Explain: Why India want medical colleges to lead the fight against rabies

Rabies kills thousands of worldwide every year, and India remains one of the worst hits. Now the center has asked medical colleges and hospitals to take the lead in prevention, supervision and awareness, with a nationwide richteline under the National Rabies Control Program (NRCP). In an extensive advice issued on September 16, 2025, the government, through the National Medical Commission (NMC) and the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MOHFW), ordered all medical colleges and institutions to lead the fight against these 100% deadly but preventable diseases. The move aims to strengthen the NRCP by focusing on training, the availability of medicine and the sharpening of supervision and the public’s awareness. Mint explains what the new guidelines mean for India’s long-term loading strategy for rabies. Why did the government issue this richtline? Reported dog bite cases rose from 2.2 million in 2022 to 3.05 million in 2023 and 3.7 million in 2024. In January 2025 alone, more than 400,000 cases were recorded. Human deaths have also increased, from 21 in 2022 to 54 in 2024, with one death reported in January 2025, according to the Fisheries, Animal Yellow and Dairy (MOFAHD). To counter this growing threat, the provisions were issued. The advice is part of the National Action Plan for dog-mediated rabies from the elimination by 2030 (Napre), a strategic goal launched jointly by the Mohfw and Mofahd. Medical colleges and institutions play an important role in ensuring timely case management, supervision and awareness of the community, which is all necessary to achieve this national goal. What is expected to do medical colleges and hospitals? The NMC has instructed institutions to: train staff and students on rabies management and post-exposure profilax (PEP) ensures that sustained supply of anti-mixing vaccine (ARV) and anti-rabic serum (ARS) keeps an exposure to animals (ABE). In OPDs, wards and emergency areas, why are supervision and reporting critical? Supervision and reporting are essential because it gives health authorities visibility in animals in real time and rabies. A dedicated Abe register and timely upload to the ihip-help detect outbreaks, flag areas and lead the spread of vaccines and serums. Without accurate data, the risk of prevention and response the risk is delayed or wrong. What does this mean for the pharmaceutical industry? The demand for vaccines and immunoglobulins will rise. Pharmaceutical businesses must strengthen their production capacity, secure critical raw materials and increase distribution to meet the increased need. This is in line with the strategic goals of companies such as Bharat Serums and Vaccines (BSV), which work to support India’s ‘zero at 30’ goal by providing this medicine to public and private health systems and hospitals. Zero by 30 is India’s commitment, under the WHO-led Global Initiative, by 2030 deaths for dog-mediated rabies, what of the Supreme Court decision on stray dogs? The recent decision of the Supreme Court of India over stray dog ​​management has undergone a significant change after facing protests from animal welfare groups such as Peta. Initially, a bank ordered a civilian bodies to limit all stray dogs in shelters without releasing them again. However, in a revised decision on August 22, 2025, a larger bank instructed that stray dogs should be sterilized and vaccinated and then re -released in their original areas. The new order was praised by animal welfare organizations as a human and scientifically supported approach to population control.