PATNA: State health minister Mangal Pandey on Sunday sought the support of International Union against TB and lung diseases (IUTLD) and World Lung Health (WLH) Conference in eradicating TB from India by 2025.Addressing the concluding session of the 49th WLHC at The Hague in the Netherlands, Pandey said India was committed to eradicating TB from the country by 2025. However, it would require the support of all the stakeholders concerned, as the Indian government had been pursuing the mission as part of its public health policy, Pandey said.Representatives of 137 countries participated in the conference. Pandey also appealed to them to contribute to the Indian government’s endeavours in the eradication of TB and stressed on concerted efforts towards tobacco control as its consumption was a major cause of TB in India. He also invited the members to participate in the next annual conference to be held in Hyderabad next year.Later, Pandey also called on the president of International Union against TB and Lung Diseases, Dr Jeremiah Chakaya Muhawa, and also presented before him the efforts being made in India for the eradication of TB.In between, executive director of Socio Economic and Educational Development Society (SEEDS) Deepak Mishra, who accompanied Pandey to The Hague conference, apprised the member countries of the new strides made in tobacco control both in India and Bihar With respect to Bihar, he said people of the state had responded favourably to the tobacco control campaign and other measures.He told them that 53.5% of people of Bihar had been consuming tobacco and related products around 2011, but their number had come down drastically to 25.9%. It, in turn, had also affected the sale of tobacco and related products in various forms in the state, Mishra said.Mishra also had an interactive session with the Indian diaspora in the Netherlands, when he learnt about the political and cultural aspects of the life in the host country. The Indian diaspora also praised Indian government’s measures taken to eradicate TB by bringing down the consumption of tobacco in its various forms.