New Delhi: Union Health Minister J P Nadda on Wednesday urged parliamentarians from Jharkhand and Odisha to step up efforts at the constituency and district levels to accelerate the Centre’s TB elimination drive, including by reviewing the availability and quality of services and mobilising communities.
Nadda, who interacted with Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha MPs from the two states on the sidelines of the Monsoon Session of Parliament, called for sustained political and administrative engagement to achieve the goal of a TB Mukt Bharat, the health ministry said in a statement.
Union Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare Anupriya Patel and Union Minister of State for Defence Sanjay Seth also participated in the interaction held under the theme ‘Parliamentarians Championing a TB Mukt Bharat’.
Nadda highlighted innovative case-finding strategies, early diagnosis, patient-centric care and community participation as critical pillars of India’s accelerated TB elimination strategy, the ministry said.
He called upon parliamentarians to actively engage with district collectors and health facilities in their constituencies, review the availability and quality of TB services and support efforts for early diagnosis and treatment.
The minister also stressed the need for continued public engagement and social mobilisation to ensure that TB elimination becomes a sustained “Jan Andolan”, the statement said.
The interaction reviewed progress under the recently concluded 100-Day TB Mukt Bharat Abhiyaan, which was implemented in two phases to accelerate TB elimination efforts.
The second phase, launched on March 24, covered nearly 1.58 lakh high-risk villages and urban wards across the country and concluded in July.
During the campaign, more than 2.2 crore vulnerable people were screened, over seven lakh new TB cases were detected, and 1.97 lakh asymptomatic TB cases were identified, according to the statement.
“The intensified case-finding approach has demonstrated the importance of proactive screening, particularly among vulnerable and high-risk populations,” the statement said.
India recorded a 21 per cent decline in TB incidence between 2015 and 2024, nearly twice the global pace, along with a 92 per cent treatment success rate, according to the WHO Global TB Report 2025, it said.
Jharkhand and Odisha remain important focus states due to the presence of several TB risk factors, including mining and industrial belts, occupational dust exposure, migrant and tribal populations, malnutrition, urban slums, comorbidities, tobacco and alcohol consumption, and informal and labour settlements.
During the 100-day campaign, Jharkhand notified 16,754 TB patients, including 4,574 asymptomatic cases, while Odisha notified 15,268 patients, including 3,514 asymptomatic cases.
The states adopted targeted strategies to take screening and care closer to vulnerable populations, including through Ayushman Arogya Shivirs in urban slums, construction sites, migrant clusters and mining areas, the ministry said.
The technological expansion of the national TB programme has further strengthened active case finding. Molecular testing capacity has expanded from a few hundred machines a decade ago to more than 9,000 machines, while nearly 3,000 AI-enabled handheld X-ray units are supporting field-level screening, it said.
The MPs from Jharkhand and Odisha reaffirmed their commitment to intensifying awareness and stigma-reduction campaigns, promoting Ni-kshay Shivirs for early detection, particularly among vulnerable populations, and strengthening supportive supervision of TB services at district and block levels.
They also committed to mobilising communities and organisations to provide nutritional, psychosocial and livelihood support to people affected by TB, strengthening the patient-centric approach to TB care.
The interaction is part of a series of consultations being held by Nadda with MPs from different states to strengthen collective ownership and a whole-of-government approach towards achieving a TB Mukt Bharat.
