| Mental Health Factsheet • According to the National Mental Health Survey (NMHS) 2015-16, 10.6% of adults in India suffer from mental disorders, with a treatment gap ranging from 70% to 92% for different disorders. • Mental morbidity is higher in urban metropolitan regions (13.5%) compared to rural areas (6.9%) and urban non-metro areas (4.3%). • NCERT found an increasing prevalence of poor mental health among adolescents, exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. • It found 11% of students reported feeling anxious, 14% extreme emotions, and 43% mood swings. |
- The Economic Survey acknowledges mental health as a crucial driver of individual and national development, highlighting its significance and policy implications for the first time.
- It notes that mental health disorders lead to significant productivity losses due to absenteeism, decreased productivity, disability, and increased healthcare costs.
- Poverty exacerbates mental health risks due to stressful living conditions, financial instability, and lack of upward mobility, contributing to psychological distress.
- Key government initiatives include-
- National Mental Health Programme
- National Tele Mental Health Programme
- Increasing the number of mental health personnel
- Rashtriya Kishor Swasthya Karyakram’s adolescent-friendly health clinics and peer education programs.
- Efforts aim to raise the number of psychiatrists from 0.75 per lakh population in 2021 to the World Health Organization norm of three per lakh population.
Dig Deeper: Read about Tele- Manas scheme and its effectiveness.
