Budget 2026: FM's clarion call to mental health challenges 

Finance Minister, Nirmala Sitharaman, in the Union Budget 2026 made a mention of the Government’s commitment to mental health. Sitharaman recognised the fact that barring NIMHANS in Bengaluru, there are actually no national institutes of mental healthcare, especially in North India. She announced setting up of NIMHANS-2 as well as upgrade National Mental Health Institutes in Ranchi and Tezpur as regional apex institutions.

Mental illness in India has always been looked upon as a stigma. A person battling with depression or anxiety more than often prefers to keep it under wraps. The fear of being judged looms large. The COVID-19 pandemic and the lock down increased mental health problems and also led to an increase in death by suicide. It also led to more individuals coming out and owning the fact that they are depressed or not doing well emotionally. Even organisations began to recognise the importance of mental well-being of their employees. There has been an upward trend ever since.  

When Aditya Birla Education Trust launched is mental health foundation, Mpower in 2016, mental health was a taboo.  When founder and chairperson, Mpower (ABET), Neerja Birla, and her team of two psychologists (now a team of 400) reached out to schools, colleges and corporates to organise mental health awareness workshops, the answer was a firm no. Everyone felt it was a problem too personal to be discussed openly. “Those organisations which agreed for the workshops told us to drop the phrase ‘mental health’ from the title. But we didn’t agree. We said we are here to create awareness and break barriers and if we change the name then it would be against the very purpose,” she said in an interview with Fortune India. However, in the past year, mental health awareness and coping skills in India, according to Birla, has gone up by 26%, with a 31% increase in individuals seeking help.

The Government of India has also been doing its bit to spread awareness about mental health with initiatives such as the Tele Manas App (which integrates self-care resources, stress management tools and direct consultation services). It has also integrated mental health with the Ayushman Bharat health and wellness centres to provide mental health services. It also launched the National Suicide Prevention Strategy, with a goal to reduce suicide mortality by 10% by 2030.

Mental health challenges in India are stark and can’t be neglected. The National Mental Health Survey (NMHS) 2015-16 by NIMHANS found that 10.6% of adults in India suffer from mental disorders. Other national studies reveal that 15% of India’s adult population experiences mental health issues requiring intervention. India contributes to 18% of the global population. WHO estimates that the burden of mental health problems in India is 2443 disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) per 10,000 population; the age-adjusted suicide rate per 100,000 population is 21.1. The economic loss due to mental health conditions, between 2012-2030, is estimated at $1.03 trillion.

Despite interventions made by the Government as well as private sector organisations as MPower and Mariwala Health Institute, there’s a huge treatment gap. Around 70% to 92% of people with mental disorders do not receive proper treatment due to lack of awareness, stigma, and shortage of professionals. According to the Indian Journal of Psychiatry, India has 0.75 psychiatrists per 100,000 people, whereas WHO recommends at least three per 100,000.

The industry has hailed Sitharaman’s mention of strengthening mental health infrastructure in Budget 2026. “Mental healthcare in India needs to expand beyond a few institutions. Strengthening centres across regions, including Ranchi and Tezpur, is central to building true national capacity. Developing Ranchi as a regional hub can play a transformative role in expanding access to quality clinical services, while strengthening training, research, and local expertise where shortages are most acute,” says ABET’s Birla.

“As we expand infrastructure, we must also invest in prevention. By embedding digital wellness into our national fabric, we can empower young people to turn today’s screen-time challenges into lifelong mental resilience, strengthening the human foundation of Viksit Bharat’s 2047 vision,” she further adds.