Union Minister J.P. Nadda speaks in the Rajya Sabha during the Monsoon session of Parliament, on August 3, 2026.
| Photo Credit: ANI
Union Health Minister J.P. Nadda on Tuesday (August 4, 2026) said India has made significant progress in tuberculosis control, with incidence rate declining by 21% between 2015 and 2024, while over 2.29 crore diabetes cases have been reported under the national non-communicable disease programme over the past three years.
Responding to a query in the Rajya Sabha, Mr. Nadda said public health and hospitals are State subjects and the Centre provides technical and financial support to States and Union territories under the National Health Mission (NHM).
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He said tuberculosis (TB) case notification has increased over the past three years, helping bridge the gap in “missing” cases. According to the Ni-kshay portal, 25.52 lakh TB cases were notified in 2023, 26.18 lakh in 2024 and 26.37 lakh in 2025.
Citing the World Health Organisation’s Global TB Report 2025, the Minister said India’s TB incidence rate fell from 237 per lakh population in 2015 to 187 per lakh in 2024, a 21% decline, compared to the global decline of 12% over the same period.
The TB mortality rate also declined by 25%, from 28 per lakh population in 2015 to 21 per lakh in 2024, while treatment coverage increased from 53% to 92%, he said.
Mr. Nadda said the government has implemented two phases of the 100-day TB Mukt Bharat Abhiyaan, launched in December 2024 and March 2026, and expanded the campaign to all districts.
The initiative focuses on screening high-risk populations, early diagnosis through chest X-rays and nucleic acid amplification tests, timely treatment, nutritional support and preventive therapy for vulnerable groups.
Further, the Minister said the National Programme for Prevention and Control of Non-Communicable Diseases (NP-NCD) provides screening, diagnosis and treatment for diabetes and common cancers, including oral, breast and cervical cancer.
Population-based screening for people aged 30 years and above is being carried out through Ayushman Bharat-Ayushman Arogya Mandirs, while 770 district NCD clinics and 6,410 community health centre NCD clinics have been strengthened to provide diabetes care, he said.
The government has also established 524 functional day care cancer centres for decentralised chemotherapy services and approved 19 state cancer institutes and 20 tertiary care cancer centres under a central assistance scheme, he stated.
According to the NP-NCD portal, between 2023-24 and 2025-26, 2.29 crore diabetes cases, 1.53 lakh oral cancer cases, 24,969 breast cancer cases and 37,948 cervical cancer cases were reported under the programme.
Mr. Nadda said expenditure under the National TB Elimination Programme and the non-communicable disease control programme stood at ₹6,763.85 crore in 2025-26.
He further said reductions in customs duty and GST on certain high-cost cancer drugs, along with the Pradhan Mantri Bhartiya Janaushadhi Pariyojana and AMRIT pharmacies, have improved access to affordable cancer medicines, reducing patients’ out-of-pocket expenses.
Published – August 04, 2026 09:08 pm IST