In a significant move to normalise mental health conversations in India, the Union Health Ministry on Thursday appointed actor and mental health advocate Deepika Padukone as the National Ambassador for Mental Health, even as it unveiled a major upgrade to the Tele-MANAS platform — the government’s flagship digital mental health service.
The announcement came on World Mental Health Day, with Union Health Minister Jagat Prakash Nadda introducing a series of enhancements to the Tele-MANAS mobile application, aimed at improving accessibility, inclusivity, and regional outreach.
"Deepika Padukone’s involvement will help focus national attention on mental health, encouraging individuals to seek help without hesitation," Nadda said, adding that her role would further amplify the government’s commitment to making mental health support equitable and stigma-free.
The updated Tele-MANAS app now supports 10 regional Indian languages — Assamese, Bengali, Gujarati, Kannada, Malayalam, Marathi, Tamil, Telugu, Odia, and Punjabi — alongside Hindi and English. The multilingual interface is expected to significantly widen the app’s reach, especially in rural and non-Hindi speaking regions.
Recognising the challenges faced by persons with disabilities in accessing digital services, the app has also introduced accessibility features for visually impaired users. The enhancements are part of the Centre’s broader push to ensure that mental health services are inclusive and available to all sections of society.
Among the other key features added is ‘Asmi’, a chatbot that helps users navigate the app and access support more easily. The app also now includes an emergency response module that offers timely guidance during mental health crises — a critical feature, health experts noted, in the prevention of self-harm and suicide.
Since its launch, Tele-MANAS has handled over 28 lakh calls, with nearly 4,000 people reaching out daily. The platform, staffed with trained counsellors, provides assistance in more than 20 languages, reflecting its growing footprint and trust among the public. Nadda noted the nearly equal gender ratio among callers as a sign of rising mental health awareness across demographic groups.
“The success of Tele-MANAS highlights how digital public health infrastructure can empower people to seek timely support,” Nadda said.
On the occasion, Health Secretary Punya Salila Srivastava said that Tele-MANAS is a critical part of India’s digital health architecture and aligns with global efforts to integrate mental health into universal health coverage. “Every suicide can be prevented with professional, empathetic care — and apps like Tele-MANAS bring that care closer to the people,” she said.
Director of National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences (NIMHANS), Dr. Pratima Murthy, welcomed the app's enhancements, noting they would help the platform serve vulnerable and underserved populations more effectively. Prof. T.K. Srikanth of IIIT-Bangalore, who led the app’s technical development, stressed that data privacy and scalable design are built into the system, ensuring future upgrades can be deployed smoothly.
The app is developed and managed in collaboration with NIMHANS and the International Institute of Information Technology, Bangalore (IIIT-B), with support from the Union Health Ministry. Health Ministry officials including Additional Secretary Aradhana Patnaik, Joint Secretary Vijay Nehra, and Dr. C Naveen Kumar, Principal Investigator of Tele-MANAS, were present at the event.
