A senior official from health ministry associated with the programme said the number of beneficiaries under NPY is likely to see an increase by the end of December, as the data is updated till November 2023. As per the health ministry data, only 1.4 million Tuberculosis (TB) patients were disbursed ₹500 each per month in 2023, compared to 1.94 million beneficiaries and 1.75 million beneficiaries, respectively, in 2022 and 2021. The number of TB patients notified in 2022 was 2.42 million, while in 2021 it was 2.13 million. In the year 2020, the notified TB patients were 1.80 million in the country. 

Nikshay Poshan Yojana is a government scheme to provide ₹500 per month for tuberculosis patients to buy food. As per the government data, beneficiaries paid at least one benefit over the last five years stands at 1.3 million in 2018, the next year saw 1.6 million, in 2020 the number of beneficiaries dropped to 1.4 million, in 2021, the numbers rose to 1.75 million and in 2022 the beneficiaries increased to 1.94 million.

Undernutrition is an important risk factor for TB, and the government introduced the Nikshay Poshan Yojana (NPY) in April 2018 for providing ₹500 per month as DBT (direct benefit transfer) to support the nutrition of TB patients for the entire duration of the treatment.

Cumulatively, till November 2023, NTEP (National Tuberculosis Elimination Programme NTEP) has disbursed ₹2,617.44 crore to 95.93 lakh TB patients. Each TB patient must be notified on the Nikshay, platform. For each extension of treatment ₹1,000 is paid for two months or if extension is only for one month, then ₹500 is paid. “The data is till November end, so essentially (the full year) figures should be a bit higher than showed in the data. In earlier years, it was a problem having all patients having a bank account but it has smoothened out. Previously, the money was sanctioned in every two months. However, there are usually delays on sending the money to those who don’t have a bank account still,” said the official.

For paediatric TB patients where bank accounts are not available, the money is deposited in the bank accounts of parents or guardians whose details are to be sought and fed in Nikshay against the patient’s records. For patients not having a bank account or Aadhaar number, the health staff facilitates in opening of bank accounts for the patient, preferably under the Jan Dhan Yojna, and also helps the patient enrol for Aadhaar.

The report further stated that the overall notification of TB cases has improved by 64% over the last nine years, from 2014 to 2023. The data pointed that 2.42 million TB cases were notified in 2022, which was higher than the pre-Covid level of 2019. In 2023, a total of 2.23 million TB patients have been notified till the end of November, the report mentioned.

“Over the last nine years, despite one-third of notifications coming from the private sector, the programme was able to sustain a treatment success rate of above 80%. In 2021, the success rate had reached 84% and in 2022, it marginally increased to 85.5%. In 2023 (till November), the success rate increased to 86.3%, the report noted.

“It is also to be noted that the number of notifications has increased this year, so more people with TB are being identified and gradually they will be provided the benefit under the Nikshay Poshan Yojna,” the official added.

Milestone Alert!
Livemint tops charts as the fastest growing news website in the world 🌏 Click here to know more.

Unlock a world of Benefits! From insightful newsletters to real-time stock tracking, breaking news and a personalized newsfeed – it’s all here, just a click away! Login Now!

Published: 01 Jan 2024, 11:13 PM IST