In 1990, non-communicable diseases caused just over a third of India’s deaths. Today, they cause nearly two out of every three. The government now says fighting them can’t stay confined to hospitals.
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General Science · GenSci0032
NCDs in India
Cancer, diabetes, obesity: from hospital wards to a national movement
2006-07
India establishes a dedicated National NCD Cell.
2010
NPCDCS launches, integrating cancer control with diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and stroke programmes.
2017
India adopts a National Multisectoral Action Plan (NMAP) for common NCDs.
2016
NCDs reach 55% of India’s total disease burden, up from 30% in 1990.
19 Jul 2026
Dr. Jitendra Singh calls for a nationwide “People’s Movement” against cancer, diabetes, and obesity.
~63%
of all Indian deaths, NCDs
25%
premature NCD-death cut target, by 2025
1st
country to adopt WHO’s NCD action plan
From a third to two-thirds, in one generation
NCDs caused 37% of India’s deaths in 1990. By recent estimates, that figure is close to 63%. The Health Ministry’s answer is no longer just more hospital beds — it’s a public movement.
Timeline
- 2006-07: India establishes a dedicated National NCD Cell.
- 2007-08: The National Tobacco Control Programme is implemented.
- 2010: NPCDCS launches, covering cancer, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and stroke.
- 2017: India adopts a National Multisectoral Action Plan (NMAP) for common NCDs (2017-2022).
- 19 July 2026: Dr. Jitendra Singh calls for a nationwide “People’s Movement” against cancer, diabetes, and obesity.
Must Know
- Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs) now cause roughly 63% of all deaths in India.
- NCDs made up just 30% of India’s total disease burden in 1990. By 2016, that share had risen to 55%.
- India’s main NCD programme, NPCDCS (National Programme for Prevention and Control of Cancer, Diabetes, Cardiovascular Diseases, and Stroke), launched in 2010.
- India was the first country to adopt a National Action Plan aligned with WHO’s Global Action Plan for NCDs. It targets a 25% cut in premature NCD deaths by 2025.
- On 19 July 2026, Union Minister Dr. Jitendra Singh called for a nationwide “People’s Movement” (Jan Andolan) against cancer, diabetes, and obesity.
- He said the fight against NCDs must move beyond hospitals, centred on early detection, sound medical advice, and evidence-based healthcare.
Good to Know
- India’s NCD journey began with a National NCD Cell in 2006-07, followed by the National Tobacco Control Programme in 2007-08.
- India added a tenth national target, on household air pollution, beyond the standard WHO NCD framework.
- In 2017, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare adopted a National Multisectoral Action Plan (NMAP) for common NCDs, running through 2022.
- Dr. Jitendra Singh’s July 2026 remarks came at a book launch: “UNBROKEN: My Battle with Cancer and the Will to Lead.” Its author, Dr. Akhilesh Gupta, is himself a cancer survivor and scientist.
- The Minister flagged health misinformation, not just a lack of awareness, as a major obstacle to fighting NCDs.
- Cancer, diabetes, obesity, and fatty liver disease are increasingly affecting younger age groups in India, not just older adults.
Test Yourself
Great to Know
- NCDs sit alongside India’s continuing communicable-disease challenges, covered in GenSci0008 — Diseases: Communicable and Non-Communicable. Both now demand serious national attention, just for very different reasons.
- GenSci0027 — ICMR conducts much of the underlying NCD research this national movement draws on, spanning cancer, diabetes, and nutrition.
- Calling for a “movement” rather than a “programme” is a deliberate framing shift. It positions individual behaviour change, not just government services, as central to solving India’s NCD burden.
- India’s NCD share of deaths overtaking communicable diseases mirrors a pattern seen in most developing economies as they grow wealthier. Infectious disease control succeeds, but lifestyle-linked disease rises to fill the gap.
- Diabetes and hypertension, two of the NCDs covered here, are also the two biggest risk factors behind kidney failure. See GenSci0036 — Chronic Kidney Disease in India.
Current Affairs
- On 30 July 2026, in a Rajya Sabha reply, the government detailed how the Tata Memorial Centre (TMC) has expanded India’s cancer-care network. TMC operates under the Department of Atomic Energy (DAE). (Source: PIB)
- TMC added the Advanced Centre for Treatment, Research and Education in Cancer (ACTREC), at Kharghar, in 2002. It integrates cancer research with advanced patient care. (Source: PIB)
- In the last five years, TMC opened three new Homi Bhabha Cancer Hospitals. These are at New Chandigarh (300 beds, August 2022), Visakhapatnam (210 beds, May 2023), and Muzaffarpur (107 beds, April 2025). (Source: PIB)
- Three more facilities are under construction: a 583-bed Platinum Jubilee Block in Mumbai, a 75-bed centre in Raigad, Maharashtra, and a 200-bed hospital in Bhubaneswar, Odisha. (Source: PIB)
- TMC’s flagship Mumbai hospital alone registered 53,944 patients in FY2025-26. Its newer Muzaffarpur centre already registered 8,305 patients, in its first full year. (Source: PIB)
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