Tuberculosis cases in India have decreased by 21%, from 237 per lakh population in 2015 to 187 per lakh population in 2024. This is nearly double the global decline of 12%, according to the World Health Organisation's Global TB Report 2025. The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare issued an official statement. This is one of the steepest drops in TB incidence ever recorded, exceeding decreases in comparable high-burden countries.
India's innovative case finding approach, driven by the rapid uptake of newer technologies, decentralisation of services, and large-scale community mobilisation, has led to the country's treatment coverage to surge to over 92% in 2024, from 53% in 2015, with 26.18 lakh TB patients being diagnosed in 2024.
This has helped reduce the number of "missing cases", people who had tuberculosis but did not disclose it to the programme, from an anticipated 15 lakhs in 2015 to less than one lakh by 2024. Also, there has been no notable growth in the number of MDR TB patients in the country. The treatment success rate under the TB Mukt Bharat Abhiyan has increased to 90%, surpassing the global treatment success rate of 88%.
Similarly, India's TB mortality rate has fallen from 28 per lakh population in 2015 to 21 per lakh population in 2024, indicating considerable success in lowering TB-related deaths. This achievement has been achieved via strong government commitment, as indicated by a historic near-tenfold increase in government spending on the TB program during the last 2009.
The following are the early symptoms of tuberculosis (TB):
An early sign may be a cough lasting longer than three weeks. It might begin dry but may end up resulting in mucus or blood.
In the early stages, the common symptom is low-grade fever, particularly in the evenings or at night.
Even in a room that is not hot, being aroused in wet clothes may reflect TB infection.
A significant loss of weight without dietary or physical changes is a frequent early symptom.
It can happen when one feels oddly tired or without any energy despite rest even during the course of the infection.
Loss of appetite or missing meals are also very common initial symptoms.
Other individuals complain of mild chestaches particularly during coughing and deep breathing.
In case the symptoms persist with the additional increase of prolonged cough and fever, it is necessary to consult a doctor. The early diagnosis helps avoid complications and transmission to others.
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