Parliament Question: Mental Health Challenges

GOVERNMENTOFINDIA MINISTRYOFHEALTH AND FAMILYWELFARE DEPARTMENTOFHEALTH AND FAMILYWELFARE LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 2119 TO BE ANSWERED ON31ST JULY,2026 MENTALHEALTH CHALLENGES 2119. DR. PRABHAMALLIKARJUN: Will the Minister of HEALTHANDFAMILYWELFAREbe pleasedtostate: (a) whether the Government has undertaken any assessment of mental health challenges, healthcare accessibility gaps and emerging public health threats across the country, if so, the detailsthereof; (b) the details of mental health institutions, District Mental Health Programme (DMHP) coverage andhealthcare infrastructure createdduring the last five years, year-wise; (c) whether the Government has evaluated the adequacy of healthcare facilities and specialist services available inrural andunderserved regions, if so, the detailsthereof; (d) the measures being taken by the Government to strengthen mental healthcare, rural healthcareinfrastructure andpreparedness against emerging healththreats; and (e) whether any new healthcare infrastructure, mental health services or public health programmes have been sanctioned for Karnataka, particularly in Davanagere district and if so, the detailsthereof? ANSWER THE MINISTER OFSTATE IN THE MINISTRYOFHEALTH AND FAMILYWELFARE (SHRIPRATAPRAO JADHAV) (a) to (e) As per the National Mental Health Survey conducted by the Government through National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences (NIMHANS), Bangalore in 12 States of the country, the prevalence of mental disorders including common mental disorders, severe mental disorders, and alcohol and substance use disorders (excluding tobacco use disorder) in adults over the age of 18 years is about 10.6%. The treatment gap for mental disorders ranged between70% to92% for different disorders. To address the burdenof mentaldisorders, the Government of India isimplementing the National Mental Health Programme (NMHP) in the country. The District Mental Health Programme (DMHP) component of the NMHPhas beensanctioned for implementationin 692, 716,743,767 and 767 districts during the last five years for which support is provided to States/UTs throughthe National Health Mission. Facilities made available under DMHP at the Community Health Centre (CHC) and Primary Health Centre (PHC) levels for all including elderly, inter- alia, include outpatientservices, assessment, counselling/ psycho-social interventions, continuingcare and support to persons with severe mental disorders, drugs, outreach services, ambulance services etc. In addition to above services there is a provision of 10 bedded in-patient facility at the District level. Under the tertiary care component of NMHP, under Manpower Development Scheme-A, 25 Centres of Excellence (list enclosed at Annexure-I) have been sanctioned to increase the intake of students in PG departments in mental health specialities as well as to provide tertiary level treatment facilities. Further, the Government has also supported 19 Government medical colleges/institutions (list enclosed at Annexure-II) to strengthen 47 PG Departments in mental healthspecialties underManpower DevelopmentScheme-B. The Government is also taking steps to strengthen mental healthcare services at primary healthcare level. The Government has upgraded more than 1.8 lakh Sub Health Centres (SHCs) and Primary Health Centres (PHCs) to Ayushman Arogya Mandirs. Mental health services have been added in the packages of services under Comprehensive Primary Health Care provided at these Ayushman ArogyaMandirs. Operational guidelinesandtrainingmanualsfor variouscadres on Mental, Neurological, and Substance Use Disorders (MNS) at Ayushman Arogya Mandirs have beenreleasedunderthe ambitof AyushmanBharat. The details of health resources functioning in the country across all the States/ UTs with available resources, can be accessed at the following link of HDI 2023-24: https://www.mohfw- dohfw.gov.in/static/uploads/2026/05/57202cf30629539e4d0fb0a2f700ac62.pdf. Besides the above, The Government has launched a “National Tele Mental Health Programme” (NTMHP) on 10th October, 2022, that