IAS/UPSC Coaching Institute  

08 Jan 2026 : Fine-tune this signal to sharpen India’s AMR battle

 Editorial 1: ​​Fine-tune this signal to sharpen India’s AMR battle

Context

The December 2025 ‘Mann Ki Baat’ broadcast will raise awareness, but expanding the AMR surveillance network remains essential.

 

Introduction

Could Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s remarks on antimicrobial resistance in his final ‘Mann Ki Baat’ broadcast of 2025 serve as the long-awaited turning point to galvanise action on AMR in India? Many doctors believe it could be the decisive moment needed to halt what may become the country’s most serious emerging public health crisis.

  • In the 129th ‘Mann Ki Baat’ address (December 28), PM Narendra Modi termed antimicrobial resistance (AMR) a matter of concern.
  • Citing ICMR data, he noted reduced effectiveness of antibiotics against pneumonia and urinary tract infections.
  • He identified indiscriminate and self-use of antibiotics as the core driver of AMR in India.
  • He advised avoiding self-medication, especially antibiotics, and using them only on medical advice.

 

Mainstreaming AMR Awareness

  • The irrational use of antibiotics is the largest driver of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in India.
  • Until recently, AMR remained confined to experts, hospitals, and policy circles, limiting public engagement.
  • PM Modi’s remarks bring AMR into the public mainstream, linking it to everyday behaviour and public health risk.
  • By citing national data and urging citizens to avoid over-the-counter antibiotics, the message converts technical warnings into a mass call to action.
  • This broad-based outreach may have a greater impact than earlier measures such as the National Action Plan on AMR or the ban on colistin as a growth promoter.

 

Need for a One Health Approach

  • Public awareness alone is no longer sufficient given the advanced stage of AMR in India.
  • AMR has evolved into a multi-dimensional challenge, spanning human, animal, and environmental health.
  • A One Health approach is essential to address these interconnected drivers in an integrated and sustainable manner.

 

Gaps in AMR Surveillance Coverage

  • Experts highlight that expanding surveillance sites is crucial to accurately track AMR trends in India.
  • Despite gradual expansion, the current network lacks a nationally representative dataset, given India’s wide regional diversity.
  • Most surveillance sites are concentrated in urban and tertiary-care centres, leading to possible overestimation of AMR while non-urban and community settings remain underrepresented.
  • There is an urgent need to widen coverage to capture the true community prevalence of AMR across the country.

 

Status of National AMR Surveillance Network

  • India’s National AMR Surveillance Network (NARS-Net) supplies data to the Global Antimicrobial Resistance and Use Surveillance System (GLASS).
  • NARS-Net currently comprises 60 sentinel medical college laboratories.
  • For the GLASS 2023 reporting period (January–December), data were received from 41 sites across 31 States/UTs.
  • Established in 2013, NARS-Net aims to assess the magnitude and trends of AMR across regions.
  • Participating government medical college laboratories report data on nine priority bacterial pathogens of public health importance, along with select fungal pathogens.

 

Include Private Hospitals

  • Experts have called for expanding AMR surveillance beyond tertiary-care institutions to ensure true national representation.
  • In a recent letter to the Director of the National Centre for Disease Control, Dr. Abdul Ghafur, associated with the Chennai Declaration on AMR, stressed the need for comprehensive national data.
  • He argued that surveillance must include primary and secondary healthcare centres, not just tertiary hospitals.
  • He also strongly advocated for the inclusion of private hospitals in the AMR surveillance network to produce a more balanced and representative resistance profile for India.

 

Conclusion

The 2015 WHO Global Action Plan on AMR outlined five key objectives: awareness generation, strengthened surveillance and research, infection prevention, optimised antimicrobial use, and sustained investment in new drugs, diagnostics, and vaccines. While Mr. Modi’s speech is likely to significantly boost awareness, the expansion of AMR surveillance remains a critical task that will demand adequate investment, robust strategies, effective monitoring and enforcement, and sustained political will.