India’s leprosy programme is falling short of several projections set for 2025-26. The country reported 91,783 new leprosy cases in 2025-26, 41.2% higher than the projected 65,000. New cases among children were 91.6% above the projection while the rate of Grade 2 Disability (G2D) among new cases was 1.34 per million, against a projected one per million.
But the burden remains concentrated geographically. G2D was also concentrated in a few States/UTs. India’s national prevalence rate was 0.56 cases per 10,000 population at the end of March 2026, below the elimination target of a prevalence rate below one case per 10,000. Chhattisgarh had the highest prevalence among States/UTs at 1.66 cases per 10,000 population, followed by Jharkhand (1.51), Chandigarh (1.49), Odisha (1.25) and Maharashtra (1.14). Chandigarh, Delhi, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand and Odisha together accounted for 42.5% of the 1,945 G2D cases reported in 2025-26. Chandigarh recorded the highest rate at 13.54 per million, followed by Delhi (11.53) and Chhattisgarh (7.87).
