Delhi TB Funds Idle Amidst Patient Woes

In the fiscal year 2025-26, Delhi utilized only 47.4% of its approved National Tuberculosis Elimination Programme (NTEP) funds, amounting to Rs 51.32 crore out of Rs 108.27 crore. This underspending occurred despite 112,977 TB cases being notified in the capital during 2025.

Reasons cited for the fund shortfall include delays in Direct Benefit Transfers (DBT) to TB patients for nutritional support, gaps in digitisation and beneficiary identification, and slower expenditure by TB centers due to procurement and infrastructure development delays. A significant portion of allocated funds is intended for the Ni-kshay Poshan Yojana (NPY), which provides Rs 1,000 monthly for patient nutrition.

This financial disparity mirrors a national trend, with the NTEP spending around 62.5% in 2023-24 and 54.7% in 2022-23. The Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) also previously flagged deficiencies, including unspent funds for public awareness campaigns, incomplete committees, and substantial pending payments for nutritional support to hundreds of thousands of beneficiaries.

Furthermore, a study indicated that in 2022, only 51.8% of notified TB patients in Delhi received even one installment of financial support, with a median wait time of 136 days for the first payment, the longest among nine surveyed states. Globally, finance remains a major hurdle for TB elimination efforts, particularly in low- and middle-income countries.