Pune: A severe funds crunch in the state treasury has left thousands of tuberculosis (TB) patients without financial aid. According to recent state data, the health department was able to pay only 32% of the beneficiaries registered under the Nikshay Poshan Yojana in 2025. Though lakhs of patients are registered on the state portal, only a fraction received the promised support. Out of 2.18 lakh notified TB patients across Maharashtra, only 70,664 (32.4%) were paid. The impact is particularly severe in urban hotspots. Despite bearing the state’s highest TB burden with 48,964 eligible beneficiaries, only 9,800 (roughly 20%) received their benefits in Mumbai. In Pune district, of the 18,000 eligible patients, only 5,468 beneficiaries were able to avail of the scheme. Launched in 2018 by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, the Nikshay Poshan Yojana provides financial assistance of ₹1,000 per month to every notified TB patient for nutritional support. Eligibility extends to all patients registered on the Nikshay portal on or after April 1, 2018. Rajratna Waghmare, joint director, state health services, acknowledged the delay but said that essential clinical care remained uninterrupted. “Due to budget constraints, we were unable to provide additional monetary support to all patients. However, the state continues to provide free medicines throughout the treatment phase, along with transportation and diagnostic coverage,” he said. Waghmare added that the department also provides food baskets to ensure patients receive proper nutrition and stated that the remaining funds would be dispersed soon. Local officials echoed these concerns. Prashant Bothe, TB officer for Pune Municipal Corporation noted the mid-year halt in funding. “We received some budget from the state in the initial months of 2025; however, the flow of funds stopped after that, making it impossible to continue payments as per the scheme,” he said.
