The latest Global TB Report for 2025 presents a mixed picture for India's fight against tuberculosis, showing notable progress in treatment coverage while highlighting that the country remains far from achieving its ambitious elimination targets set for this year.
India's TB Burden: The Current Scenario
According to the report released on Wednesday, India recorded an estimated 27.1 lakh tuberculosis cases and just over 3 lakh deaths in 2024. While this represents a decline from the previous year's estimated 28 lakh cases and 3.15 lakh deaths, the reduction falls significantly short of the targets needed to achieve TB elimination.
The global context underscores India's substantial challenge. Worldwide, 10.7 million people contracted TB and 1.23 million died from the disease in 2024, meaning India accounted for nearly one-fourth of all global cases and fatalities.
Missed Targets and Slow Progress
The data reveals that India has managed to reduce its TB incidence by 21% and deaths by 28% between 2015 and 2024. While this represents progress, it falls well below the World Health Organization's End TB milestone for 2025, which requires a 50% reduction in TB incidence and 75% decrease in deaths compared to 2015 levels.
India had set an ambitious goal to eliminate tuberculosis by the end of 2025, five years ahead of the global target. However, the current pace of reduction makes this achievement unlikely. The report indicates that India achieved only half of the global 2020 milestone of reducing TB incidence by 20% and deaths by 35% compared to 2015.
Silver Linings: Treatment Coverage Improves Dramatically
Despite missing elimination targets, the report highlights significant improvements in India's tuberculosis treatment infrastructure. In a remarkable achievement, approximately 92% of people estimated to have tuberculosis in India were diagnosed and put on treatment in 2024, marking a substantial jump from the 85% coverage recorded in 2023.
The Union Health Ministry attributed this success to innovative approaches, stating that India's treatment coverage surged to over 92% in 2024 from just 53% in 2015. This improvement stems from the swift adoption of newer technologies, decentralization of services, and large-scale community mobilization efforts.
Closing the Gap on Missing Cases
One of the most significant achievements highlighted in the report is the dramatic reduction in missing TB cases - the gap between estimated cases and actual diagnoses. These undiagnosed cases are particularly concerning as they continue to spread the infection within communities.
With 26.18 lakh of the 27.1 lakh estimated cases being diagnosed in 2024, the number of missing cases stood at just one lakh. This represents a massive improvement from the estimated 15 lakh missing cases in 2015.
The Health Ministry's intensive campaign, launched in December last year, played a crucial role in detecting high numbers of asymptomatic cases - individuals in early disease stages who can still transmit the infection. The campaign screened over 19 crore vulnerable individuals, resulting in the detection of over 24.5 lakh cases, including 8.61 lakh asymptomatic cases.
While India's progress in TB control exceeds the global average reduction of 12% in incidence between 2015 and 2024, the country still faces substantial challenges in meeting its elimination goals. The improved treatment coverage and reduced missing cases, however, provide a strong foundation for accelerated progress in the coming years.
