Delhi plans to put 85 existing tuberculosis diagnostic machines to work against two other deadly infections. The government has asked for 2,500 Truenat testing chips each for hepatitis B and hepatitis C, hoping to expand testing with equipment the public health system already owns.
The machines belong to the National Tuberculosis Elimination Programme (NTEP). Under the proposal, officials would first set aside one Truenat platform per district for viral-load testing of patients who test positive for hepatitis B and C. That step requires concurrence from the NTEP State Programme Officer, according to an official statement issued on Friday.
How the Plan Works
Truenat platforms are portable molecular diagnostic machines. They use polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-based tests to detect infections, including tuberculosis, by identifying genetic material in patient samples. Viral-load tests measure the amount of virus in a patient's blood and help assess the infection.
The government submitted its request for 2,500 chips each for hepatitis B and hepatitis C to the Central Programme Division for 2026-27. The financial year is already underway. The central unit of the National Viral Hepatitis Control Programme has indicated that the Centre would procure the chips centrally, the statement said.
So the supply depends on the Centre following through. Delhi can identify the need, but it can't fill it alone.
Stretching Public Capacity
The government also plans to run the existing machines beyond regular working hours and on holidays, depending on workload and operational requirements. The statement said technicians would receive training and incentives to conduct the tests.
The broader screening plan also envisages portable X-ray facilities, with special attention to women, particularly pregnant women, to help identify health conditions that need further investigation.
The initiative aims to improve access to testing and strengthen coordination between national health programmes, the statement said.
Official Response
Health Minister Pankaj Kumar Singh said the government was focused on strengthening diagnostic services by making optimal use of existing health-care infrastructure and improving access to timely hepatitis B and C testing. The statement added that the proposed district-level arrangement would proceed only with the required concurrence and operational planning.
Several questions remain open. The statement doesn't say how many patients the programme expects to reach, what testing will cost them, or when district platforms will begin viral-load testing. Nor does it explain how extra hours might affect tuberculosis testing, the work these machines were bought to do. It says only that after-hours use will depend on workload and operational requirements.
Why This Matters: Hepatitis B and C can go undetected until the damage is done, and testing that confirms and measures infection is the first step toward treatment. By linking that step to machines already in district facilities, Delhi is trying to widen access without waiting for new infrastructure. That is a sensible use of public assets. But the plan's reach depends on decisions still pending: concurrence from the NTEP State Programme Officer and central procurement of 5,000 chips in total. The focus on women, particularly pregnant women, signals an intent to reach people routine screening often misses. Whether that intent becomes real coverage will depend on funding, trained staff, and the Centre delivering supplies. Public health programmes work when national and state systems coordinate, and this proposal tests whether they can.
- delhi
- hepatitis b
- hepatitis c
- truenat
- molecular testing
- pankaj kumar singh