NEW DELHI: India is among the top eight countries that reported the highest number of people developing TB disease in 2025, according to the latest WHO Global Tuberculosis Report 2026, released on Thursday.
Indonesia, the Philippines, China, Pakistan, Nigeria, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Bangladesh follow India.
However, India recorded a 38% decline in tuberculosis mortality since 2015, compared with a global decline of 35%, and achieved a treatment success rate of 94%, the report added.
Reacting to the latest WHO data, Union Health Ministry officials said the global report “reflects India's sustained progress towards eliminating TB through early detection, timely treatment, technological innovation and comprehensive patient care.”
“Most of the people who develop TB disease each year are in 30 high TB burden countries: they accounted for 88% of the global total in 2025. The top eight (67% of the worldwide total) were India (25%), Indonesia (10%), the Philippines (6.8%), China (6.5%), Pakistan (6.4%), Nigeria (4.9%), the Democratic Republic of the Congo (3.9%) and Bangladesh (3.7%),” the global report said.
Although the report placed India among the top eight TB-burden countries, it said estimates of TB incidence in the country were under review and that revised estimates would be released by early next year.
Officials said the revised estimates would show a decline in TB mortality, highlighting the significant progress India had made in its fight against the disease.
The report said that in 2025, 54% of people who developed TB were men, 35% were women and 11% were children. Globally, an estimated 10.6 million people fell ill with TB in 2025, a reduction of 75,000 compared with 2024.
“Globally in 2025, the TB incidence rate was 129 new cases per 100,000 population. This was a 1.6% decline compared with 131 in 2024. The reduction compared with 2015 was 14%, far from the End TB Strategy milestone of a 50% reduction by 2025 and the target of an 80% reduction by 2030,” it added.
TB is the leading cause of death from a single infectious agent worldwide and ranks 13th among all causes of death.
The report praised India for the “substantial progress” it has made in recent years through various initiatives to reduce the TB burden.
Officials said the reduction in TB mortality highlighted India's strong performance in reducing TB-related deaths.
They said the progress reflected the impact of intensified interventions under the National TB Elimination Programme (NTEP), including proactive case-finding, the use of AI-enabled X-rays, rapid diagnostics, prompt treatment initiation, differentiated TB care and nutritional support through the Ni-kshay Poshan Yojana and the Ni-kshay Mitra initiative.
“These interventions were supported by AI tools for identifying hotspots, predicting high-risk TB cases prone to adverse outcomes, Khushi - AI Chatbot and Avatar Videobot, among others,” they added.
“The high treatment success rate of 94% further demonstrates the effectiveness of India's patient-centred approach, strengthened treatment delivery and sustained support for people affected by TB,” the officials said.
The WHO also credited India for funding various TB programmes.
“India's commitment is further reflected in 96% of TB programme funding requirements being met through domestic resources, demonstrating sustained national investment, strong political commitment and a whole-of-government, whole-of-society approach to TB elimination,” they added.
Under the TB Mukt Bharat Abhiyaan, more than 25 crore people have been brought under intensified screening.
“The TB Mukt Bharat Abhiyaan has emerged as a major driver of India's accelerated TB elimination efforts, transforming the approach to TB detection through proactive screening, technology-enabled diagnostics and community outreach,” an official said.
India launched its first intensified 100-day campaign on December 7, 2024, across 347 high-priority districts in 33 States and Union Territories. It was subsequently expanded nationwide to strengthen early detection, particularly among vulnerable and high-risk populations.
Building on the learnings and momentum generated, the Centre launched another intensified 100-day campaign on March 24, 2026, focusing on TB screening in 1.58 lakh high-risk villages and wards, congregate settings and vulnerable populations.
Between December 7, 2024, and November 8, 2026, the Abhiyaan achieved significant progress.
More than 11 crore chest X-rays were conducted to strengthen early detection; over 3 crore nucleic acid amplification tests (NAAT) were conducted for rapid and accurate diagnosis; and 48.64 lakh new TB cases were identified, including 14.97 lakh asymptomatic cases.
“The detection of nearly 15 lakh asymptomatic cases is particularly significant, demonstrating the effectiveness of proactive screening in identifying individuals who might otherwise remain undiagnosed. Early identification facilitates timely treatment and provides opportunities to reduce TB transmission and prevent severe disease,” officials said.
Ministry officials said India was increasingly leveraging advanced technologies to make TB screening and diagnosis faster, more accurate and accessible.
Integrating TB screening with the identification and management of diabetes, undernutrition and other comorbidities further enables comprehensive, patient-centred care.
Officials highlighted that the WHO report incorporates evidence from multiple complementary sources, including the Registrar General of India's Sample Registration System (RGI/SRS), community-based verbal autopsy assessments and programme data from the Ni-kshay portal, to strengthen TB mortality estimates.
Based on these assessments, the report documents a 38% reduction in India's estimated TB mortality, with the rate declining from 28 per lakh of the population in 2015 to 18 per lakh in 2025, officials added.
"The Indian Council of Medical Research-National Institute for Research in Tuberculosis (ICMR-NIRT) conducted a nationally representative TB prevalence survey in 2025, which has been shared with the WHO and is under technical discussion. Following this, the WHO will publish an updated country profile for India," an official further said.
“The government will continue to build on these gains through intensified screening, expanded access to quality diagnostics, prompt and effective treatment, TB preventive treatment, nutritional assistance and deeper community engagement,” the officials added.