Is there any way to make MBProgressHud only active in one tab? Currently, as it runs in the highest view the tabs and rest of the UI are unresponsive.
Yes, there is - just add it to the root view controller of that tab.
Typically, that's a navigation controller, so you might do this:
[self.navigationController.view addSubview:self.myProgressHUD];
Or if you weren't using a navigation controller, add it directly to the view of your view controller being displayed in your tab.