In the Union Budget 2025-26, the Government of India set aside ₹1,004 crore specifically for mental health under the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. This is only about 1% of the total health budget of around ₹99,859 crore. This shows that mental health is now being recognised, but the share of money for it is still quite small.
Out of this ₹1,004 crore, the largest part - ₹860 crore - goes to NIMHANS (National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences) in Bengaluru. NIMHANS is India’s top institute for mental health treatment, research, and training doctors and counsellors. This means most of the mental health budget is focused on one big national centre.
Another ₹65 crore is given to the Lokpriya Gopinath Bordoloi (LGB) Regional Institute of Mental Health in Tezpur (Assam). This institute mainly serves people in the Northeast region of India. Like NIMHANS, this is also a specialised hospital and training centre.
The remaining ₹80 crore goes to Tele-MANAS, which is a National Tele-Mental Health Programme. Through this, people can call or chat online with trained counsellors in many Indian languages. This service has already handled over 18 lakh calls, showing that many people are using it for help. However, this programme received less money than in previous years (₹134 crore (2023-24) and ₹90 crore (2024-25)), even though it directly helps people across the country.
The National Mental Health Programme (NMHP) is a government initiative that brings mental health care to the district and community level through local hospitals and health centres under the District Mental Health Programme (DMHP). Its aim is to make counselling and basic treatment available closer to people’s homes. In the current budget, its funds are grouped into larger health schemes, so the exact amount spent on NMHP is not clearly visible.
While it is good that mental health is mentioned in the budget, most of the money still goes to big institutions rather than services in small towns and communities. For example, Tele MANAS funding has been reduced compared to previous years. The budget figures show that centralised centres like NIMHANS and Tezpur together received more than 90 % of the total mental health funds, while only a small share went to Tele MANAS, But the future budgets should give more funds and better support so that mental health care - such as counselling, emergency help, and community support - becomes easier for students, youth, and people across all parts of India to access.
