President of India, Shri Pranab Mukherjee dedicated the Bangalore based National Institute of Mental Health and Neurological Sciences (NIMHANS) to the nation as an Institute of national importance.
(Union Minister of Health and Family Welfare – Jagat Prakash Nadda)
- He also inaugurated the Magneto Encephalography Research Center and NIMHANS Heritage Museum in Bengaluru.
About Mental Health Policy
India’s first comprehensive mental health policy was notified in October 2014 on the occasion of World Mental Health Day (October 10) which covers several aspects of mental health including the rights of the mentally ill, the need to provide support to care givers, decriminalization of suicide and other progressive policy initiatives.
- The policy is supported by the “Mental Health Action Plan 365” which spells out the specific roles of the Central Government, the State Governments, local bodies and civil society.
About NIMHANS
Bengaluru headquartered NIMHANS was conferred a deemed university status by the UGC in 1994.It was established as Mental Hospital in 1925. This Mental Hospital & All India Institute of Mental Health were amalgamated on 27th December 1974 and established as an autonomous body under the Societies Registration Act.
Initiatives taken by NIMHANS:
- Centre for Well Being
- Setting up a Brain bank
- Centre for Public Health
- Centre for Addiction Medicine
- Free Legal Aid Clinic in its outpatient block
These innovations as well as the NIMHANS Community Mental Health and Rehabilitation Centre and Neuro-biology Research Centre (NRC) are successful models that could be replicated in other parts of the country.