Speaking after inaugurating the 21st World Congress of Mental Health, the President said, ‘the World Health Organisation reports that India has among the highest prevalence of mental illnesses globally. Our National Mental Health Survey 2016 found that close to 14 per cent of India’s population required active mental health interventions. About two per cent suffered from severe mental disorders. Nearly two hundred thousand Indians take their own lives each year. If one includes attempted suicides, the number goes up substantially.
These are worrying statistics. It is also a fact that those living in metropolitan cities and those who are young – whether in the productive age group, or children and teenagers – are most vulnerable to mental illnesses. In India, both these factors are cause for concern. We have a young population, with 65 per cent of our people below the age of 35. And our society is rapidly urbanising. This leaves us staring at a possible mental health epidemic.’
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