The seeds of many positive changes were sown in 2017 and could bring news to cheer Indians in 2018. Here's a look at four positives. Renewed fight against TB: The government, in March 2017, increased its focus on tuberculosis (TB) -- a preventable, airborne infectious disease that killed 423,000 Indians in 2016 -- with the release of the National Strategic Plan for Elimination of Tuberculosis. The plan is to reduce the incidence of TB from 217 new cases per 100,000 in 2015 to fewer than 44 new cases by 2025. As part of this plan, funding for TB prevention and care doubled from $280 million in 2016 to $525 million in 2017.