Mental Health Services in India
- The Union Social Justice and Empowerment Ministry provides a 24/7 toll-free helpline to give support to people facing anxiety, stress, depression, suicidal thoughts and other mental health concerns.
- The mental health rehabilitation helpline, KIRAN, can be called from landline and mobile phones across the country at the number 1800-599-0019. The helpline KIRAN was launched in collaboration with state-run telecom firm Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) that provides the department with telecom infrastructure.
- The Principal Scientific Adviser to the Government of India Prof. K VijayRaghavan-launched the “MANAS” App to promote wellbeing across age groups on 14 April 2021. It has been endorsed as a national program by the Prime Minister’s Science, Technology, and Innovation Advisory Council (PM-STIAC).
- As per Mental Healthcare Act, 2017, mental healthcare services of India have been integrated into general healthcare services like National Health Mission, PMSSY, Rashtriya Kishore Swasthya Karyakram, AYUSHMAN Bharat, PMJAY, etc.
- The Ministry of Education under Atmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan also runs the “Manodarpan” initiative, aimed to provide psychosocial support to students, family members and teachers for their mental health and well-being during the times of Covid-19.
- The National Institute of Mental Health and Neuro-Sciences (NIMHANS) runs a “NIMHANS RAAH app” that provides free information to the public on mental health care professionals and mental healthcare centres in the form of a one-stop source of data on mental health centres and professionals.
