India Records 21% Drop in TB Cases, Still Accounts for 25% of Global Burden: WHO TB Report

New Delhi:
India has achieved a 21% reduction in tuberculosis (TB) cases and a 28% drop in TB-related deaths between 2015 and 2024, according to the WHO Global TB Report 2025. Despite the progress, the country continues to account for one-fourth of the global TB burden, highlighting the need for sustained efforts toward elimination.

The report reveals that India recorded an estimated 27.1 lakh new TB cases and over 3 lakh deaths in 2024. Globally, 10.7 million people fell ill with TB and 1.23 million died during the same period, meaning India alone contributed to nearly 25% of all global TB cases and deaths.

Decline but Not Elimination

The WHO report acknowledges India’s strong progress but warns that it remains far from the TB elimination goal.
Between 2015 and 2024, India achieved a 21% reduction in TB incidence — just half of the 50% reduction milestone set for 2025 under the WHO End TB Strategy.

Similarly, TB deaths dropped by 28%, short of the 75% target for 2025.

Despite falling short of its own elimination target for 2025 — five years ahead of the global goal — India’s performance remains better than the global average, where TB incidence fell only 12% during the same period.

Improved Diagnosis and Treatment Coverage

A major highlight of the report is the improvement in treatment coverage.
In 2024, nearly 92% of people estimated to have TB in India were diagnosed and put on treatment, a significant jump from 85% in 2023 and 53% in 2015.

According to the Union Health Ministry, this improvement is the result of innovative case-finding strategies, rapid adoption of new technologies, and community-based TB care.

“India’s innovative case-finding approach, driven by the swift uptake of newer technologies, decentralisation of services and large-scale community mobilisation, has led to the country’s treatment coverage surge from 53% in 2015 to over 92% in 2024,”
— Union Health Ministry statement.



Technology and Community Interventions

The Ministry credited the expansion of molecular testing and AI-enabled handheld X-rays, which help identify asymptomatic TB cases quickly, along with widespread community mobilisation, for significantly reducing the number of “missing cases.”

Such innovations, the report suggests, have helped contain the spread of infection and improve timely treatment.

The Road Ahead

While India’s decline in TB burden outpaces the global average, experts caution that the country is unlikely to meet its 2025 elimination target.
WHO’s End TB milestone for 2025 calls for a 50% reduction in TB incidence and a 75% drop in deaths from 2015 levels — a benchmark India has not yet achieved.

Public health experts say that continued investment in screening, technology integration, nutrition support, and community-led care will be key to sustaining this downward trend and eventually reaching elimination.