Health Ministry Launches JOSH Teams Nationally for TB Elimination

8 October 2026National

Union Health Minister J.P. Nadda launched Joint Squad for Health (JOSH) Teams nationally on 8 October 2026 at Bharat Mandapam, New Delhi, with an initial rollout across 55 districts in 11 states. Led by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare with the Ministries of Youth Affairs and Sports and Defence, each squad pairs Class-I officers with MY Bharat volunteers and NCC cadets to drive youth-led community mobilisation for the TB Mukt Bharat Abhiyaan. New IEC material and an AI-powered chatbot, Khushi Avatar, were released alongside. In 2025, 67,933 panchayats across 697 districts had been certified TB Mukt.

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The National Tuberculosis Elimination Programme (NTEP) was renamed from the Revised National Tuberculosis Control Programme in 2020 and is run by the Central TB Division under the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare | Tuberculosis is caused by the bacterium Mycobacterium tuberculosis; the BCG vaccine protects against severe childhood forms | World TB Day is observed on 24 March, and India's National Strategic Plan set a TB elimination target of 2025, five years ahead of the SDG target of 2030

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