The problem of drug resistance in tuberculosis is said to be on the increase in developing countries. This could adversely affect control measures. A knowledge of the prevalence and pattern of drug resistance would be of great help to the programme planners for purposes of monitoring and future planning. Hence, a survey on initial drug resistance to anti-TB drugs, as it occurs under programme conditions, was conducted in the urban situation of Bangalore and rural area of Kolar district. The proportion of Initial Drug Resistance (IDR) to anti tuberculosis drugs was estimated among new patients attending Bangalore (urban) and Kolar (rural) District Tuberculosis Programmes (DTPs). The sputum samples were collected from all newly diagnosed patients in this area and subjected for culture and drug sensitivity tests. It was observed that IDR to any drug was 34.9% (Isoniazid 32.87% and Rifampicin 4.4%) among Kolar patients. Among Bangalore patients, IDR was 20.57% (Isoniazid 17.35% and Rifampicin 2.89%). Combined resistance to isoniazid and rifampicin was 1.36% in urban DTC and 3.42% in rural DTP. With the introduction of Short Course Chemotherapy in DTP, combined resistance to isoniazid and rifampicin assumes paramount importance and needs to be monitored continuously.