New Delhi, Dec 3 (IANS): The Centre on Tuesday stated that about 21.69 lakh tuberculosis (TB) cases have been notified between January and October 2024.

TB notification has been a concern in India, but the country has seen improvements in recent years.

“Notified TB cases increased from 18.05 lakh in 2020 to 25.52 lakh in 2023,” said Union Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare, Anupriya Patel, in a written reply in the Rajya Sabha.

“About 21.69 lakh TB cases have been notified between January and October in 2024,” she added.

Patel said that the National TB Elimination Programme (NTEP), under the aegis of the National Health Mission (NHM), has made significant efforts to make India TB-free.

India aims to eliminate TB by 2025, five years ahead of the global target of 2030.

The incidence rate of the deadly infectious disease and the related deaths have seen a major decline.

“The incidence rate of TB in India has shown a 17.7 per cent decline from 237 per 100,000 population in 2015 to 195 per 100,000 population in 2023. TB deaths have reduced by 21.4 per cent from 28 per lakh population in 2015 to 22 per lakh population in 2023,” Patel said.

Further, Patel noted that the key efforts and interventions made under the NTEP include targeted interventions in high TB burden areas through state and district specific strategic plans; provision of free drugs and diagnostics to TB patients; active TB case-finding through campaigns in key vulnerable and co-morbid populations.

The programme has also integrated Ayushman Arogya Mandir with TB screening and treatment services; boosted private sector engagement with incentives for notification and management of TB cases; scaled up molecular diagnostic laboratories to sub-district levels; and expanded coverage under Nikshay Poshan Yojana for nutritional support to TB patients, the MoS said.