Lok Sabha Question No. 1816 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2022-02-11
Subject: Mental Illness
Ministry: HEALTH AND FAMILY WELFARE
Asked by: Ranjeetsingh Naik Nimbalkar, Sudhakar Tukaram Shrangre, Sunil Kumar Singh, Arun Sao, Parbatbhai Savabhai Patel, Naranbhai Bhikhabhai Kachhadiya, Devji Mansingram Patel

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF HEALTH AND FAMILY WELFARE DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND FAMILY WELFARE

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 1816 TO BE ANSWERED ON 11 TH  FEBRUARY, 2022

## MENTAL ILLNESS

## 1816.   SHRI RANJEETSINGH HINDURAO NAIK NIMBALKAR:

SHRI ARUN SAO:

SHRI DEVJI M. PATEL:

SHRI SUDHAKAR TUKARAM SHRANGARE:

SHRI SUNIL KUMAR SINGH:

SHRI PARBATBHAI SAVABHAI PATEL:

SHRI NARANBHAI KACHHADIYA:

Will the Minister of HEALTH AND FAMILY WELFARE be pleased to state:

- (a) whether the Government is cognizant of the study which indicate that more than 15 crore people in the country suffer from mental illness, if so, the details thereof and the number of such cases reported, State/UT-wise including Chhattisgarh and Maharashtra;
- (b) whether the Government is aware that youths in rural and urban areas are afflicted by mental illness, if so, the details thereof and the reasons therefor;
- (c) the action plan formulated and implemented by the Government to address the mental illness afflicting the youth particularly at the district and block level across the country, State/UTwise particularly in Gujarat;
- (d) whether the Government has noted that the financial stress on families affected by mental illness is severe if the patient belong to the low income category, if so, the details thereof; and
- (e) whether the Government proposes to provide financial assistance to such patients and their families for treatment, if so, the details thereof?

## ANSWER THE MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF HEALTH AND FAMILY WELFARE (DR. BHARATI PRAVIN PAWAR)

(a) & (b): As per the National Mental Health Survey (NMHS) 2016, conducted by the National Institute  of  Mental  Health  and  Neuro  Sciences  (NIMHANS),  Bengaluru  in  12  States  of  the country, the prevalence of mental disorders in adults over the age of 18 years is about 10.6%. Further, as per the Survey, the prevalence of mental morbidity is higher in urban metro regions (13.5%) as compared to rural areas (6.9%) and urban non-metro areas (4.3%). The prevalence of common mental disorders in the 12 surveyed States is as under:

|   S.No. | Name of the State   | Prevalence of common mental disorders   |
|---------|---------------------|-----------------------------------------|
|       1 | Assam               | 5.3%                                    |
|       2 | Chhattisgarh        | 11.2%                                   |
|       3 | Gujarat             | 7.1%                                    |
|       4 | Jharkhand           | 10.8%                                   |
|       5 | Kerala              | 11%                                     |
|       6 | Madhya Pradesh      | 13.5%                                   |
|       7 | Manipur             | 13.3%                                   |
|       8 | Punjab              | 13%                                     |
|       9 | Rajasthan           | 10.1%                                   |
|      10 | Tamil Nadu          | 11.3%                                   |
|      11 | Uttar Pradesh       | 5.9%                                    |
|      12 | West Bengal         | 11.3%                                   |

(c) to (e): For providing affordable and accessible mental healthcare facilities to the population, including the poor and  underprivileged, the Government is implementing the National Mental Health Programme (NMHP) in the country.  The District Mental Health Programme (DMHP) component  of  the  NMHP  has  been  sanctioned  for  implementation  in  704  districts  for  which support is provided to States/UTs through the National Health Mission.  Facilities made available under DMHP at the Community Health Centre(CHC) and Primary Health Centre(PHC) levels, inter-alia,  include  outpatient  services,  assessment,  counselling/  psycho-social  interventions, continuing care and support to persons with severe mental disorders, drugs, outreach services, ambulance services etc. In addition to above services there is a provision of 10 bedded in-patient facility at the District level.

To  generate  awareness  among  masses  about  mental  illnesses  Information,  Education  and Communication (IEC) activities are an integral part of the NMHP. At the District level, funds upto  Rs.  4  lakh  per  annum  are  provided  to  each  District  under  the  DMHP  under  the  Noncommunicable Diseases flexi-pool of National Health Mission for IEC and awareness generation activities  in  the  community,  schools,  workplaces,  with  community  involvement.  Under  the DMHP various IEC activities such as awareness messages in local newspapers and radio, street plays, wall paintings etc. are undertaken by the States/UTs. Further, funds upto Rs. 12 lakhs per annum are provided to each district supported under DMHP for targeted interventions with the following objectives:

- (i) To provide class teachers with facilitative skill to promote life skill among their students.
- (ii) To provide the class teachers with knowledge and skills to identify emotional conduct, scholastic and substance use problems in their students.
- (iii) To  provide  class  teachers  with  a  system  of  referral  for  students  with  psychological problems to the District Mental Health Team for inputs and treatment.
- (iv) To involve other stakeholders like parents, community leaders to enhance development of adolescents etc.