India has recorded a significant 21 per cent decline in tuberculosis incidence between 2015 and 2024, outpacing the global average reduction and marking one of the most substantial national gains highlighted in the WHO Global Tuberculosis Report 2025. The findings place India among the few high-burden countries showing sustained progress in reversing TB trends after years of stagnation.
According to the report, India’s TB incidence has fallen from roughly 237 cases per 100,000 population in 2015 to about 187 in 2024. Globally, the decline over the same period was around 12 per cent, nearly half the rate achieved by India.
A Public Health Battle Rooted in History
Tuberculosis has shadowed India for generations. The WHO began systematically tracking global TB data in 1997, and for most of that period India has carried the world’s largest caseload. By the early 2010s, more than one-quarter of the world’s TB patients lived in India. Weak surveillance, malnutrition, overcrowded housing, and gaps in the private health sector kept the disease entrenched.
In 2017, India announced an ambitious target: eliminate TB by 2025, a full decade ahead of the global “End TB” goal. It was a bold declaration at a time when reporting gaps were massive, nearly 1.5 million cases went undetected or unreported annually, and multidrug-resistant TB was rapidly rising.
The pandemic years delivered a setback. Lock downs disrupted diagnosis, fatalities increased, and global TB deaths rose for the first time in over a decade. India, too, saw a temporary surge in mortality and under-reporting. But the rebound after 2021 has been stronger than expected, setting the stage for the current decline.
Diagnostics and Detection: The Turning Point
One of the most decisive shifts has been in diagnostics. India today runs the world’s largest TB laboratory network, with more than 9,000 rapid molecular testing centres and over 100 high-end culture and drug-resistance labs. Newer tools- portable X-ray devices, AI-based screening support, and door-to-door community testing drives, have dramatically closed the detection gap.
Government data shows that India reduced its “missing” TB cases from 1.5 million in 2015 to under 100,000 in 2024. This improvement alone has altered the national picture, ensuring patients receive treatment earlier and transmission chains break sooner.
Treatment, Nutrition and Social Support
Treatment success rates have risen steadily, now touching 90 per cent, slightly above the global average. Better drug regimens, digital adherence tools, and greater coordination with private practitioners have contributed to this improvement.
Nutrition support has also expanded. India doubled the monthly direct-benefit transfer under the Nikshay Poshan Yojana from ₹500 to ₹1,000, acknowledging the long-proven link between TB incidence and malnutrition. Community-based support networks- “Nikshay Mitras” – have filled gaps for patients requiring food, counselling, or transport assistance.
India’s Role in the Global TB Landscape
Despite the progress, India still accounts for about 25 per cent of the world’s new TB cases. That duality , strong decline but large absolute burden, explains why global TB figures cannot improve without India’s sustained performance.
Worldwide, TB killed an estimated 1.25 million people in 2023. India’s mortality rate has dropped from 28 deaths per 100,000 population in 2015 to 21 per 100,000 in 2024, a meaningful fall but still far from elimination levels.
The WHO’s End TB Strategy calls for a 90 per cent decline in incidence and 95 per cent reduction in deaths by 2035. India’s trajectory finally aligns with these global ambitions, but sustaining momentum will be critical.
The Remaining Obstacles
India’s biggest challenges now lie in areas that have persisted for decades. Multidrug-resistant TB continues to pose a threat, requiring expensive second-line drugs and longer treatment cycles. Rural and tribal regions still face inequitable access to testing and treatment. And the structural drivers of TB- poverty, poor housing, malnutrition- demand long-term social investments far beyond diagnostics and drugs.
There are also questions about whether domestic funding, which grew sharply over the last decade, can continue at the pace needed. International TB financing remains stretched, and many low-income nations are reporting stagnation.
A Turning Point, But Not a Finish Line
India’s 21 per cent decline in TB cases is more than a statistical achievement, it signals a shift in a long public-health struggle. Years of technological upgrading, community outreach and increased political attention have begun to show results.
Whether this progress translates into India’s stated goal of eliminating TB by 2025 remains uncertain. But for the first time in years, the trajectory is unmistakably downward.
