New Delhi, Aug 10 (INB) Amid concerns over student suicides and mental health challenges in higher education, the government has outlined a range of measures to strengthen counselling, early intervention and campus wellbeing, Parliament was infomed on Monday. In a written reply to the Lok Sabha, Minister of State for Education Sukanta Majumdar said an integrated approach has been conceptualised under the Malaviya Mission Teacher Training Programme, under which two fortnightly sessions are being held with faculty members of higher education institutions to equip them to identify and address student mental health concerns at an early stage. The minister said annual National Wellbeing Conclaves were organised at IIT Hyderabad in November 2024 and IIT Bombay in November 2025, while a Regional Workshop on Mental Health was held at IIT Madras on July 12-13, 2026. The workshop brought together institutional leaders, faculty, students and mental health professionals to discuss best practices and strengthen campus wellbeing systems. At the institutional level, several higher education institutions have adopted proactive mental health support models. IIT Kharagpur, for instance, has implemented the SETU (Support, Empathy, Transformation & Upliftment) framework, aimed at moving from reactive care towards preventive and round-the-clock support. Majumdar said IIT Madras, IIT Delhi, IIT Guwahati, IIT Gandhinagar and IIT Roorkee have conducted workshops on mental wellness and stress management in accordance with the ministry’s guidelines. He said all IITs, IIMs, NITs and IIITs have dedicated mental health or counselling centres staffed by full-time or visiting professional counsellors, clinical psychologists and, in some cases, psychiatrists. The institutions also conduct awareness and mental health training programmes covering stress management, coping strategies and identification of warning signs, besides providing on-campus or off-campus counselling services, he said. Beyond campuses, the government is implementing the National Mental Health Programme, under which outpatient services, assessment, counselling and psychosocial interventions, continuing care and support, medicines, outreach and ambulance services are provided at Community Health Centres and Primary Health Centres, according to the minister. The government has also upgraded more than 1.81 lakh Sub Health Centres and Primary Health Centres into Ayushman Arogya Mandirs, with mental health services included in their comprehensive primary healthcare packages, Majumdar said. He further said the National Tele Mental Health Programme, launched in 2022, has been expanded to improve access to mental health counselling and care. As of August 6, 2026, 36 states and Union Territories had established 53 Tele Mental Health Assistance and Networking Across States (Tele-MANAS) cells, which have handled more than 43.25 lakh calls, the minister said. The government has also launched the Tele-MANAS mobile application and introduced video consultation facilities in addition to the existing audio-calling service, he added.
