GUIDE / IDSP
IDSP: Integrated Disease Surveillance Programme Explained
IDSP, the Integrated Disease Surveillance Programme, is India's national system for spotting and responding to epidemic-prone diseases early. Here is its history, structure, labs, performance figures and how it now runs on IHIP.
- Full form
- Integrated Disease Surveillance Programme (earlier "Project")
- Launched
- November 2004, with World Bank assistance
- Run by
- NCDC, Delhi, where the Central Surveillance Unit sits
- Structure
- CSU (national), SSU (state), DSU (district)
- Reporting platform
- IHIP, phase-wise from October 2021
- Labs
- 441 DPHLs approved; 163 State Referral Labs sanctioned (NCDC)
IDSP full form: Integrated Disease Surveillance Programme (एकीकृत रोग निगरानी कार्यक्रम). Older documents call it the Integrated Disease Surveillance Project, from the years when it was a World Bank assisted project. In medical and public health use, IDSP means this national surveillance programme run by the National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) under the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.
If you work in a sub-centre, PHC, hospital or lab, you are part of IDSP whenever you fill an S, P or L form. This page explains the programme behind those forms: why it was set up, how it is organised, what its labs and media cell do, how well states report, and how it moved onto the Integrated Health Information Platform (IHIP). It is an independent explainer, not an official NCDC page.
History: from project to programme
The old IDSP about page gives the timeline:
| Period | What happened |
|---|---|
| November 2004 | IDSP launched with World Bank assistance |
| July 2008 | Media Scanning and Verification Cell (MSVC) set up |
| April 2010 to March 2012 | Project extended: World Bank funds for the CSU and 9 states; 26 states/UTs on domestic budget |
| 2012 to 2017 (12th Plan) | Continued under the National Health Mission with a domestic budget |
| December 2016 | Re-prioritisation identified 33 priority health conditions (NCDC newsletter 2023) |
| 5 April 2021 | IHIP launched as the next generation version of IDSP (PIB) |
| October 2021 to 2023 | IDSP reporting moved to IHIP phase-wise; last states migrated in 2023 |
The full story of the platform change is on IHIP vs the old IDSP portal.
Objective in NCDC's own words
NCDC states the objective as: "To strengthen/maintain decentralized laboratory based IT enabled disease surveillance system for epidemic prone diseases to monitor disease trends and to detect and respond to outbreaks in early rising phase through trained Rapid Response Team (RRTs)".
Broken into plain parts, that means:
- Decentralised: surveillance happens in every district, not only in Delhi.
- Laboratory based: cases are confirmed by labs, not just reported by symptoms.
- IT enabled: data move electronically, now through IHIP.
- Epidemic-prone diseases: the focus is diseases that can spread quickly.
- Early rising phase: the aim is to catch outbreaks before they peak.
- Trained RRTs: Rapid Response Teams investigate and control outbreaks.
हिंदी में सारांश
आईडीएसपी (IDSP) का पूरा नाम इंटीग्रेटेड डिज़ीज़ सर्विलांस प्रोग्राम (एकीकृत रोग निगरानी कार्यक्रम) है। इसे नवंबर 2004 में विश्व बैंक की सहायता से शुरू किया गया था और यह NCDC, दिल्ली द्वारा चलाया जाता है। इसका उद्देश्य महामारी फैलाने वाले रोगों के रुझान पर नज़र रखना और प्रशिक्षित रैपिड रिस्पॉन्स टीम के ज़रिए प्रकोप को शुरुआती दौर में पकड़ना है। इसकी तीन स्तर की इकाइयाँ हैं: केंद्रीय निगरानी इकाई (CSU), राज्य निगरानी इकाई (SSU) और जिला निगरानी इकाई (DSU)। NCDC के अनुसार 441 जिला सार्वजनिक स्वास्थ्य प्रयोगशालाएँ स्वीकृत हैं। अक्टूबर 2021 से IDSP की रिपोर्टिंग चरणबद्ध तरीके से आईएचआईपी (IHIP) पोर्टल पर आ गई है। यह एक स्वतंत्र गाइड है, सरकारी वेबसाइट नहीं।
Components and structure
NCDC lists these programme components:
- Surveillance units at the Centre (Central Surveillance Unit, CSU, at NCDC Delhi), in each State (SSU) and in each District (DSU).
- Human resources and training.
- Information and communication technology.
- Laboratory strengthening.
- Inter-sectoral coordination for zoonoses (diseases shared between animals and people).
The DSU is where most day-to-day work happens. Under the 2008 training module (historical staffing), it had a District Surveillance Officer, two data entry operators, an accountant and Class IV staff. Who does what on today's platform, from the sub-centre to the CSU, is set out in IHIP user roles.
How IDSP collects data: S, P and L
IDSP collects reports at three levels of certainty, each with its own form:
- S (Suspected Cases): filled by health workers, based on symptoms (syndromic surveillance).
