Parliament Question: Manodarpan Initiative, Student Suicides and Mental Health Outcomes

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF EDUCATION DEPARTMENT OF SCHOOL EDUCATION & LITERACY LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 3866 ANSWERED ON 16.03.2026 Manodarpan Initiative, Student Suicides and Mental Health Outcomes 3866. Shri Rahul Kaswan: Will the Minister of EDUCATION be pleased to state: (a) whether the Government collects outcome data on the effectiveness of Manodarpan Initiative in improving student mental health, if so, the details of the latest findings including number assessed, improved or referred for clinical care; (b) whether trends in student suicide attempts and deaths have been analysed in relation to Manodarpan services, if so, the details thereof, year-wise and State/UT-wise; (c) the number, qualifications, training and student ratios of counsellors under the said initiative in the country, States/UTs-wise; (d) whether any standard follow-up, referral or outcome evaluation mechanisms exist for students receiving counselling, if so, the details thereof; and (e) the details of disaggregated data by age, gender, educational stage and region of beneficiaries of tele-counselling or other Manodarpan services? ANSWER MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF EDUCATION (SHRI JAYANT CHAUDHARY) (a) to (e): The Manodarpan initiative was launched under the Atma Nirbhar Bharat Package to provide psychosocial support to students, families and teachers across the country during the COVID-19 pandemic through a toll-free national tele-helpline (844-844-0632) wherein trained counsellors would provide guidance to callers. Over the years, Manodarpan’s services were expanded in a graded manner to make it comprehensive through offerings such as Sahyog and Paricharcha- live interactive series telecast on PM e-Vidya channels, survey on mental health and well-being of students and resource material for early identification and intervention available at https://manodarpan.education.gov.in/index.html, state consultative meets and capacity building workshops for guidance functionaries, and awareness generation activities in schools. The Manodarpan Cell in NCERT undertakes regular analysis of specific components of the initiative through academic and educational research. This includes analysis of data from the Manodarpan toll-free tele-helpline to understand the nature of psychosocial concerns reported by students and trends over time, as well as assessment of participation and viewership trends of live interactive sessions such as Sahyog and Paricharcha. Further, a study has also been undertaken on the perception of stakeholders regarding live interactive sessions under the Manodarpan initiative, focusing on relevance, content and outreach for enhancing coverage and planning of future livesessions besides informing future programmes and initiatives such as State Consultative Meets, National Summit of School counsellors and development of resource and advocacy materials. Given the phased expansion of its services and the evolving nature of psychosocial concerns during and after the pandemic, the initiative is presently at a stage where evidence generation, thematic studies and programme monitoring are used in a continuous manner to inform future planning and strengthening of services rather than undertaking a single summative impact evaluation. As on 10.03.2026, 3,32,877 calls have been received from different regions of the country through the Manodarpan helpline indicating broad based utilisation of the service by the target population. The tele-helpline services have received multiple calls regarding suicidal ideations which were addressed professionally and duly brought to notice of relevant authorities for crisis intervention. A total of 69 tele-counsellors operating across India are presently engaged in the IVRS toll-free tele-helpline services, providing voluntary and free tele-counselling support to stakeholders in need. The qualification of counselors includes an MA/ MSc in Psychology/ Social Work/ Education/ Human Development along with a Diploma in Guidance and Counselling, and a minimum of two years of experience in counselling school and college students. The tele- counsellors are screened and shortlisted through a selection process conducted by a designated screening committee. After their engagement in the tele-helpline services, they are also provided with training to effectively extend support and assistance to callers. Capacity building sessions are periodically organised for the tele-helpline counsellors, based on the concerns received on the helpline Age, educational stage, and region of beneficiaries of Manodarpan’s tele-counselling services are at Annexure. *****Annexure ANNEXURE REFERRED TO IN REPLY TO PARTS (A) TO (E) OF LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 3866 FOR 16.03.2026 RAISED BY SHRI RAHUL KASWAN, HON’BLE MP REGARDING MANODARPAN INITIATIVE, STUDENT SUICIDES AND MENTAL HEALTH OUTCOMES. Grade-wise Distribution of beneficiaries of IVRS Tele-counselling Class Percentage 1-2 1.33 3-5 3.72 6-8 69.10 9-12 25.85 State-wise Distribution of beneficiaries of IVRS Tele-counselling State Percent Andhra Pradesh 0.92 Arunachal Pradesh 0.58 Assam 4.42 Bihar 8.84 Chhattisgarh 2.42 Delhi 14.68 Dadra and Nagar Haveli 0.42 Gujarat 1.50 Goa 0.25 Himachal Pradesh 0.58 Haryana 3.00 Jharkhand 4.17 Jammu & Kashmir 0.08 Kerala 0.50 Karnataka 1.59 Maharashtra 5.50 Meghalaya 0.50 Manipur 0.17 Madhya Pradesh 5.09 Mizoram 0.33 Nagaland 1.17 Odisha 4.67 Punjab 2.25 Rajasthan 3.00 Sikkim 0.08 Telangana 1.92 Tamil Nadu 0.08 Tripura 2.59 Uttarakhand 0.67 Uttar Pradesh 24.94 West Bengal 3.09 Total 100.00 *****