India Boosts Nutrition Support for TB Patients and Families, Aiming for TB-Free India

Shri Nadda emphasized that this enhanced nutrition support aligns with India's commitment to ending TB by 2025.

Union Minister of Health and Family Welfare, Shri J P Nadda, announced major initiatives to accelerate India's efforts towards tuberculosis (TB) elimination and support the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). In a bid to strengthen nutrition support for TB patients and their households, the government has doubled the assistance provided under the Ni-Kshay Poshan Yojana (NPY) from ₹500 to ₹1,000 per month for the entire duration of treatment.

Shri Nadda emphasized that this enhanced nutrition support aligns with India's commitment to ending TB by 2025. The government will also introduce Energy Dense Nutritional Supplementation (EDNS) for patients with a Body Mass Index (BMI) below 18.5, offering supplementary nutrition during the first two months of treatment.

Key Initiatives:

TB patients will receive ₹3,000 to ₹6,000 in nutritional support under NPY.

Around 12 lakh underweight patients will benefit from EDNS, provided during the first two months of treatment.

The program will incur an additional ₹1,040 crore for the government, shared between the center and states in a 60:40 ratio.

In addition to TB patients, the Ni-Kshay Mitra initiative under the Pradhan Mantri TB Mukt Bharat Abhiyaan (PMTBMBA) will be expanded to cover the household contacts of TB patients. The initiative will provide food baskets to improve immunity among family members, which is expected to reduce out-of-pocket expenses for families affected by TB.

Since the inception of Ni-Kshay Poshan Yojana, ₹3,202 crore has been disbursed to 1.13 crore beneficiaries through Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT). These new measures will enhance nutritional recovery, improve treatment outcomes, and reduce TB-related mortality across the country.