What to Read in Indian Express Editorial( Topic and Syllabus wise)

EDITORIAL 1: How a novel initiative helped Tamil Nadu bring down TB deaths in the state

Context

Tamil Nadu has witnessed a dip in the number of tuberculosis (TB) deaths in the state after the rollout of the Tamil Nadu Kasanoi Erappila Thittam (TN-KET), or TB death free initiative, in 2022.

The data

• Due to the initiative, three districts — Dharmapuri, Karur, and Villupuram — witnessed a reduction in the number of TB deaths between 2022 and 2023.
• Scientists at the National Institute of Epidemiology told that within the six months of the TN-KET program, Tamil Nadu saw a dip in the number of early TB deaths by 20%across the state.
• Two-thirds of the districts in the state documented a 20% to 30% reductionin total deaths in 2024, according to scientists.

The reasons

• Experts say, the program has been successful for two reasons.
• One, it uses a quick, easy-to-use tool, which helps a doctor determine whether a patient is severely ill and needs to be hospitalised soon after being diagnosed with TB. The tool does not require any laboratory-based investigations.
• Two, the initiative follows a differentiated care modelwhich offers a patient-centred approach instead of a one-size-fits-all treatment.

How does the tool work?

• Tamil Nadu health workers use a paper-based triage tool which prioritises patient care based on the severity of the illness.
• To determine the severity, health workers record five key parameters for all TB patientsin the state.
• Height and weight of the patient is used to calculate body mass index (BMI) which can flag undernutrition.
• Swelling of the leg is determined by  pressing it for 15 seconds;
• Respiratory rate per minute is recorded in a sitting position;
• Oxygen saturation is taken using a pulse oximeter; and
• It is determined whether TB patients can stand without support.
• If a patient has a BMI of less than 14 kg/sq m, or suffers from respiratory issues, or performs poorly on any of the other metrics, they are tagged as “severely ill”.
• Such a patient is immediately referred for comprehensive assessment and inpatient treatment.

​​​​​​​The benefits

• The paper-based triage tool is simpler than other toolswhere health workers have to record 16 parameters of a patient, and send them for laboratory-based investigation.
• This makes the process of diagnosis at least a week long. Using the TN-KET program’s triage tool, a diagnosis can be made within a day.
• The Tamil Nadu government has also launched a portal called Severe TB Web Application, where once the recorded parameters are entered, one can assess the probability of a patient dying.

What is a differentiated TB care model?

• The TN-KET is one of India’s first initiatives to implement the differentiated care guidelines issued by the National Tuberculosis Elimination Programme (NTEP) in 2021.
• By following a patient-centred model, it provides treatment based on a patient’s medical history and medical parameters such as age, weight, and specific disease conditions.
• It also considers the severity of the disease in all patients diagnosed with TB, and provides comprehensive care to the worst affected.

TB burden in India

• Currently, India bears the highest burden of TB across the world.
• With an estimated 28 lakh cases, the country accounted for 26% of the global TB burden in 2023, according to the Global TB report, which was released last year.
• With 3.15 lakh deaths due to TB in 2023, India accounted for 29% of the global burden, the report revealed.

Conclusion

The success of the TN-KET program has demonstrated that a differentiated care model combined with the use of a simple triage tool could save the lives of TB patients. This initiative can now be emulated by other states, helping reduce the number of TB deaths across the country.

 

EDITORIAL 2: Mission without a mandate

Context

As the US and China drive a new era of AI competition, and the EU asserts leadership on AI regulation, India has articulated its ambition to lead in technology and shape global AI governance.

India in AI forums

• With its democratic legitimacy and digital capacity, India is positioned to represent the Global South in AI forums.
• However, without a comprehensive, politically grounded national strategy, it risks falling behind in technological capabilityand managing the attendant strategic and social transformations.
• The IndiaAI Mission,approved last year with a budget of over Rs 10,000 crore, is a welcome step.

The issues

• But the mission is without a mandate. Housed as a division of a Section 8 company under the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology,it is led by a bureaucrat.
• Operating without a Cabinet-endorsed national strategy, it lacks both the political heft to drive whole-of-government coordination or signal the long-term political commitment required to align public and private action.
• The US, China, the UK and the EU anchor their AI efforts in formal, Cabinet-endorsed national strategies with clear roadmaps and timelines.
• This governance gap is critical because India faces structural deficits that impede its AI ecosystem,which cannot be overcome through incremental approaches.
• The Indian R&D base remains relatively shallow.Our universities are underrepresented in global AI rankings; the pipeline of AI-specialised PhDs is limited; collaboration between academia and industry is weak.
• India continues to lose top-tier AI talent to global hubs.

AI in private sector

• In the private sector, India’s IT industry remains oriented toward services.
• Research investments are modest relative to international companies, and to the extent that the Indian IT industry has engaged with AI, it has been largely in deployment — downstream of frontier innovation.
• India lacks AI-first national champions and the deep-tech industrial ecosystem seen in global leaders.
• Venture capital majors are frank: They see India as a consumer market, not a deep-tech innovator.
• Funding remains skewed towards consumer tech, not foundational research.
• Bridging these deficits will require a coordinated transformation, guided by a national strategy, anchored in political consensus and designed to provide long-term policy stability.
• That consensus is what India’s current approach lacks.

Parliament’s role

• Parliament’s role goes beyond regulation; it is the primary forum for signalling bipartisan political consensus .Yet, Parliament has remained extraneous to shaping national AI governance.
• Less than 1 per cent of questions are on AI and there is no dedicated institutional mechanism for oversight.
• In other leading democracies, legislative processes have built bipartisan support for AI strategies, ensured transparency, and aligned governance with public values.
• Without parliamentary anchoring, India’s AI governance risks remaining fragmented and vulnerable to administrative shifts.

Way forward

• The path forward is clear. India needs a Cabinet-endorsed National AI Strategy — presented to Parliament — that sets out a vision, an actionable roadmap, and mechanisms for democratic accountability.
• This strategy must establish an empowered coordinating authority with a whole-of-government mandate; align R&D, industrial policy, and security strategy, and create frameworks for public engagement and parliamentary oversight. AI is not just another technology.
• AI governance must be treated as a national strategic priority— grounded in democratic consensus — if India is to shape an AI future aligned with its national interests and global leadership aspirations.