National Mental Health Programme

National Mental Health Programme (NMHP) was started in 1982 with the objectives to ensure availability and accessibility of minimum mental health care for all to encourage mental health knowledge and skills and to promote community participation in mental health service development and to stimulate self-help in the community.

An intensive national level mass media campaign on awareness generation regarding mental health problems and reduction of stigma attached to mental disorders was undertaken under NMHP.

10 Centres of Excellence in Mental Health and 23 PG Departments (in 10 Institutes) in mental health specialties have been established across the country to increase the PG training capacity in mental health as well as improving the tertiary care treatment facility in mental health with the objective to address the shortage of mental health professionals in the country. An exercise to amend Mental Health Act, 1987, is in progress.