Context

• The deaths of three adolescent girls in Ghaziabad reveal a deeper structural problem rather than an isolated tragedy.
• India is confronting a growing crisis in child mental health and adolescent wellbeing, shaped by early psychological vulnerability, social stigma, academic pressure, and an increasingly unregulated digital environment.
• This convergence has created a public health emergency insufficiently addressed by families, schools, healthcare systems, and policy frameworks.

Early Vulnerability and Misunderstanding of Childhood Mental Health

• Mental illness is often perceived as an adult issue, yet emotional and behavioural disorders appear in early childhood, sometimes as early as four or five years.
• Anxiety, depression, and behavioural disorders emerge during critical developmental stages.
• Early trauma, neglect, and chronic stress interfere with emotional and cognitive growth, often resurfacing with greater intensity during adolescence.
• Childhood experiences accumulate rather than disappear. When early distress remains unrecognised, it later manifests in more severe psychological difficulties.
• Disorders have also become more complex. Increasingly, children experience comorbidity: ADHD accompanied by anxiety, depression linked with compulsive screen use, and learning disorders associated with emotional distress.
• Early warning signs, withdrawal, impulsivity, or sudden behavioural change, are frequently dismissed as misbehaviour, allowing long-term emotional harm to develop.

The Structural Gap: Data, Resources, and Access to Care

• Survey data suggests that 7–10% of Indian adolescents have diagnosable mental health conditions, while 5–7% of school-aged children show symptoms of ADHD.
• Yet institutional capacity remains inadequate. India has fewer than 10,000 psychiatrists for over 1.4 billion people, and only a small proportion specialise in child psychiatry.
• The shortage of clinical psychologists, child specialists, and psychiatric social workers forces families to navigate fragmented care systems alone.
• This imbalance between demand and infrastructure leads to delayed diagnosis, untreated distress, and crisis-driven intervention.
• The issue therefore represents a wider public health failure rather than merely a clinical challenge.

The Digital Environment as an Intensifying Factor

• The expansion of smartphones and affordable internet access has transformed childhood.
• Hundreds of millions of children now interact daily with connected devices, a trend accelerated during the COVID-19 pandemic.
• Education, communication, and entertainment occur on the same screen, blurring behavioural boundaries.
• Excessive exposure does not directly cause neurodevelopmental disorders, but it intensifies vulnerabilities.
• Internet addiction, marked by sleep disruption, irritability, and social withdrawal, has become common.
• Prolonged screen exposure weakens attention, emotional regulation, and sleep patterns while displacing essential human interaction during periods of neuroplasticity.
• Reduced real-world engagement undermines emotional development and delays recognition of underlying problems. 

Families, Schools, and Social Institutions

• Families function as the first protective layer. Trauma-informed parenting, attentive listening, and early help-seeking significantly improve outcomes.
• Parent and peer support groups reduce isolation and encourage resilience.
• Schools, however, remain a major weakness. Educational systems prioritise academic performance, examinations, and rankings over emotional wellbeing.
• Without emotional regulation and stress management, academic achievement becomes fragile.
• Teachers often lack training to identify warning signs, and healthcare consultations focus mainly on physical growth rather than psychological health.

Policy and Social Response

• Recent policy discussions acknowledge rising youth mental health concerns, and some regions are considering limits on adolescent social media exposure.
• Effective action requires prevention, education, and support rather than punishment.
• Key measures include school-based screening, teacher training, stronger referral networks, community counselling, and expansion of tele-mental health
• Clear digital-use guidelines and accessible care for low-income families are essential. Cultural barriers remain significant; fear of labelling discourages families from seeking help.
• Normalising conversations about mental wellbeing is therefore a national priority.

Reframing Childhood: A Cultural Argument

• Modern childhood has become intensely competitive. Success is increasingly measured by grades rather than wellbeing.
• Healthy development requires resilience, emotional security, and social connection alongside achievement.
• Neglecting psychological health produces long-term social and economic consequences, including reduced productivity and strained relationships.

Conclusion

• The Ghaziabad incident underscores interconnected causes: early vulnerability, institutional neglect, inadequate resources, digital overexposure, and social pressure.
• Families, schools, healthcare providers, and policymakers share responsibility. Early detection, supportive parenting, school reform, responsible technology use, and stigma reduction are essential.
• Protecting childhood wellbeing is not peripheral; it is central to national development and long-term societal stability.

