New TB cases have declined by 21 percent since 2015, according to a report released by the Ministry of Health.:

News Topical, Digital Desk : New TB cases in India have declined significantly since 2015. The Union Health Ministry on Wednesday, quoting the World Health Organisation's (WHO) Global TB Report 2025, said that TB incidence (new cases reported each year) in India has declined by 21 per cent, from 237 per lakh population in 2015 to 187 per lakh population in 2024. This reduction is almost double the global decline (12 per cent).

According to the Health Ministry, rapid adoption of new technologies, decentralization of services, and comprehensive programs are expected to increase treatment coverage in the country to over 92 percent by 2024. This coverage was 53 percent in 2015. Out of the estimated 27 lakh cases in 2024, 26.18 lakh TB patients were diagnosed.

The ministry said this helped reduce the number of cases of TB who were not enrolled in the program, from an estimated 1.5 million in 2015 to less than 100,000 in 2024.

Under the TB Free India campaign, the treatment success rate has increased to 90 percent, which is higher than the global treatment success rate of 88 percent. The TB mortality rate in India is projected to decrease from 28 cases per lakh population in 2015 to 21 cases per lakh population in 2024.

TB cases on the rise globally

WHO officials said on Wednesday that TB cases worldwide rose again last year, surpassing the record set in 2023. In 2024, 8.3 million new cases of TB were detected globally. According to the WHO Global Tuberculosis Report 2025, the increase in new cases was recorded in countries like Indonesia, the Philippines, China and Pakistan.