National Mental Health Survey of India, 2015-16: Prevalence, Patterns and Outcomes

This is the second of a tripartite report by the National Institute of Mental Health and Neuro Sciences, Bengaluru, in alliance with 15 institutions from across India. It was commissioned by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, government of India. It covers 12 Indian states (and 34,802 individuals) and aims to be a nationally representative survey on mental health issues. Females comprised 52.3 per cent of all respondents in the survey.These were the 12 states covered: Punjab and Uttar Pradesh (north), Tamil Nadu and Kerala (south), Jharkhand and West Bengal (east), Rajasthan and Gujarat (west), Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh (central India), and Assam and Manipur (north-east).The report says that nearly 15 per cent of adults in India require treatment for one or more mental health disorders. Yet, most state governments allocate less than 1 per cent of their budget to mental health. This Part II of the report, examines the prevalence of mental health disorders in India and aims to identify existing treatment gaps, patterns of seeking healthcare and utilising services, and the type and impact of mental disorders.