India has conducted more than 420 million screenings for hypertension and diabetes, Union Health Minister J.P. Nadda announced on October 1. He was speaking at the World Congress of Gastroenterology in New Delhi.

The screenings run through about 186,000 Ayushman Aroya Mandirs, the country’s primary health centres. The programme targets adults aged 30 and above.

The network has also logged over 360 million oral cancer screenings, 170 million breast cancer screenings and 90 million cervical cancer screenings. The initiative aims to catch non-communicable diseases before they cause severe complications.

Non-communicable diseases now account for nearly 60 per cent of deaths in India. Early detection allows counselling, diagnostic confirmation and lifelong management.

Nadda also highlighted maternal and child health gains. Institutional deliveries rose from 79 per cent in 2015-16 to around 90 per cent. Maternal mortality fell 86 per cent between 1990 and 2023.

The minister stressed that screening is only the first step. The real challenge, he said, is turning screenings into confirmed diagnoses, affordable medicines and lifelong disease management for hundreds of millions of people.