The Hindu Editorial Analysis
2 December 2025
The New Action Plan on AMR Needs a Shot in the Arm
(Source – The Hindu, International Edition – Page No. – 8)
Topic : GS Paper II & III — Health, Governance, Environment, Science & Technology
Context
India’s National Action Plan on Antimicrobial Resistance (NAP-AMR 2.0) for 2025–29 has been released at a time when Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) has become one of the gravest One Health challenges — impacting human health, veterinary systems, agriculture, aquaculture, and the environment.
AMR leads to ineffective antibiotics, resistant infections, and cross-sectoral environmental contamination, demanding a coordinated national response.
1. Background – The First NAP (2017–2021)
- The first National Action Plan on AMR (2017) successfully brought the issue into national policy consciousness and promoted multi-sectoral participation.
- It developed surveillance networks and encouraged One Health integration (human, animal, environment).
- However, progress was uneven and limited, confined mainly to a few proactive states — Kerala, MP, Delhi, Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Sikkim, Punjab.
- Implementation gaps persisted due to fragmented responsibilities across ministries and absence of dedicated inter-sectoral coordination.
2. Why the First Plan Faltered
- Structural issues: Health administration, food regulation, veterinary oversight, and agriculture policy are controlled by different ministries.
- Lack of accountability: Weak cross-sectoral linkages, limited state-level monitoring.
- Low prioritisation: Despite growing resistance threats, most states lacked funds or institutional mechanisms for execution.
3. What’s New in NAP-AMR 2.0
- Moves from broad intent to implementation-oriented governance.
- Recognises private sector participation as essential — given their large role in healthcare delivery and antibiotics use.
- Emphasises innovation: rapid diagnostics, alternatives to antibiotics, and sustainable farming practices.
- Deepens One Health approach, integrating human, veterinary, agricultural, and environmental surveillance systems.
- Proposes NITI Aayog-led coordination through a National AMR Steering and Monitoring Committee.
4. Persistent Gaps and Challenges
- Implementation deficit: No mandatory state adoption or unified reporting system.
- Financial uncertainty: Funding dependent on ad hoc schemes like NHM, without assured state budgets.
- Weak enforcement: No penalties for antibiotic misuse, over-prescription, or sale without prescription.
- Surveillance gaps: Poor data integration across labs, veterinary, and environmental sectors.
5. Way Forward – Making NAP-AMR 2.0 Work
(a) Strengthen Governance
- Empower NITI Aayog to convene inter-ministerial coordination and review implementation.
- Establish State AMR Cells with dedicated staff, budgets, and annual reviews.
(b) Integrate Surveillance & Data
- Develop a national AMR dashboard linking hospitals, laboratories, farms, and aquaculture units.
- Adopt WHO’s GLASS (Global Antimicrobial Surveillance System) standards.
(c) Regulate Use Across Sectors
- Enforce prescription-only sale of antibiotics.
- Ban non-therapeutic antibiotic use in livestock and aquaculture.
(d) Foster Research and Innovation
- Promote rapid diagnostics, phage therapy, and new antibiotic molecules.
- Encourage public-private partnerships for R&D under the National Health Mission.
(e) Build Awareness and Behavioural Change
- Strengthen public campaigns on rational drug use.
- Include AMR modules in medical, veterinary, and pharmacy curricula.
Conclusion
“AMR is not just a health issue — it is a governance and development challenge.”
India’s NAP-AMR 2.0 represents a significant step forward, but success hinges on political will, state participation, and financing.
Only by institutionalising the One Health framework and integrating all stakeholders — from hospitals to farms — can India contain the silent pandemic of antimicrobial resistance and safeguard global health security.