Lok Sabha Question No. 2222 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2025-12-12
Subject: Stress Management Measures for Women Employees
Ministry: WOMEN AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT
Asked by: Shri Ve Vaithilingam

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF WOMEN AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 2222 TO BE ANSWERED ON 12.12.2025

## STRESS MANAGEMENT MEASURES FOR WOMEN EMPLOYEES

## 2222.  SHRI VE VAITHILINGAM:

Will the Minister of Women and Child Development be pleased to state:

- (a) whether the Government is aware of the increasing levels of anxiety/work-related stress among women employed in high-stress environments in both public and private sectors across the country;
- (b) if so, the details of the specific measures/programmes the Government has implemented/proposes to implement  to empower  women  with  effective stress management strategies, including mental health support services, flexible workplace policies and awareness campaigns to promote work-life balance: and
- (c) if not, the reasons therefor along with the steps proposed to address the mental health challenges faced by women employees in demanding workplaces?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF WOMEN AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT (SHRIMATI SAVITRI THAKUR)

(a) to (c): 'Public Health and Sanitation; Hospitals and Dispensaries'' is placed in the State List  of  the  Seventh  Schedule  to  the  Constitution  of  India,  which   includes  mental  health. Accordingly, the primary responsibility for provision and delivery of mental-health services, hospitals, community care and rehabilitation rests with the respective State Governments.

However, the  Government  of  India  supports  the  State  Government  and  has  put  in  place  a comprehensive,  multi-pronged  and  convergent  response  that  links  rights-based  mentalhealthcare, tele-mental-health access, trauma-informed psychosocial support, statutory workplace  protections,  employer-led  occupational  health  measures,  gender-sensitive  lawenforcement interfaces and socio-economic empowerment programmes in order to prevent, mitigate and manage stress among women across sectors.

The Department of Personnel & Training (DoPT) is the nodal department to issue instructions and  guidelines  for  central  government  employees  on  prevention  of  harassment,  gendersensitisation, personnel management and flexible working arrangements wherever administratively  feasible.  Such  measures,  together  with  awareness  campaigns,  internal grievance mechanisms and prompt corrective action, contribute to safer work environments and reduction of harassment-related stress.

The Central Government gives highest priority to the safety and security of women and girls and has taken several steps to assist the State Governments/ UT Administrations. These include operationalization  of  helplines  such  as  Women  Helpline  -181,  Child  Helpline  -  1098  and Emergency Response Support System (ERSS-112), concept of Zero FIR and e-FIR  under the new criminal laws and provision of institutional support to the survivors.

Further,  the  Mental  Health  Care  Act,  2017  is  an  act  to  provide  for  mental  healthcare  and services for persons with mental illness and to protect, promote and fulfil the rights of such persons during delivery of mental healthcare and services and for matter connected therewith or  incidental  thereto.  The  said   Act  also  decriminalises  attempt  to  die  by  suicide,  thereby recognising that persons under severe stress require care and rehabilitation rather than penal action,  and  provides  for  registration  and  regulation  of  mental  health  establishments  and oversight mechanisms to improve the quality and availability of services.

To  address  the  burden  of  mental  disorders,  the  Government  of  India  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 767 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 the above, the Government is also taking steps to strengthen mental healthcare services at primary healthcare level. The Government has upgraded more than 1.81 lakh Sub Health Centres (SHCs) and Primary Health Centres (PHCs) to Ayushman Arogya Mandirs. Mental health services  have  been  added  in  the  packages  of  services  under  Comprehensive Primary Health Care provided at these Ayushman Arogya Mandirs. Operational guidelines and training manuals for various cadres on Mental, Neurological, and Substance Use Disorders (MNS) at Ayushman Arogya Mandirs have been released under the ambit of Ayushman Bharat.

Under the tertiary care component of NMHP, under Manpower Development Scheme-A, 25 Centres  of  Excellence  have  been  sanctioned  to  increase  the  intake  of  students  in  PG departments  in  mental  health  specialities  as  well  as  to  provide  tertiary  level  treatment facilities. Further, the Government has also supported 19 Government medical colleges/institutions  to  strengthen  47  PG  Departments  in  mental  health  specialties  under Manpower Development Scheme-B.