functions as the digital arm of the District Mental Health Programme to provide universal access to equitable, accessible, affordable and quality mental health care through 24 x 7 tele-mental health counselling services. For this, a toll-free number (14416) hasbeenset upacross the country. As on 27.07.2026, 36 States/ UTs have set up 53 Tele MANAS Cells. Tele-MANAS services are available in20 languages based on language opted byStates. More than 42lakhs callshave been handledonthe helpline number. The Government has also launched Tele MANAS Mobile Application on the occasion of World Mental Health Day - October 10, 2024. Tele-MANAS Mobile Application is a comprehensive mobile platform that has been developed to provide support for mental health issues ranging from wellbeing to mental disorders. The Government has also launched the video consultation facilityunderTele-MANAS, asanotherupgrade tothe already existing audiocallingfacility. ****ANNEXURE - I SCHEME–A: CENTRES OFEXCELLENCE S.No. State Name of theInstitute 1. Kerala Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences (IMHANS), Kozhikode,Kerala 2. Gujarat Hospital for Mental Health, Ahmadabad 3. Odisha SriramChand Bhanj Medical College Hospital, Cuttack 4. West Bengal Institute of Psychiatry, Kolkata 5. J&K Psychiatric Diseases Hospital, Govt. Medical College,Srinagar 6. Maharashtra Maharashtra Institute of Mental Health,Pune 7. Haryana State Mental Health Institute, Pandit Bhagwat. Dayal Sharma University of HealthSciences, Rohtak 8. Chandigarh Government Medical College & Hospital, Chandigarh 9. Telangana Institute of Mental Health,Hyderabad 10. Kakatiya Medical College,Warangal 11. Punjab Institute of Mental Health,Amritsar 12. Madhya Pradesh Gwalior Mansik Arogyashala, Gwalior 13. MGM Medical College,Indore 14. Goa Institute of Psychiatry andHuman Behaviour,Bambolim 15. Karnataka Dharwad Institute of Mental HealthandNeurosciences 16. Delhi Dr.Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital, Delhi 17. Institute of Human Behaviour and Allied Science (IHBAS), Delhi 18. HimachalPradesh Dr.Rajendra Prasad Govt. Medical College,Kangra, Tanda 19. Rajasthan SardarPatel Medical College,Bikaner 20. SwaiMadho Singh Medical College,Jaipur 21. Andhra Pradesh Hospital for Mental Care, Vishakhapatnam 22. West Bengal Department of Psychiatry, Calcutta Medical College 23. Uttar Pradesh Institute of Medical Sciences, Banaras Hindu University, VaranasiS.No. State Name of theInstitute 24. King George Medical University, Lucknow 25. Institute of Mental HealthandHospital, AgraANNEXURE - II SCHEME–B : STRENGTHENING/ ESTABLISHMENTOFPGDEPARTMENTS (47 PGDepartmentsin 19 Institutions) S.No. State Name of theInstitute 1. Karnataka National Institute of Mental Health and Neurological Sciences (NIMHANS), Bangalore (2PGDepartment) 2. Jharkhand Ranchi Institute of Mental Health & Neuro Sciences, Ranchi (4 PGDepartment) 3. Delhi Dr.Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital, Delhi (3PGDepartment) 4. Assam Lokpriya Gopinath Bordoloi Regional Institute of Mental Health (LGBRIMH), Tezpur (4 PGDepartment) 5. Uttar Pradesh Chhatrapati Shahuji Maharaj Medical University, Lucknow (4 PGDepartment) 6. Tamil Nadu Institute of Mental Health,Chennai (2PGDepartment) 7. Gujarat Government Medical College,Surat(1 PGDepartment) 8. Pandit Dindayal Upadhyay Medical College, Rajkot (1 PG Department) 9. Rajasthan Rabindra Nath Tagore College, Udaipur, Rajasthan (1 PG Department) 10. SardarPatel Medical College,Bikaner(1 PGDepartment) 11. Kerala Govt. medical College,Trivandrum (4PGDepartment) 12. Madhya Pradesh Shyam Shah Medical College, Rewa, Madhya Pradesh (1 PG Department) 13. IndianNaval Hospital ShipAsvini (4PGDepartment) 14. Regional Mental Hospital, Pune(4 PGDepartment) Maharashtra 15. Regional Mental Hospital, Thane(2PGDepartment) 16. Regional Mental Hospital, Nagpur (2PGDepartment) 17. Jammu and Sher-i-Kashmir Institute of Medical Sciences, Srinagar, Jammu Kashmir andKashmir (4PGDepartment) 18. Himachal Indira Gandhi Medical College & Hospital, Shimla (2 PG Pradesh Department) 19. Karnataka Karnataka Institute of Medical Sciences, Hubbali (1 PG Department)