Tele-MANAS
About
- The Government of India (GoI) in its Union Budget 2022, announced the National Tele Mental Health Programme of India, Tele Mental Health Assistance and Networking Across States (Tele MANAS) and entrusted the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW) to guide its overall implementation.
- The initiative provides a toll-free number, 14416, in each State and Union Territory (UT) for easy access to mental health support.
- The helpline was a response to a mental health crisis inflamed by the COVID-19 pandemic. Estimates show that 70-92% of Indians do not receive medication or treatment for different mental conditions.
- Tele-MANAS was thus envisioned as an emergency mental health first-aid kit, embarking on a journey of building a comprehensive digital mental health network across India and reaching the unreached.
Structure
- Tele-MANAS comprises two tiers: trained counsellors at State Tele-MANAS cells who provide immediate care, and mental health professionals (psychologists, clinicians, psychiatrists) at District Mental Health Programme (DMHP) who provide specialist care.
- NIMHANS, Bengaluru, serves as the nodal centre while the International Institute of Information Technology (IIITB) in Bengaluru is tasked with providing the technical know-how for the helpline.
Why in News?
- A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed between the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW) and the Ministry of Defence (MoD) to facilitate collaboration between the two Ministries in operating a special cell of Tele MANAS at the Armed Forces Medical College in Pune.
- Currently, there are 51 operational Tele MANAS cells functioning across all 36 States and UTs, offering services in 20 different languages.
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