India, Feb. 26 -- Sometimes, policy does not shift loudly; it shifts decisively.

With the Union Budget 2026-27 committing to a national rollout of the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine for adolescent girls, India has signalled that cervical cancer prevention is no longer a peripheral agenda item, but a matter of political priority. After years of deliberation, technical endorsement, and incremental pilots, prevention has moved from advisory consensus to executive intent. The Union government is expected to launch a special nationwide HPV vaccination campaign this month for girls aged 14 years to combat cervical cancer.

For decades, India has lived with a contradiction it could not justify. The science to prevent cervical cancer existed...