When and how is gestational diabetes screening done in India?
In short
- India's public antenatal care screens every pregnant woman for gestational diabetes.
- You don't need to fast. You drink a glucose drink, then your blood sugar is checked 2 hours later.
- 140 mg/dL or higher, at 2 hours, counts as gestational diabetes.
- Your doctor will tell you when to repeat it, and what your result means.
What happens
- The test can be offered at any antenatal visit, including at Pradhan Mantri Surakshit Matritva Abhiyan (PMSMA) sites, India's free monthly check-up days.
- You drink 75g of glucose in about 300ml of water, whether or not you've eaten, and your blood sugar is checked once, 2 hours later.
- If your result is high, your provider explains the next steps for managing gestational diabetes.
The details: numbers and where they differ
In the source's own words
Single step testing using 75 gm oral glucose & measuring blood sugar 2 hours after ingestion. 75 gm glucose is to be given orally after dissolving in approximately 300 ml water whether the pregnant women comes in fasting or non-fasting state, irrespective of the last meal. The intake of the solution has to be completed within 5-10 minutes. ... The threshold blood sugar level of ≥140 mg/dL (more than or equal to 140) is taken as cut off for diagnosis of GDM.
Ministry of Health & Family Welfare, Govt of India (National Health Mission), Diagnosis & Management of Gestational Diabetes Mellitus — Technical and Operational Guidelines (2018). Quoted verbatim.
OGTT of all pregnant women should be done at Pradhan Mantri Surakshit Matritva Abhiyan (PMSMA) sites as per protocol.
Ministry of Health & Family Welfare, Govt of India (National Health Mission), Diagnosis & Management of Gestational Diabetes Mellitus — Technical and Operational Guidelines (2018). Quoted verbatim.
The numbers
| Measure | Value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| 75g OGTT, 2-hour blood sugar (India's single-step test) (pregnant women, any trimester, fasting or non-fasting, India) | ≥140 mg/dL | Ministry of Health & Family Welfare, Govt of India (National Health Mission) |
When to call your doctor
- If you haven't been offered this test at your antenatal visits and aren't sure whether you've been screened.
- If your result is 140 mg/dL or higher and you don't have a follow-up plan.
Discuss your results with your doctor: this page reports what these sources say, not advice for your situation.
Sources
- Ministry of Health & Family Welfare, Govt of India (National Health Mission), Diagnosis & Management of Gestational Diabetes Mellitus — Technical and Operational Guidelines (2018), 2018. Quoted verbatim. © Govt of India; page 4 grants free reproduction/quotation with attribution.
- Ministry of Health & Family Welfare, Govt of India (National Health Mission), Diagnosis & Management of Gestational Diabetes Mellitus — Technical and Operational Guidelines (2018), 2018. Quoted verbatim. © Govt of India; page 4 grants free reproduction/quotation with attribution.
Sources checked 2026-09-26. How we source and check every page.
Educational summary of named sources, not medical advice.