Establishing a new milestone in the field of mental health on the occasion of World Mental Health Day on 10th October, Tele Mental Health Assistance and Networking Across States (Tele-MANAS) initiative of Union Ministry of Health & Family Welfare was launched virtually by Thawar Chand Gehlot, 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.

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.

Tele-MANAS will be organised in two tier system; Tier 1 comprises of state Tele-MANAS cells which include trained counsellors and mental health specialists. Tier 2 will comprise of specialists at District Mental Health Programme (DMHP)/Medical College resources for physical consultation and/or e-Sanjeevani for audio visual consultation. Presently there are 5 regional coordination centres along with 51 State/UT Tele MANAS cells.

States/UTs launching Tele Mental Health Programme today include Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Chhattisgarh, Dadra Nagar Haveli and daman and Diu, Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Karnataka, Kerala, Ladakh, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha, Punjab, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal.