NRCP, ABC and Emerging One Health Models
India’s “Zero by 30” strategy isn’t just a goal; it’s an operational framework. Through the National Rabies Control Programme and One Health models, India is finally uniting human medicine and animal welfare to break the cycle of transmission for good.
India is not starting from zero. Over the last decade, the country has built a dual architecture for rabies control: a human‑health pillar under the National Rabies Control Programme (NRCP) and a dog‑side pillar under Animal Birth Control (ABC) and related initiatives, increasingly wrapped inside a One Health policy frame.
NRCP and NAPRE: the human‑health backbone
The National Rabies Control Programme (NRCP) grew out of a pilot in five cities (Delhi, Ahmedabad, Pune, Bengaluru, Madurai) run by NCDC between 2008 and 2012. Lessons from that pilot fed into nationwide rollout during the 12th Five‑Year Plan and subsequent years. NRCP’s core human‑health components include:
- Free post‑exposure prophylaxis (PEP) in government facilities, with strong promotion of intradermal vaccination to reduce per‑patient vaccine volume and cost.
- Training of healthcare workers in integrated bite management – wound washing, WHO exposure categorisation, correct vaccine scheduling, and indications for rabies immunoglobulin (RIG).
- Strengthening of surveillance, often integrated with IDSP (Integrated Disease Surveillance Programme), including model anti‑rabies clinics at district hospitals.
- Information, education and communication (IEC) campaigns on bite prevention and PEP.
The National Action Plan for Dog‑Mediated Rabies Elimination (NAPRE), launched in 2021, then set the strategic frame: eliminate dog‑mediated human rabies by 2030 using a One Health approach, with explicit targets for human PEP access, mass dog vaccination and intersectoral coordination.
A 2025 policy review in a leading public‑health journal concluded that India has “substantially reduced” estimated rabies deaths over two decades, now likely below 6,000 per year, but emphasised that sustained investment and better surveillance are needed to reach “Zero by 30”.
ABC and stray‑dog management: scaling a humane, legal model
On the animal side, the Animal Birth Control (ABC) programme – now codified under the ABC Rules, 2023 – is India’s primary tool for managing free‑roaming dog populations and reducing rabies risk. Key features:
- CNVR as default: catch, sterilise, vaccinate, ear‑notch and return to the same locality, except for rabid/terminally ill dogs.
- Prohibition of culling and arbitrary relocation, consistent with earlier Supreme Court jurisprudence.
- Central support for per‑dog sterilisation costs, infrastructure grants for veterinary hospitals and ABC centres, and guidelines for humane catching, holding and surgery.
Cities like Chennai and Jaipur report 30–40% reductions in dog‑bite incidents after sustained ABC and dog vaccination, though data quality varies. Delhi, as discussed in Section 6, has ABC infrastructure but at a scale still inadequate for its estimated 6–8 lakh strays.
Mission Rabies, Rabies‑Free Cities and One Health pilots
Beyond core government schemes, several flagship pilots are pushing integrated, data‑driven approaches:
- Mission Rabies – Goa and beyond: Since 2013, Mission Rabies and Goa’s animal‑husbandry and health departments have vaccinated tens of thousands of dogs annually, combined with school education and 24/7 helplines, achieving zero human rabies deaths in Goa for multiple consecutive years and earning “Rabies Controlled Area” status in 2021.
- Rabies‑Free Cities initiative (NCDC): Pilots in select urban areas focus on mass dog vaccination, rapid bite‑management and digital surveillance platforms for tracking cases and vaccine stocks.
- State‑level NRCP/One Health pilots (e.g., Odisha): recent “Action Taken Reports” describe dog censuses, GIS‑mapping of bite hotspots, >70% dog‑vaccination drives, and model anti‑rabies clinics, all framed as steps towards 2030 elimination.
A 2025 national review summarised the opportunity succinctly: India now has a functioning operational backbone (NRCP), a One Health policy framework (NAPRE), and proven state‑level success models (Goa, Sikkim, parts of Kerala and Tamil Nadu), but has yet to scale these uniformly across high‑burden northern and central states.
–Dharan shah
