According to the Univdatos Analysis, The Mental Health Apps Market was valued at approximately USD 6 Billion in 2023 and is expected to grow at a substantial CAGR of around 16.5% during the forecast period (2024-2032) owing to the increased internet penetration and widespread adoption of smartphones.

According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), approximately, 60 to 70 million people in India suffer from common and severe mental disorders which is flustering situation. India is the world's suicide capital with over 2.6 lakh cases of suicide in a year. Anxiety disorders surged from 298 million people to 374 million, which is about a 25% increase. Sustainable Development Goals targets 3.4 and 3.5 of the discuss lowering the prevalence of mental illness in society. Mental illness diseases lead to more decline in satisfaction as compared to other communicable or non-communicable diseases.

Factors Affecting Mental Health

Mental Health conditions depends on a number of individual, societal, and systemic factors.

·        Individual factors include psychological and biological characteristics such as emotional intelligence, substance use, heredity etc.

·        People may thrive mental health issues when they are exposed to adverse societal conditions, such as poverty, violence, inequality etc.

·        Systematic risks may appear at any stage of life but the most vulnerable is of childhood e.g. physical punishment and strict parenting are known to harm children’s health, and bullying is a major risk factor for mental health issues.

·        Other factors may include interpersonal relationships, high-quality education, respectable employment, secure neighbourhoods, and cohesive communities.

Over (13,000) i.e. 7.6% of all suicide deaths in 2022, according to the latest report on Accidental deaths and Suicides in India 2022 released by the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB). In India, according to National Institute of Mental Health and Neuro-Sciences data, more than 80% of people do not have access to mental healthcare services. As per the WHO, the economic cost of poor mental health in India will be over USD 1.03 trillion between 2012 and 2030.

Government of India Initiatives

In 1982, Government of India launched National Mental Health Program (NMHP) with the objective of minimising the burden of mental diseases and with the emergence COVID-19 several initiatives were taken with plethora of measures.

·        Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment launched a 24/7 toll free helpline called “Kiran (1800-599-0019)” in 2020 to prop up people grappling with stress, depression, anxiety, suicidal thoughts, and other mental health issues.

·         National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences (NIMHANS) is designing (iGOT)-Diksha platform, for augmenting the ability of health professionals to provide online psychosocial support and training.

·        The HRD Ministry (now the Ministry of Education) launched the MANODARPAN initiative in July 2021 which offer kids, families, and teachers psychosocial support for their mental health and well-being amid the Covid-19 pandemic which is Prime Minister’s vision of Atma Nirbhar Bharat

·        In 2021, The Government of India launched the MANAS (Mental Health and Normalcy Augmentation System) mobile app for stimulating mental health in various age group people approved by The Prime Minister’s Science, Technology, and Innovation Advisory Council as a national programme (PM-STIAC).

·        In 2022-23, Budget the government announced a “National Tele Mental Health Programme” to ameliorate quality mental health counselling and care services access across in the country.

·        The application of Section 309 IPC has been marginally less penalized and attempts to commit suicide are now only punished under special circumstances.

 Mental Health Promotion

·        Public access to inexpensive mental healthcare has been deteriorated by the low financial resource allocation as a per cent of GDP to healthcare.

·        Unavailability of mental healthcare centres in remote and rural areas increases out-of-pocket expenses of the patients thereby leading to loss to economy due to delayed or non-treatment of mentally ill persons which exacerbates during economic downturns.

·        Lesser ratio of mental healthcare experts to patients e.g. psychiatrists (0.3), nurses (0.12), psychologists (0.07), and social workers (0.07) are there for every 100,000 people (0.07).

·        According to the WHO, young adults are more vulnerable for mental problems, while majority of India’s population—more than 50%—is under 25.

·        Mentally ill individuals are exposed to and frequently suffer from physical, sexual, and unjust detention, even in their own homes.

·        Mental illness particularly among elderly, poor, young adolescents leads to societal isolation, social stigma, and abandonment.

Way ahead

Higher allocation of resources is needed which will have pragmatic effects in Indian society by establishing self-help groups of carers’ families and NGOs, and engaging the community and reducing the stigma associated with mental illness. The provision of services should be empathetic, compassionate, and free from stigma and partiality. India needs ongoing funding to spread knowledge and awareness about mental health and persistent problems related to it. People with mental health issues find them in difficulties as are afraid of being judged, evaluated.

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Recent news

v Bollywood actor Suniel Shetty launched a new mental health app called 'Let’s Get Happi’ by collaborating with Veda Rehabilitation & Wellness which gives 24/7 access to therapy and a safer space for individuals to talk about mental wellness.

v The shortage of capable and efficient psychiatrists and psychologists, and the stigma attached with mental health issues that discourage people from attending in-person consultation, is exaggerating the medical community to recommend the use of mobile apps and tele-consultation.

v Many new tech Start-ups such as Evolve, Kaha Mind , Wysa, , MANAH, Trijog and Amaha have been eyeing to build innovative tech-led solutions for  combating  mental health issues

Conclusion

Developing apps which for mental well-being of citizens of India has become the dire need which must be integrated with the public health schemes like the National Health Mission, Poshan Abhiyan, e-Sanjeevani and others which should be multilingual so that it can be widely used. In order to tackle the burden of mental illness various issues should be addressed such as stigma and awareness, increasing the number of psychologists and psychiatrists, and Apps alone won’t help. Every individual’s mental health difficulties can be addressed by the NMHP, National Health Mission, National Adolescent Health Programme, and Ayushman Bharat. Since COVID-19 has made mental diseases worse everywhere, more attention is required.

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