• The National Tele-Mental Health Programme has reached another milestone, receiving over 20 lakh calls on its toll-free number as on April 1.

• The Tele MANAS (Tele Mental Health Assistance and Networking Across States) toll-free helpline numbers 14416 or 1-800-891-4416 offer multi-language support and have been pivotal in facilitating communication between callers and mental health professionals.

• As many as 53 Tele MANAS Cells have been set up across the country, Union Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare Prataprao Jadhav said in a reply in Lok Sabha.

• Tele MANAS services are available in 20 languages based on language opted by states.

What is the need for such a programme?

• The government of India launched the National Mental Health Programme (NMHP) in 1982, in response to the heavy burden of mental illness and critical need of mental healthcare infrastructure in the community.

• The District Mental Health Program (DMHP) was appended to the NMHP in 1996 to overcome the shortcomings of the programme and transitioned the districts into administrative and implementation units for NMHP. 

• With regard to mental health services, providing in-person healthcare is challenging, particularly given the large geographical distances and limited resources.

• Recent national level studies have highlighted that 15 per cent of the adult population in India have mental health issues requiring intervention and a wide treatment gap of 70-92 per cent exists for a range of mental disorders. 

• In 2019, mental disorders were the second leading cause of years lived with disability (YLDs), and self-harm and violence were the tenth leading cause of death. Evidence suggests that suicide deaths increased by 40 per cent from 1990 to 2016 making it the third leading cause of death in several Indian states. 

• Access to mental healthcare is a basic human right. Most mental health issues can be helped by trained healthcare providers.

• Acknowledging the mental health crisis in wake of the COVID-19 pandemic and an urgent need to establish a digital mental health network that will withstand the challenges amplified by the pandemic, the government of India announced National Tele Mental Health Programme (NTMHP) in the Union Budget 2022-23.

• Tele MANAS is the National Tele-Mental Health Programme. It is the digital arm of the District Mental Health Programme.

• Tele MANAS aims to provide free tele-mental health services all over the country round the clock, particularly catering to people in remote or under-served areas.

• A toll-free, 24x7 helpline number — 14416 — has been set up across the country allowing callers to select the language of choice for availing services. Service is also accessible with 1-800-891-4416. 

• People can access the Tele MANAS helpline by dialling toll-free number. This call will be an Interactive Voice Response System (IVRS) based audio calling only, with a timely auto-call back approach. Through the automated callback service, the caller will first be attended to by a trained counsellor.

• Based on the level of care required, the counsellor will either provide the care needed within their capabilities or refer the caller for specialist care.

• If the caller requires specialised care, the call will be handled by a mental health specialist (clinical psychologist, psychiatric social worker, psychiatric nurse, or a psychiatrist). This level of service will contain both audio as well as video-based options.

• In case the caller requires urgent in-person intervention/complex evaluations and management, they will be referred to the nearest in-person service for physical consultation and/or an audio-visual consultation with a specialist will be arranged through eSanjeevani.

• Over Rs 230 crore have been allocated by the government for NTMHP in the last three years.

• The government launched Tele MANAS mobile application on World Mental Health Day — October 10, 2024. 

Manorama Yearbook app is now available on Google Play Store and iOS App Store