🚨 UPSC EXAM NOTES presents the March edition of our comprehensive monthly guide. Access it  to enhance your preparation. We value your input - share your thoughts and recommendations in the comments section or via email at Support@upscexamnotes.com 🚨

Critical Topics and Their Significance for the UPSC CSE Examination on May 09, 2025

Daily Insights and Initiatives for UPSC Exam Notes: Comprehensive explanations and high-quality material provided regularly for students

India’s Commitment towards TB-Mukt Bharat

For Preliminary Examination: Tuberculosis (TB) , Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) 2030, 

For Mains Examination : GS II: Government policies to Achieve TB Mukt Bharat

Context:

One of the biggest killers, Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease and found in every part of the world. It continues to be a major public health issue of global concern. India carries one of the largest global burden of the disease. The central and state governments are committed to ending it by 2025, five years ahead of the global target under the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) 2030. Let us deep dive into the different aspects of the disease and understand India’s initiatives in this direction.

Read about:

How is Tuberculosis drug-resistant?

India's elimination target

Key takeaways:

Global Impact of Tuberculosis

• Tuberculosis (TB) is an airborne infectious disease caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis (M.tb). According to the World Health Organization (WHO), approximately 1.8 billion individuals, or nearly a quarter of the global population, are infected with TB. Each year, around 1.3 million children develop TB.
• It remains one of the leading infectious causes of death worldwide. Last year, TB was identified as the second leading cause of death from a single infectious agent, following COVID-19, causing nearly twice as many deaths as HIV/AIDS. In 2022, TB infected 10.6 million people and resulted in 1.4 million deaths, with an average of 3,500 deaths daily.
• Various social, economic, and health-related factors significantly influence the prevalence of tuberculosis. These include undernutrition, diabetes, HIV infection, alcohol use disorders, and smoking. The WHO reports that globally in 2020, undernutrition was responsible for an estimated 1.9 million TB cases, HIV infection for 740,000 cases, alcohol use disorders for 740,000 cases, smoking for 730,000 cases, and diabetes for 370,000 cases. However, there are regional and national variations, with high incidence rates observed among urban populations living in slums.
• Thirty countries with high TB burdens account for 87% of the world’s TB cases, with eight countries bearing two-thirds of the global burden. India, in particular, represents 27% of the world’s TB cases, followed by Indonesia (10%), China (7.1%), the Philippines (7.0%), Pakistan (5.7%), Nigeria (4.5%), Bangladesh (3.6%), and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (3.0%).

Recognition of India's Efforts

• The WHO Global TB Report 2023 has acknowledged India's significant efforts and interventions aimed at eliminating tuberculosis. India has made notable progress in reducing TB incidence by 16% and mortality by 18% since 2015 (up to 2022). The country has been praised for its enhanced case detection strategies, which led to a record number of TB cases being reported in 2022, with over 2.42 million cases, surpassing pre-COVID levels.
• In 2023, the notification of TB cases reached a new high, with 2.55 million cases reported—17.1 million from the public sector and 8.4 million from the private sector, marking the highest proportion ever at 33%.
• This significant increase in private sector notifications, which have grown more than eightfold over the past nine years, is attributed to targeted engagement strategies. Furthermore, treatment coverage now extends to 80% of estimated TB cases, a 19% increase from the previous year.
• The WHO report also highlights that India's rate of decline in TB incidence is nearly double the global rate, which stands at