There  are  47  Government  run  mental  hospitals  in  the  country,  including  3  Central  Mental Health Institutions, viz. National Institute of Mental Health and Neuro Sciences, Bengaluru,

Lokopriya Gopinath Bordoloi Regional Institute of Mental Health, Tezpur, Assam and Central Institute of Psychiatry, Ranchi. Mental Health Services are also provisioned in all AIIMS.

The Government has launched a 'National Tele Mental Health Programme' on 10th October, 2022, to further improve access to quality mental health counselling and care services in the country. As on 27.11.2025, 36 States/ UTs have set up 53 Tele MANAS Cells. Tele-MANAS services are available in 20 languages based on language opted by States. More than 29,82,000 calls have been handled on the helpline number.

The  Government  has  also  launched  Tele  MANAS  Mobile  Application  on  the  occasion  of World  Mental  Health  Day  -  October  10,  2024.  Tele-MANAS  Mobile  Application  is  a comprehensive mobile platform that has been developed to provide support for mental health issues  ranging  from  well  being  to  mental  disorders.  In  addition,  a  video  consultation facility  has  been  introduced  under Tele-MANAS, as an upgrade to the existing audio calling service.

Recognising  that  gender-based  violence,  harassment  and  insecurity  are  major  drivers  of psychological  trauma  and  chronic  stress  among  women,  the  Government  has  established multiple  mechanisms  to  provide  immediate  protection,  holistic  support  and  long-term rehabilitation. One Stop Centre (OSC) component of Mission Shakti Umbrella Scheme, which is fully funded by the central government is implemented across the country since 1st April, 2015.  It  provides  integrated  support  and  assistance  under  one  roof  to  women  affected  by violence and those in distress, both in private and public spaces. It also provides an integrated range  of  services  including  medical  aid,  legal  aid  and  advice,  temporary  shelter,  police assistance, psycho-social counselling to needy women. 864 OSCs are operational across the country and over 12.67 lakh women have been assisted upto 30 th September, 2025.

To ensure that the Police Stations are more women friendly and approachable, as they would be the first and single point of contact for any woman walking into a police station, 14,649 Women Help Desks (WHDs) have been set up, of which 14,653 are headed by women police officers.

To provide help and support to needy women and women in distress, Emergency Response Support  System  (ERSS-112)  has  been  established  in  all  36  States  and  UTs  for  various emergencies, with computer aided dispatch of field/ police resources. In addition to ERSS, a fully functional dedicated Women helpline (WHL-181) is operational in 35 States/ UTs except West Bengal. The WHL has also been integrated with ERSS. Further, the Ministry of Women and Child Development also administers scheme 'Samarthya' under Missio n Shakti in which the  component  of  Shakti  Sadan  is  for  relief  and  rehabilitation  of  women  in  difficult circumstances, including psycho-social counselling.

The Ministry has launched the 'Mission Shakti Portal' with all functional features on January 22, 2025. This portal aims to enhance accessibility of various government services for women, establish quality mechanisms for rescue, protection, and rehabilitation, and build the capacity of functionaries and duty holders under various schemes and legislations.

To ensure safety of public places where women work and live, various components under Safe City Projects have been implemented in 8 Cities (namely Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Chennai, Delhi, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Lucknow and Mumbai). To ensure safe transportation for women, rail  and  road  transport  projects  like  Integrated  Emergency  Response  Management  System (IERMS), Video Surveillance System at Konkan Railway, Artificial Intelligence (AI) based Facial  Recognition  System  (FRS)  integrated  with  Video  surveillance  Systems,  including Command-and-Control  Centre  at  7  major  railway  stations  and  tabs  for  safety  of  women passengers on board the train by Ministry of Railways, and projects like Vehicle Tracking Platform with command and control centre across States/ UTs, and some State specific projects like Uttar Pradesh Road transport Corporation (UPSRTC), Bengaluru Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC), Telangana State Road Transport Corporation (TSRTC), etc. by Ministry of Road Transport and Highways, have been implemented.

