New Delhi, October 10 (IANS). On the occasion of World Mental Health Day, Union Health and Family Welfare Minister Jagat Prakash Nadda on Friday launched new initiatives for the National Tele Mental Health Program (Tele Manas App). Tele Manas app will now be available in 10 regional languages apart from English and Hindi languages.
New initiatives include Tele Manas App multilingual UI, chatbot, accessibility and emergency modules. This includes Assamese, Bengali, Gujarati, Kannada, Malayalam, Marathi, Tamil, Telugu, Oriya and Punjabi languages. Along with this, a chatbot feature has also been launched, through which users can connect with the app and get information or help related to mental health.
Union Health Minister Nadda said, “A healthy mind creates a healthy body and a healthy mind and a healthy body create a healthy nation.”
He said, “India is committed to ensuring equitable, affordable and inclusive access to mental health services. With the launch of new features in the Tele-Manas app, we are strengthening our preparedness to effectively deal with mental health emergencies and expanding the reach of digital innovations to every corner of the country.
He informed that Deepika Padukone has been appointed as the Mental Health Ambassador to raise awareness about access to mental health services. Their participation will help focus attention on mental health and encourage people to seek timely help through government-approved mental health resources.
The Union Health Minister said, “Since its inception, the app has handled approximately 28 lakh calls, involving trained counselors in over 20 different languages. Every day, around 4,000 people approach for help, which shows the effectiveness of this service in addressing mental health concerns. The almost equal number of men and women seeking help shows that the Tele Manas mobile app gives people across India the convenience of getting help anytime, anywhere.”
Union Health Secretary Punya Salila Srivastava said that this year’s theme in the United Nations has given special attention to mental health. India’s digital initiatives, including TeleManas, aim to achieve universal health coverage.
–IANS
SAK/ABM
