WHO Global TB Report 2026: India's TB Deaths Fall 38%

The Global Tuberculosis Report 2026 of the World Health Organization has placed India among the countries moving fastest against tuberculosis. Union Minister of Health and Family Welfare Jagat Prakash Nadda pointed to the findings on 13 November 2026 and renewed the pledge of a TB-Mukt Bharat, saying no patient would be left behind.

What the report records

Deaths caused by tuberculosis in India have come down by 38% since 2015. That fall is steeper than the 35% decline measured for the world as a whole, and it is the sharpest drop the country has ever registered. In terms of rates, mortality eased from 28 deaths for every lakh people in 2015 to 18 per lakh in 2025. Among patients carrying drug-susceptible TB, 94% now complete treatment successfully, a figure the Ministry links to quicker diagnosis, steady follow-up and wider patient support under the National TB Elimination Programme.

Screening on a national scale

The minister set out the reach of the TB Mukt Bharat Abhiyaan. More than 25 crore people have been covered by intensified screening. Over 11 crore chest X-rays and 3 crore molecular tests have been carried out. Together these efforts picked up 48.64 lakh cases of the disease, of which 14.97 lakh patients showed no symptoms at all. Finding such silent infections early allows treatment to begin before the illness spreads further.

Technology, nutrition and the community

Portable digital chest X-ray machines read with artificial intelligence, rapid molecular testing and the Ni-kshay digital platform now carry much of the diagnostic load. Food support flows through the Ni-kshay Poshan Yojana, while Ni-kshay Mitras adopt patients during treatment. Community ownership has grown too: 67,933 Panchayats were declared free of tuberculosis in 2025, and JOSH Teams bring officials, NCC cadets and MY Bharat volunteers into awareness work. India meets 96% of the programme's funding needs from its own resources. The campaign began as a 100-day drive in December 2024, went nationwide afterwards, and was intensified again in March 2026. The WHO South-East Asia Regional Office has publicly credited India with driving down tuberculosis mortality across the region.