Bureau of Police Research and Development (BPR&D) has  undertaken several initiatives, which, inter-alia include training and skill development programs for Investigation Officers, Prosecution  Officers  and  Medical  Officers.  BPR&D  has  also  prepared  Standard  Operating Procedures  (SoPs)  for  'Women  Help  Desk  at  Police  Stations'  to  ensure  their  smooth functioning. Emphasis has been laid upon appropriate behavioural and attitudinal skills of the police  in  course  of  prevention  and  detection  of  crime  against  women  and  children  and interaction with victims of crime.

The Ministry of Women and Child Development has also launched the SHe-Box portal duly encompassing  various  provisions  of  'the  Sexual  Harassment  of  Women  at  Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition, and Redressal) Act, 2013' (PoSH Act). This portal provides a pub licly available centralised repository of information related to Internal Committees (ICs) and Local Committees (LCs) formed across the country, whether in government or private sector. It also provides a common platform to file complaints and track the status of such complaints. The portal includes a feature where complaints registered on it will be automatically forwarded to the IC/ LC of the workplaces concerned within the Central Ministries/ Departments, States/ UTs  and  in  Private  sector.  The  portal  provides  for  designating  a  nodal  officer  for  every workplace who is required to ensure updation of data/ information on a regular basis for real time monitoring of complaints.

In order to encourage employment of women, the four Labour Codes - the Code on Wages, 2019,  the  Industrial  Relations  Code,  2020,  the  Code  on  Social  Security,  2020  and  the Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code, 2020 have been implemented with effect from 21st November 2025, rationalizing 29 erstwhile labour laws.

On occupational and preventive health, under the Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions (OSH) Code, 2020, workplace equality and safety are given strong legal backing. Gender discrimination is explicitly prohibited, ensuring that women and men are treated with equal dignity and opportunity in every establishment. This principle is reinforced through the guarantee of equal pay for equal work, eliminating wage disparities and promoting fairness across all sectors. In a progressive step, women are permitted to work night shifts and in all categories of employment, including underground mining and heavy machinery operations, provided they give their prior consent and employers implement adequate safety measures.

To safeguard worker's health and productivity, the Code caps normal working hours at 8 hours per day and 48 hours per week. While all workers including women,  have been permitted to work overtime only with the their  consent and mandating payment at twice the regular wage rate. Strengthening the focus on preventive healthcare, the Code also requires employers to provide  free  annual  health  check-ups  along  with  maintaining  proper  health  records  for employees including women workers subject to fulfilling the prescribed conditions. Together, these provisions formalize worker rights, promote inclusivity, and embed occupational health and safety as a cornerstone of India's labour reforms.

Beyond immediate health, protection and workplace interventions, the Government pursues long-term  socio-economic  empowerment  and  resilience  building  as  a  critical  strategy  to address the structural determinants of stress among women. Initiatives under the Skill India and  various  livelihood  and  entrepreneurship  programmes  enhance  employability,  income security and economic independence for women, thereby reducing financial insecurity-related stress.  Social  campaigns  and  flagship  programmes  like  Beti  Bachao  Beti  Padhao,  gender equality and social recognition of girls and women, addressing root causes of discrimination and  long-term  psychosocial  burdens.  Financial  inclusion,  micro-credit,  self-help  group promotion and convergence of women's welfare programmes a re further instruments deployed to build economic resilience and reduce chronic stressors.

Implementation  of  the  foregoing  central  programmes  and  schemes  is  carried  out  in  close coordination  with  State  Governments  and  Union  Territory  Administrations,  which  are  the primary agencies for health service delivery; the Central Government supplements State action through policy guidance, capacity building, issuing technical guidelines, funding support under centrally sponsored schemes, periodic monitoring and facilitating inter-sectoral convergence among Ministries such as Health & Family Welfare, Women & Child Development, Home Affairs, Labour & Employment and Personnel.

These measures together seek to prevent and reduce stress, ensure timely access to mentalhealth care and support services, protect women from violence and harassment, and promote dignity, resilience and well-being across the life cycle.

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