The National Leprosy Control Programme (NLCP) was redesignated as National Leprosy Eradication Programme (NLEP) in 1982, by introducing a specialised form of treatment for leprosy known as Multi Drug Therapy (MDT) in a phased manner with 100 per cent Central assistance. The MDT aimed at early detection and treatment to prevent deformities, preventing the spread of leprosy by rendering all infectious cases as non-infectious and disseminating correct information about the disease to remove social stigma through systematic health education.