𝐈𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫-𝐌𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐚𝐥 𝐂𝐨𝐨𝐫𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧: The initiative brings together the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports, Ministry of Defence, and the Government of NCT of Delhi.

• 𝐃𝐢𝐠𝐢𝐭𝐚𝐥 𝐌𝐨𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠: Teams use the TB Mukt Bharat App, TB Flipbook, TB Brochure, and Khushi Avatar, a multilingual e-Sangini AI chatbot available in 12 Indian languages.

𝐎𝐛𝐣𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐉𝐎𝐒𝐇 𝐓𝐞𝐚𝐦𝐬

• 𝐓𝐁 𝐀𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬: Conduct door-to-door visits to explain TB symptoms, airborne transmission, and respiratory hygiene.

• 𝐄𝐚𝐫𝐥𝐲 𝐃𝐢𝐚𝐠𝐧𝐨𝐬𝐢𝐬: Identify vulnerable individuals and encourage symptomatic people to seek medical care and undergo rapid molecular testing.

• 𝐓𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐀𝐝𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞: Counsel patients to complete their prescribed treatment and reduce treatment interruption and relapse risks.

• 𝐒𝐭𝐢𝐠𝐦𝐚 𝐑𝐞𝐝𝐮𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧: Address misconceptions, prevent social exclusion, and promote family and community support for TB patients.

• 𝐇𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐭𝐡𝐜𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐀𝐜𝐜𝐞𝐬𝐬: Connect underserved groups, including slum residents, daily-wage workers, and industrial labourers, with formal healthcare services.

• 𝐉𝐚𝐧 𝐁𝐡𝐚𝐠𝐢𝐝𝐚𝐫𝐢: Encourage public participation and community ownership to transform TB elimination into a Jan Andolan (people's movement).

𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐠𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐇𝐚𝐬 𝐈𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐚 𝐌𝐚𝐝𝐞 𝐢𝐧 𝐓𝐁 𝐄𝐥𝐢𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧?

Declining TB Incidence: Tuberculosis incidence in India dropped by 21% from 2015 to 2024 (falling from 237 per 100,000 in 2015 to 187 per 100,000 in 2024), nearly double the global rate of decline of 12%.  (Source: WHO)

Reduced Mortality: TB mortality decreased by 28% between 2015 and 2024, dropping from 28 per 100,000 in 2015 to 21 per 100,000 in 2024. (Source: WHO) 

High Treatment Coverage: India achieved a TB treatment coverage rate of 92%, substantially higher than the global treatment coverage benchmark of 78%. (Source: WHO)

Treatment Success Rate: Under the TB Mukt Bharat Abhiyaan, treatment success reached 90%, exceeding the global average of 88%. (Source: PIB)

TB Mukt Panchayats: In 2026, 67,933 Panchayats across 697 districts were recognized as TB Mukt under the Panchayati Raj System. (Source: PIB)

Advanced Diagnostics Deployment: India established over 9,800 rapid molecular testing facilities (CBNAAT / TruNat) alongside 107 Culture and Drug Susceptibility Testing (C&DST) Laboratories.

Shorter Drug Regimens: Implementation of the 6-month BPaLM regimen (Bedaquiline, Pretomanid, Linezolid, and Moxifloxacin) has replaced older 18–24 month protocols for MDR/RR-TB patients, with over 15,000 patients initiated on this regimen.

Nutritional DBT Support: The Ni-kshay Poshan Yojana (NPY) doubled monthly financial support from ₹500 to ₹1,000 per month, disbursing ₹4,454.68 crore directly into bank accounts of 1.38 crore beneficiaries.

Massive Active Screening: Under the 100-Day TB Mukt Bharat Abhiyaan, screening over 20 crore vulnerable individuals identified 28 lakh TB patients, including 9 lakh asymptomatic cases.

What Are The Major Challenges In Eliminating Tuberculosis In India?

Undiagnosed and Unreported Private Sector Cases: High reliance on non-programmatic private providers leads to prescription errors and missing case notifications on the Ni-kshay Portal.

• Example: The PRAMAN India Study (2026), revealed that 53.3% of anti-TB prescriptions in non-programmatic private settings violated standard guidelines, generating 2 to 3 million inappropriate prescriptions annually.

Public-Private Partnership Funding Constraints: Budgetary exclusions in state project plans disrupt essential field operations.

• Example: PPP Disruption in Maharashtra (2026), where key interventions under the Non-Governmental Organisation-Public Partnership (NGO-PP) model —faced discontinuation following non-inclusion in the 2026–2027 Project Implementation Plan (PIP).

Drug-Resistant Tuberculosis (MDR/XDR-TB): Complex drug resistance patterns demand prolonged monitoring and strict adherence management.

Malnutrition and Co-morbidities: Severe undernutrition (BMI < 18.5) accounts for 3,58,000 TB cases annually in India, while diabetes (3,22,000 cases) and alcohol use disorders (2,45,000 cases) increase disease vulnerability. (Source: WHO)

Social Stigma and Treatment Discontinuation: Fear of discrimination causes patients to conceal symptoms, delay diagnosis, or drop out prior to treatment completion.

Occupational Exposure and Overcrowding: Dense urban slums, mining belts under Coal India Limited, and unorganized worker clusters remain transmission hotspots.

What Is The Way Forward For Achieving A TB-Free India?

Strengthen Active Case Finding (ACF): Deploy Ni-kshay Vahans (Mobile Medical Units) equipped with handheld AI X-rays and TruNat machines to cover all 1.58 lakh high-risk villages and wards identified via AI vulnerability mapping.

Expand Universal Free Diagnosis and Shorter Regimens: Guarantee 100% upfront rapid molecular testing and expand the 6-month BPaLM regimen to all eligible MDR/RR-TB patients nationwide.

Enhance Nutritional and Financial DBT Support: Ensure timely monthly disbursement of ₹1,000 under the Ni-kshay Poshan Yojana (NPY) and scale up family food basket distribution through Ni-kshay Mitras.

Institutionalize Youth & Decentralized Local Governance: Expand JOSH Teams across all 804 districts and empower Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRIs) using provisions under the Provisions of the Panchayats (Extension to the Scheduled Areas) Act (PESA Act 1996) in scheduled areas.

Regulate Private Sector Prescriptions: Enforce mandatory notification on the Ni-kshay Portal, monitor Schedule H1 compliance under the Drugs and Cosmetics Act, and strengthen Patient Provider Support Agencies (PPSAs).

Sustain Momentum Toward 2030 SDG Targets: Maintain a whole-of-government and whole-of-society response (Jan Bhagidari) to eliminate tuberculosis ahead of the 2030 Sustainable Development Goal (SDG 3) timeline.

Conclusion

India’s integration of youth-led JOSH Teams, AI diagnostics, and nutritional DBT under the TB Mukt Bharat Abhiyaan provides a transformative blueprint to achieve a TB Mukt Bharat ahead of the global 2030 SDG deadline.

Source: PIB