Relevance: GS II – Health; GS III – Science & Tech, Environment • 

Source: PIB (MoHFW), WHO AMR Reports

India launched the National Action Plan on AMR 2.0 (2025–30) to expand One-Health surveillance, regulate antibiotic use and curb drug-resistant infections. The plan scales up the earlier 2017 NAP and aligns with the WHO Global Action Plan on AMR.

What is Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR)?

AMR is the ability of microbes to resist medicines, making common infections harder to treat.

  • WHO estimates 4.95 million AMR-linked deaths globally (2022).
  • India reports rising resistance to carbapenems (last-line antibiotics), especially in Klebsiella and Acinetobacter strains.
  • A 2021 ICMR-AMR surveillance report showed >50% resistance to cephalosporins in several pathogens.

AMR spreads across humans, animals, food systems and the environment.

Key Features of NAP-AMR 2.0

  • Strengthened One-Health surveillance across hospitals, veterinary settings, food chains and wastewater.
  • Improved Infection Prevention and Control (IPC) standards in health facilities.
  • Antibiotic stewardship in human and veterinary medicine.
  • Expansion of reference laboratories, genomic surveillance and AMR research.
  • Better waste management in pharma and hospital sectors.

4. Challenges & Way Forward 

Challenges

Way Forward

High antibiotic misuse in humans & livestock; OTC salesEnforce prescription-only antibiotics; pharmacy audits
Poor data from animal, food & wastewater sectorsBuild integrated One-Health AMR reporting platforms
Environmental contamination from pharma effluentsStronger CPCB norms, monitoring & penalties
Low public awareness; self-medicationBehaviour-change campaigns; training frontline workers
Slow progress in new antimicrobialsIncentivise R&D; expand public-private research programmes

Prelims Practice Question

Q. Consider the following statements about AMR:

  1. AMR can spread even through environmental pathways such as wastewater and soil.
  2. Under India’s National Action Plan on AMR 2.0, surveillance is restricted only to human health systems.

Which of the statements is/are correct?
 A. Only 1      B. Only 2 

C. Both         D. None

Answer: A
 (Statement 2 is incorrect — NAP-AMR 2.0 follows a One-Health approach covering humans, animals, food and environment.)

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