'India's Mental Health Helpline Receives Nearly 2 Calls a Minute,' Govt Tells Parliament

Tele MANAS, which stands for a National Toll-Free Mental Health Helpline in India, has proved to be a vital support service in view of growing concerns with respect to mental health in the country, with a total of nearly 30 lakh calls being registered since inception. The magnitude of reach can well be judged by stating that this registers an average of two calls a minute, which speaks volumes about a heightened demand for such support. The information was provided by Union Minister of State for Home Affairs Nityanand Rai in a written form to a question in the Rajya Sabha.

Tele MANAS started operations on 10th October, 2022, on the occasion of World Mental Health Day, under the National Tele Mental Health Programme by the Ministry of Health & Family Welfare. Tele Mental Health Counseling Service aims to provide these services for FREE and uninterrupted through a common Helpline Number-14416 in 20 different languages of our country. As of now, this common helpline service has answered approximately 29.82 lakh calls through a network of 53 working cells in this country. These working cells will be guided by 23 Mentoring Institutes & five Regional Coordination Centers.

Additionally, government statistics indicate that the age bracket of 31-60 years comprises the major number of people contacting such support services, driven by worries of work pressure, family and financial responsibilities, and finally health issues. Cases of distress calls were recorded from a total of 37 states and Union Territories because of anxiety, depression, stress, and emotional disturbances among other factors. Such a broad reach indicated increased awareness on one side but a lack of accessible support services on another side. In response to these evolving requirements, the tele MANAS service platform has expanded to cater to more than the audio-format tele-counselling provisions too. 

A mobile application for conducting video sessions has been launched on World Mental Health Day in 2024. The total calls have already recorded over 18 lakh in February 2025, largely because of a post-pandemic psychology impact, loneliness, uncertainty, and insufficient mental healthcare support in the country in general, according to a surge in calls explained by psychiatry circles. While Tele MANAS service has bridged some gaps in access, especially in distant regions, support hotlines can never cope with such a massive crisis in numbers, according to psychiatry circles, when they demand increased focus on human resources and strategic handling for challenges such as suicide prevention and chronic mental health conditions. The increasing demand for calls in support hotlines indicated an expansion requirement in mental healthcare support in the country during relevant parliament sessions on handling this crisis.