50 percent students cited studies as a reason for anxiety and 31 percent cited exams and results as the reason.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman presented the Economic Survey. The Economic Survey 2024 noted the increasing incidence of mental health issues in the country. According to the survey, it is important to pay attention to mental health in the society as it is important for health and economically. Firstly, the survey looked at the various socio-economic impacts of the issue on the subject. It states that mental health impacts individuals more than physical health issues.
Citing data from the National Mental Health Survey (NMHS) 2015-16, the survey said that 10.6 percent of Indians in India are suffering from mental disorders.
Citing NCERT’s Mental Health and Well-being Survey of School Students, the Economic Survey said the incidence of mental health issues among adults is on the rise, which has further increased due to the Covid-19 pandemic. 11 percent of students have felt anxiety. While 14 percent felt extreme emotions and 43 percent experienced mood swings. 50 percent students cited studies as a reason for anxiety and 31 percent cited exams and results as the reason.
Mental health was mentioned in the economic survey.
The survey also mentions that efforts are being made to double the number of psychiatrists. At present there are 0.75 psychiatrists per lakh population in India which will be increased to 3. These can play an important role in addressing mental health.
The increase in mental health problems in children and adults is often linked to excessive use of the Internet and especially social media. Uncontrolled use of Internet by children can cause many types of problems. Serious problems like cyberbullying are also included in this.
The major initiatives and policies taken by the government were mentioned in the survey-
National Mental Health Programme: Under the District Mental Health Program of this scheme, more than 1.73 lakh sub health centres, primary health centres, urban PHCs and urban health and welfare centers will be provided mental health services. Was upgraded to Ayushman Arogya.
National Tele Mental Health Programme: 53 tele cells set up in 34 States/UTs, with over 1600 trained counselors in over 20 languages. Over 8.07 lakh calls were handled from October 2022 to March 31, 2024.
Increase in the number of mental health workers: 25 Centers of Excellence approved to increase the number of PG students. Assistance provided to 19 Government Medical Colleges/Institutes to strengthen 47 PG departments. Provision of mental health services for 22 AIIMS and three digital academies providing online training courses to general health care medical and paramedical professionals were set up.
