New Delhi: The Central Government informed the Rajya Sabha that mental health services account for just 1.18% of the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare’s budget for the current financial year. The ministry has earmarked Rs 1,180 crore out of its total budget estimate of Rs 99,859 crore for 2025–26, Minister of State for Health Prataprao Jadhav said in response to an unstarred question from MP P.P. Suneer.
The minister outlined the schemes through which the funds are utilised, including the National Mental Health Programme (NMHP), the District Mental Health Programme (DMHP), the National Tele-Mental Health Programme (NTMHP), popularly known as Tele-MANAS — along with budgetary support to mental health institutions such as NIMHANS Bengaluru, LGBRIMH Tezpur, and CIP Ranchi.
He shared five-year expenditure data, which shows fluctuating allocations across programmes. While NIMHANS has seen a steady increase in support, from Rs 474.43 crore in 2020–21 to Rs 780 crore in 2024–25, the NMHP budget has dropped sharply from Rs 35.31 crore in 2022–23 to ₹20 crore in 2024–25.
Highlights
- The government referred to revised fund flow procedures that restrict the initial release of funds under Central Sector Schemes to no more than 25% of the annual allocation at a time.
- Additional instalments require the utilisation of at least 75% of previously released funds, the Ministry clarified.
- The minister noted that funding for the Tele-MANAS helpline and DMHP units has been moved to a Centrally Sponsored Scheme under the National Health Mission from August 1, 2025, allowing states more flexibility in spending.
- Launched in October 2022, Tele-MANAS has so far seen more than 29.82 lakh calls across 36 states and UTs, which together operate 53 Tele-MANAS cells.
- While the government claims efforts are underway to improve spending efficiency, data in the annexure shows that allocations for the Tele-MANAS programme have declined since its debut year, from Rs 120.98 crore in 2022–23 to Rs 45 crore in 2024–25, pointing to ongoing concerns over rollout speed and fund absorption in states.
