The National Institute of Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases (NITRD), located in New Delhi, India, is an autonomous institute under the Ministry of Health & Family Welfare. Established in 1956 as a TB hospital, it was upgraded to an institute in 1991 and attained national status in 2013.
NITRD serves as the apex institute in India for the prevention, control, and treatment of tuberculosis and allied diseases. It promotes the National Tuberculosis Control Programme by formulating socially acceptable and economically feasible strategies. The institute also provides facilities for training, teaching, and research activities to support these objectives.
The institute operates a 470-bed hospital and a state-of-the-art outpatient department that averages 500 patients daily. It also offers outreach facilities, providing diagnostics and treatment to TB patients at their doorstep through the Revised National Tuberculosis Control Programme (RNTCP).
NITRD comprises various departments, including Hospital Administration, Anaesthesia, Biochemistry, Epidemiology and Public Health, Internal Medicine, Microbiology, Molecular Medicine, Paediatrics, Pathology, Physiology PFT, Respiratory Critical Care, Thoracic Oncology, TB and Respiratory Diseases, TB Control and Training, Thoracic Surgery and Surgical Anatomy, and Pulmonary Rehabilitation. Additionally, it houses specialized centers like the Anti-Retroviral Therapy Centre, Integrated Counseling and Testing Centre, Dr. RC Jain Thoracic Surgery Center, and a Yoga Centre.
The institute is actively involved in academics and research, offering Diplomate of National Board (DNB) courses, residency programs, post-doctoral fellowships, short-term training, and conducting workshops and conferences. The institute has been instrumental in piloting the Programmatic Management of Drug-Resistant Tuberculosis (PMDT), leading to the development of national strategies for managing drug-resistant tuberculosis. Through its multidisciplinary and cost-effective approach, NITRD continues to play a pivotal role in the control and prevention of tuberculosis and respiratory diseases in India.
