JOSH (Joint Squad for Health) Teams Launched Under TB Mukt Bharat Abhiyaan with NCC Cadets and MY Bharat Volunteers in 55 Districts

Key facts

• Union Health and Family Welfare Minister Shri J.P. Nadda launched JOSH (Joint Squad for Health) Teams under the TB Mukt Bharat Abhiyaan at a national event at Bharat Mandapam, New Delhi, on 8 October 2026.
• JOSH Teams comprise five MY Bharat Volunteers and five NCC Cadets each, led by a designated Class-I officer at the Block/Ward level.
• In the first phase, JOSH Teams have been deployed in 55 districts across 11 States and Union Territories, with the initiative to expand nationwide; the launch saw virtual participation from all 804 districts.
• The JOSH initiative is implemented by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare in collaboration with the Ministry of Youth Affairs & Sports and the Ministry of Defence, with participation of the Government of NCT of Delhi.
• The teams will conduct household and community outreach to raise TB awareness, promote early diagnosis and treatment completion, counter stigma and misconceptions, and encourage community participation, working at district and block levels with digital monitoring mechanisms.
• Union Health Secretary Punya Salila Srivastava said the teams were constituted after Prime Minister Narendra Modi suggested involving youth in an institutionalised manner in the TB elimination campaign.
• According to the latest WHO report cited at the event, TB incidence in India has declined by 21% compared with a 12% decline globally, and India's TB treatment coverage has risen to 92% against a global coverage of 78%.
• 67,933 Panchayats across 697 districts were recognised as TB Mukt in 2026, and district-level TB Mukt Panchayats were felicitated at the launch event.
• New digital and IEC initiatives launched at the event include the JOSH Flipbook, JOSH Brochure, 'Khushi Avatar' (an e-Sangini initiative available in 12 Indian languages that gives TB information and medicine reminders), and a dedicated JOSH Teams feature on the TB Mukt Bharat App.
• Union Minister for Youth Affairs & Sports Dr. Mansukh Mandaviya said India aims to eliminate TB ahead of the WHO's global elimination goal of 2030.
• India aims to eliminate tuberculosis ahead of the global elimination goal of 2030; the intensified TB campaign began in December 2024 with a second phase launched earlier in 2026.