Establishing a new milestone in the field of mental health on the occasion of World Mental Health Day, Tele Mental Health Assistance and Networking Across States (Tele-MANAS) initiative of Union Ministry of Health & Family Welfare was launched today virtually by Sh. Thawar Chand Gehlot, Hon’ble Governor of Karnataka at National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences (NIMHANS), Bengaluru, in the presence of Dr. K. Sudhakar, Minister for Health & Family Welfare and Medical Education, Karnataka & Vice-President, NIMHANS.

Karnataka Health Minister Dr K Sudhakar expressed that it is a matter of immense pride for Karnataka that the Union government has launched the brand new T-Manas program which is based on Karnataka’s E-Manas platform. The new initiative was launched at the state level by Karnataka Governor Thawar Chand Gehlot at the 26th Convocation of NIMHANS that took place in Bengaluru on Monday, October 10.

The T-MANAS platform will function as a 24/7 mental health facility across the country. Karnataka initially launched a tele-counseling program in association with NIMHANS when the pandemic first struck. The primary objection of the initiative was to address the stress caused due to Covid-19 pandemic and lockdown. The initiative saw immense success and the Karnataka government also experimented an online counseling for students at a time when the class 10 results were announced in the state. Karnataka has completed a total of 23 lakh tele-counseling till date.

The E-Manas platform of Karnataka is one stop location for mental health. The platform connects patients, mental health professionals and mental health institutions.

Minister Sudhakar said, “It is a heartening to see that Prime Minister Narendra Modi Ji and Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya Ji are taking proactive steps to focus on improving mental health in the country. I am proud to say that Karnataka has played a pioneering role in focusing on mental health.”

Minister Sudhakar also highlighted Karnataka’s new Brain health initiative which aims to train PHC doctors to diagnose and treat mental health and other brain related illnesses. Minister Sudhakar stated that one day in the week will be dedicated for this task at all the Primary and Secondary Health Centers in the state.

Acknowledging the mental health crisis in wake of the COVID-19 pandemic and an urgent need to establish a digital mental health network that will withstand the challenges amplified by the pandemic, Government of India announced National Tele Mental Health Programme (NTMHP) in the Union Budget 2022-23. Tele-MANAS aims to provide free tele-mental health services all over the country round the clock, particularly catering to people in remote or under-served areas. The programme includes a network of 23 tele-mental health centres of excellence, with NIMHANS being the nodal centre and International Institute of Information Technology-Bangalore (IIITB) providing technology support. Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Bengaluru and National Health Systems Resource Centre (NHRSC) will provide the technical support.