- P (Presumptive Cases): filled by clinicians, based on history and clinical examination.
- L (laboratory Confirmed Cases): filled by lab staff after a positive test.
The older paper system also had Form W, the "Reporting Format for Water Quality Monitoring". The reporting week runs Monday to Sunday. For a side-by-side comparison, read S, P and L forms explained. IDSP uses standard case definitions and trigger levels for each disease, described in the IDSP training Module 5. The conditions covered are discussed on IDSP diseases list.
Labs, IT network and media scanning
Laboratories: NCDC reports 441 District Public Health Laboratories approved in 36 States/UTs and 163 State Referral Labs sanctioned in 27 States/UTs.
IT network (historical): the earlier IDSP IT network linked 776 sites through NIC and ISRO. Today, data entry happens on IHIP, which NCDC says has more than 250,000 reporting units.
Media Scanning and Verification Cell: set up in July 2008, the MSVC, as its name suggests, scans media for reports of disease events so they can be verified. NCDC says 15,746 media alerts had been scanned up to 31 August 2026.
Call centre (historical): the old paramedical training manual described a 24x7 call centre on toll-free number 1075 for disease alerts. That number is now widely used as the national health helpline, and we could not verify that IDSP still runs it. The IHIP portal helpdesk in the manuals is a separate, technical line.
Reporting performance and outbreaks
NCDC publishes reporting rates for the IDSP-IHIP network. For 1 April 2025 to 31 March 2026:
| Form | Reporting rate | Reporting units in 2025 | Share that reported |
|---|---|---|---|
| S | 78.31% | 184,895 | 77% |
| P | 82.01% | 43,180 | 81% |
| L | 83.40% | 36,414 | 82% |
Outbreaks reported per year, also from NCDC: 554 (2020), 728 (2021), 1,027 (2022), 1,862 (2023), 3,020 (2024), 2,285 (2025) and 1,103 in 2026 up to week 27. NCDC says about 40 outbreaks reach the CSU each week. The rise after 2021 coincides with the move to IHIP; we cannot say from the sources how much of it reflects better reporting rather than more disease. Details on triggers and the Weekly Outbreak Report are in outbreak reporting in IDSP.
The IDSP website today
The current official IDSP website is idsp.mohfw.gov.in. Its menus include Information Technology, Laboratory, Human Resource and Training, Media Scanning and Verification, Outbreaks, Data Management, Budget and Finance, and Resources. Old pages and training material sit under a /WriteReadData/OldSite/ path, which is where the 2008 forms and modules come from.
Data entry is not on that website: it happens on the official IHIP portal at ihip.mohfw.gov.in/idsp. This guide has no login. Ask your DSU for your ID and never share your password.
Frequently asked questions
What is the full form of IDSP?
IDSP stands for Integrated Disease Surveillance Programme. Older documents use Integrated Disease Surveillance Project, because it began in November 2004 as a World Bank assisted project. It is run by the National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) under the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.
What is the IDSP full form in medical terms?
In medicine and public health, IDSP is the Integrated Disease Surveillance Programme, India's national system for detecting and responding early to outbreaks of epidemic-prone diseases. Medical officers take part by filling the P form for presumptive cases, and labs fill the L form for confirmed cases.
When was IDSP launched?
IDSP was launched in November 2004 with World Bank assistance. It was extended from April 2010 to March 2012, and from the 12th Plan (2012 to 2017) it continued under the National Health Mission with a domestic budget. Its reporting moved to IHIP phase-wise from October 2021.
What is the IDSP portal now?
IDSP data entry now happens on the Integrated Health Information Platform, at ihip.mohfw.gov.in/idsp, which is why it is often called the IDSP-IHIP portal. The separate IDSP website, idsp.mohfw.gov.in, holds information, reports and older resources. This guide is independent and has no login of its own.
What are CSU, SSU and DSU in IDSP?
They are the three levels of surveillance units. The Central Surveillance Unit (CSU) sits at NCDC in Delhi, a State Surveillance Unit (SSU) works in each state under the state health department, and a District Surveillance Unit (DSU), headed by the District Surveillance Officer, works in each district.
What is the objective of IDSP?
NCDC describes it as strengthening a decentralised, laboratory based, IT enabled surveillance system for epidemic-prone diseases, to monitor disease trends and to detect and respond to outbreaks in the early rising phase through trained Rapid Response Teams. In short: find outbreaks early and act quickly.
Sources: IDSP about page (old site) · NCDC Newsletter Vol 12 Issue 4 (Oct to Dec 2023) · PIB release on IHIP launch, 5 April 2021 (copy) · IDSP Form Guidelines (2008, historical) · IDSP Paramedical training manual (historical). Checked 16 October 2026. Portals and manuals change: confirm on the official site or with your district surveillance unit.