Public mental health in India: a case of misplaced priorities
Published on: 2 April 2022, 03:16 am
While technology undoubtedly offers a huge window of opportunity in improving public mental health, it must be accompanied by concurrent developments in the existing mental health infrastructure.
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IN 2017, President Ram Nath Kovind stated that India was facing a "possible mental health epidemic" and asserted the need to provide accessible mental health services by 2022. Almost prophetically in India's Union Budget for financial year [FY] 2022-23, mental health found a rare mention, even if it took us a pandemic to realize its significance. Many experts and stakeholders lauded the move, deeming it "gratifying", "timely" and "much-needed". But are the celebrations premature?
What is promised?
The Budget promises Rs 86,200.45 crores to the health sector for FY 2022-23, which amounts to 2 per cent of the total fiscal outlay. A total of Rs 670 crores is allocated to mental health, which is a 12.5 per cent increase from the previous financial year, although it amounts to only a 0.77 per cent of the total health budget. It is worth noting that 94 per cent of these funds are earmarked for two centrally funded institutes: National Institute of Mental Health and Neuro-Sciences [NIMHANS], Bengaluru (Rs 560 crores) and Lokpriya Gopinath Bordoloi Regional Institute of Mental Health, Tezpur (Rs 70 crores).