India has achieved remarkable success in reducing the malaria burden, but challenges remain to achieve the target of zero indigenous malaria cases by 2027 towards the final goal of total elimination of the disease by 2030. Following an 80.5% reduction in malaria cases and a 78.3% reduction in deaths between 2015 and 2023, and with over 122 districts reporting zero cases last year, India is no longer on the World Health Organisation's list of the top 11 countries with a high malaria burden. Overcoming the challenges in difficult areas like the India-Bhutan border with a high prevalence of malaria will be crucial for the country to stay on course. The India-Bhutan bilateral meeting with parliamentarians and the National Malaria Program for cross-border malaria elimination held in January reviewed the current status of the cross-border malaria situation following the reported upsurge of malaria cases along border districts. The meeting underscored the need for taking necessary actions to prevent future outbreaks and accelerate malaria elimination along the international border areas. Cross-border movement of people for trade, commerce, and tourism keeps alive the risk of asymptomatic malaria patients carrying the disease across the borders. Intensified, coordinated and joint surveillance by both the countries along the border districts is essential to prevent a rise in imported cases. Achieving zero indigenous cases alone in these areas will not ensure total elimination if imported cases remain undetected. Awareness drives reaching remote and difficult areas with inadequate healthcare services are crucial to overcoming the key challenges. Regular screening of the migrant population along the border districts through health camps organised in remote and difficult-to-reach areas needs collaboration of health departments in both countries. Collaboration in research by health experts in both countries needs adequate funding support to make scientific breakthroughs for timely intervention so that targets of malaria elimination programmes are not missed. Real-time data sharing plays a crucial role in undertaking focused intervention through awareness of preventing the spread of the disease by mandatory use of mosquito nets and ensuring that patients get easy access to medicines and are aware of the importance of following the prescribed doses and treatment so that they do not become resistant to malarial drugs. Strictly adhering to the ‘3T’ approach (Testing, Treating, and Tracking) for enhanced surveillance and prompt case management as envisaged in the National Strategic Plan (NSP) for Malaria Elimination (2023-2027) requires deployment of healthcare personnel in strategic areas in adequate strength. Capacity building of local healthcare personnel through training in malaria management requires adequate funding and logistics support. Security forces deployed along international borders can play a crucial role in providing support to healthcare personnel to reach out to remote and difficult areas for surveillance, testing and treatment of malaria. Spraying insecticide and distribution of Long-Lasting Insecticidal Nets (LLINs) significantly curtail mosquito populations and disrupt the transmission cycle, and therefore, the communities in areas with high prevalence being aware of it is critical to achieving the desired success. One of the key strategic approaches included that elimination efforts will require strengthening of the programme implementations at all levels, that is, from village to the centre. Other areas that will need strengthening will be seamless flow of data, multisectoral coordination, adequate resources, including human resources and drugs and diagnostics to sustain malaria elimination and prevent re-introduction. The strategy also envisages providing an enabling environment by capacity building of all the cadres of health workers. It emphasises that elimination and attainment of malaria-free status will require cross-border collaboration at international, interstate and inter-district borders and that high-level advocacy will ensure the mobilisation of resources at all levels. With the monsoon season approaching, intensifying the malaria prevention drive needs an administrative push in Assam. The risk of malaria outbreak increases due to stagnation of water in flooded areas. Building awareness among the people in flood-prone areas to remain protected from mosquito bites by regularly using mosquito nets and maintaining hygiene ahead of flood season needs to be intensified. Apart from awareness campaigns run through legacy media, innovative use of social media with attractive multimedia creatives can raise the awareness level in the community. Deployment of mobile medical units, improvement of healthcare services, and intensified awareness campaigns have led to Assam achieving remarkable success in reducing the malaria burden in tea garden areas, but there is no room for complacency. Any upsurge will negate years of achievement as the possibility of migration of people from high-burden areas like districts along the India-Bhutan border to different places in the state, including tea garden areas, in search of livelihoods. Transforming malaria surveillance as a core intervention of malaria elimination, which is the primary strategy in the NSP, envisages that surveillance must not be lowered even in areas with zero cases. Surveillance needs a stronger policy push in Assam so that the state can play its crucial role for a malaria-free India by 2030.