About PRASHAD Scheme:

• The PRASHAD (Pilgrimage Rejuvenation and Spiritual Heritage Augmentation Drive) was launched in the year 2014-2015 under the Ministry of Tourism.
• It is a Central Sector Scheme with the objective of integrated development of identified pilgrimage destinations.
• The primary objective of the scheme is to develop tourism infrastructure at pilgrimage and heritage sites, ensuring a more enriching experience for pilgrims and heritage enthusiasts.
• Under the scheme, the ministry provides financial assistance to state governments and Union Territory administrations for the development of tourism infrastructure at these sites.
• The Central Government provides 100% funding for the project components undertaken for public funding.
• It also welcomes voluntary contributions made through Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) AND Public Private Partnership (PPP).
• The Ministry of Tourism has set up a Mission Directorate for implementing the PRASAD scheme.
  • The Mission Directorate identifies projects in the identified cities and coordinates with the states/UTs and other stakeholders to implement this scheme.
• The scheme contributes to employment generation while also enhancing awareness and fostering skill and capacity development of the local communities.

About Vaan Island:

• Vaan is located in the Gulf of Mannar, which was declared a marine biodiversity park in 1986.
• It is part of the Tuticorin group of islands.
• It had suffered severe erosion.
• To arrest the decline, scientists deployed a specially designed artificial reef modules around the island beginning in 2015.
• The reef modules also facilitated rapid biological colonisation, supporting coral colonies per module.

Key Facts about Gulf of Mannar:

• It is an inlet of the Indian Ocean, between southeastern India and western Sri Lanka.
• It is bounded to the northeast by Rameswaram (island), Adam’s (Rama’s) Bridge (a chain of shoals), and Mannar Island.
• It receives several rivers, including the Tambraparni (India) and the Aruvi (Sri Lanka).
• The port of Tuticorin is on the Indian coast.
• The gulf is noted for its pearl banks and sacred chank (a gastropod mollusk).

About Sayyad-3G Missile:

• It is a naval surface-to-air defense missile developed by Iran.
• Derived from the land-based Sayyad-3 missile, the Sayyad-3G has been adapted for maritime use, providing medium-range air defense for warships and naval vessels.
• It is launched from ships via a Vertical Launch System (VLS), offering 360-degree coverage and rapid response against aerial threats.
• The missile is capable of intercepting multiple airborne targets, including warplanes, maritime patrol aircraft, and high-altitude UAVs.
• It can operate both independently and as part of an integrated naval command-and-control network, using the ship’s onboard radar while retaining autonomous tracking and targeting capability.
• Its operational range is reported to be approximately 150 kilometers.

About Kole Wetlands:

• The Kole wetlands are located in Kerala.
• It is popular for its paddy cultivation that dates back to 300 years.
• The wetland gets its name from its high productivity – ‘Kole’ literally translates to ‘bumper crop’ in Malayalam.
• The Kole areas are low-lying and have a central, narrow strip covering a long expanse, with many pockets running into cultivated land on either side.
• The region is naturally subject to saltwater ingression. During the monsoon, the entire region, which gets submerged under water, is cultivated by draining the water and by erecting bunds.
• As Kole is a large sprawling wetland with human habitation all around, there are coconut and arecanut plantations, gardens and cultivated plants.
• It is one of largest, highly productive and threatened wetlands in Kerala.
• It is a part of the Central Asian Flyway of migratory birds.
• It has been recognised as one of India's Important Bird Areas by BirdLife International.
• It was declared as a Ramsar site of international importance in 2002.

What are Pygmy Grasshoppers?

• They are species of insects (order Orthoptera) and are related to true grasshoppers.
• However, the pygmy grasshopper has the forewings either reduced to small pads or absent.
• The pygmy grasshopper is distinguished from the short-horned grasshopper by its practice of depositing its eggs singly in small grooves in the soil, rather than in underground chambers.
• It is abundant in fields containing short grasses and on muddy shores.
• Many species are dimorphic, having both a short form with reduced hindwings and a long form with functional hindwings.
• Sound-producing and hearing organs are absent in pygmy grasshoppers.

About Takeshima:

• It is a group of small islets situated in the middle of the Sea of Japan.
• It is called Dokdo in South Korea and Takeshima in Japan.
• It has also been known as the Liancourt Rocks, named by French whalers after their ship in 1849.
• Administrative Control:
  • South Korea currently administers the islets, maintaining a small police detachment and facilities.
  • Japan claims sovereignty and considers the issue an unresolved territorial dispute.

Key Facts about the Sea of Japan:

• The Sea of Japan, or East Sea, is a marginal sea of the western Pacific Ocean.
• It is bound by Japan and Sakhalin to the east and by mainland Russia, North Korea, and South Korea to the west.
• Connections:
  • It is connected with the East China Sea via the Tsushima and Korea straits and with the Okhotsk Sea in the north by the La Perouse and Tatar straits.
  • In the east, it is connected with the Inland Sea of Japan via the Kanmon Strait and the Pacific Ocean by the Tsugaru Strait.
• Dohoku Seamount, an underwater volcano, is its deepest point.
• Major Ports:
  • Russia: Vladivostok, Sovetskaya Gavan, Nakhodka, Alexandrovsk-Sakhalinsky, and Kholmsk.
  • North Korea: Hamhung, Chongjin, and Wonsan.
  • Japan: Niigata, Tsuruta, and Maizuru.