India is witnessing a deeply worrying rise in mental health disorders among adolescents, with fresh government data revealing that about 7.3% of children aged 13–17 years are affected across 12 surveyed States.
The figure, shared in Parliament recently by Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare Prataprao Jadhav, underscores a silent but rapidly intensifying public health crisis.
The findings come from the National Mental Health Survey (NMHS) conducted by NIMHANS, Bengaluru. While the survey dates back to 2015–16, experts fear that the real burden today may be far higher given the emotional strain of the pandemic years, growing academic pressure, increasing social media dependence, and rising family-level stressors.
Yet even the recorded 7.3% prevalence indicates that lakhs of teenagers are struggling with conditions ranging from anxiety and depression to behavioural and developmental disorders — many without access to timely professional help.
Raising the alarm, the minister reiterated that adolescent mental illness can no longer be dismissed as a transient phase. Left unaddressed, it increases the risk of self-harm, substance abuse, academic disruptions, and long-term psychiatric illnesses in adulthood.
In response to this growing threat, the government launched the National Tele Mental Health Programme on October 10, 2022. Its flagship platform, Tele-MANAS, was designed to expand access to mental health services across the country, particularly for young people in remote and underserved regions, said the minister in a written reply.
Jadhav informed the Lok Sabha that Tele-MANAS has rapidly scaled up since its launch. The mobile application — initially available only in Hindi and English — has now been expanded to 10 additional regional languages, including Assamese, Bengali, Gujarati, Kannada, Malayalam, Marathi, Tamil, Telugu, Odia, and Punjabi, enabling far more adolescents and families to seek help in their own language.
The minister also stressed that the Tele-MANAS app is equipped with features to support visually challenged persons, offering a specially designed interface and access to services through a toll-free number that does not require screen navigation. This inclusivity, he said, is essential as mental health vulnerabilities often intersect with other disabilities.
As of November 27, 53 Tele-MANAS cells have been set up across 36 States and UTs, offering services in 20 languages based on regional needs. Since inception, the helpline has handled a staggering 29.82 lakh calls, with 12.33 lakh calls recorded this year alone — a sharp indicator of the rising emotional distress among citizens, especially teenagers. The platform has also introduced video consultations as an upgrade to the existing audio-calling facility, ensuring higher-quality clinical interactions where required.
The crisis, however, cannot be addressed by the health sector alone. Acknowledging this, the minister highlighted significant interventions by the Ministry of Education (MoE) through Manodarpan, a nationwide initiative aimed at providing psychosocial support to students, their families, and teachers.
Manodarpan focuses on enhancing emotional resilience among school and college students, including those preparing for high-pressure competitive examinations — a group increasingly vulnerable to anxiety, burnout, and depression. Activities under the initiative aim to normalise conversations around mental well-being, offer coping strategies, and ensure that students have access to counselling support when needed.
To further safeguard students’ mental and physical health, the University Grants Commission (UGC) issued detailed guidelines on April 13, 2023. These guidelines call for the promotion of physical fitness and sports, mechanisms to reduce academic and peer pressure, stronger systems to address behavioural issues and stress, and focused support for students dealing with career concerns, depressive symptoms, or emotional difficulties.
They also emphasise instilling positive thinking, strengthening peer networks, and creating campus environments where students feel safe, understood, and supported.
