Under the Healthcare for All pillar, the government has rightly prioritised strengthening Ayushman Bharat, expanding primary healthcare, reducing out-of-pocket expenditure, and promoting preventive care. Yet there is one element that cuts across all these ambitions and determines their success: mental health. I ndia stands at a defining moment in its journey towards the vision of Viksit Bharat 2047.
Mental health is not a niche concern. It influences educational attainment, workforce participation, social cohesion, and physical health outcomes. A healthier and more productive India cannot be built without placing mental well-being at the centre of public health. The scale of the challenge is substantial. The contribution of mental disorders to India’s total disease burden has doubled over the past three decades. The reasons are well known. These shortages are the result of decades during which mental health received insufficient attention, both in India and globally. Mental disorders significantly increase the risk of chronic diseases, while chronic diseases in turn increase the risk of mental illness. Rates of anxiety and depression are substantially higher among people living with diabetes, hypertension, tuberculosis, and HIV/AIDS. The economic implications are equally compelling. Mental health is not a social welfare issue alone — it is also a human capital investment and an economic growth strategy. Second, India must invest more systematically in community-based care. Models such as Zimbabwe’s Friendship Bench, Atmiyata in India, and programmes implemented by The Live Love Laugh Foundation demonstrate that trained community workers can bridge the gap between awareness and treatment, particularly in rural and underserved populations. These approaches improve access and reduce costs, and deserve wider adoption and funding. Third, the country must fully realise the promise of financial protection. Indu Bhushan is the founding CEO of India’s National Health Authority and Ayushman Bharat; Anisha Padukone is the CEO of The Live Love Laugh Foundation
Ignoring mental health, therefore, undermines efforts to control non-communicable diseases and reduce healthcare expenditure. Mental illness affects one in seven Indians, with nearly 200 million people living with a diagnosable mental health condition. Yet the national treatment gap remains 84.5%, meaning that more than four out of five people who need care do not receive it. India has only 0.3 psychiatrists per 1,00,000 population, alongside significant shortages in clinical psychologists, psychiatric social workers, and psychiatric nurses. More than 60% of people attending primary care facilities have a diagnosable mental disorder. A 2025 modelling study by researchers from PGIMER and NIMHANS estimated that integrating universal depression screening into India’s primary healthcare system could generate net savings of ₹291 billion to ₹482 billion annually, equivalent to as much as 0.32% of GDP. Extending outpatient mental health benefits under the Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana and strengthening the implementation of insurance parity as per the Mental Healthcare Act, 2017, would make mental healthcare affordable for millions who currently go without care.
