India faces manpower shortage amid deepening mental health crisis

India faces a critical shortage of trained psychiatrists, psychologists and psychiatric nurses, raising concerns about equitable access to mental health. As per the World Health Organization, there should be 1.7 psychiatrists per 100,000 population. However, the current ratio in India is only about 0.75 psychiatrists per 100,000 people, as per the Indian Journal of Psychiatry. States such as Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan have an acute crisis in this regard.


ELEMENT 1- Mental Health workforce gaps

States	Psychiatrists per 100,000 people in India (WHO recommendation - 1.7)	Clinical psychologists per 100,000 people in India (WHO recommendation - 0.7)
Kerala	1.20	0.63
West Bengal	0.55	0.05
Punjab	0.46	0.04
Gujarat	0.53	0.02
Assam	0.29	0.06
Tamil Nadu	0.30	0.01
Uttar Pradesh	0.15	0.09
Rajasthan	0.10	0.02
Madhya Pradesh	0.05	0.02

Source: The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare in Rajya Sabha on July 22, 2025

ELEMENT 2

Demand for mental health care

In 2024-25, Centres of Excellence and the Departments of Psychiatry under the National Mental Health Programme handled 2.52 million outpatient department cases, including both in-person and teleconsultations.

The government’s Tele-MANAS helpline, launched in 2022, has received more than 2.38 million calls so far, offering support in 20 Indian languages.

ELEMENT 3

Shortage of psychiatry seats

The country has 1,300 MD (Psychiatry) seats across medical colleges for a population of 1.43 billion. While the number has increased 138% to 74,306 from 31,185 before 2014, mental health specialisations continue to lag.

Sixty-six institutes are offering M.Phil Clinical Psychology courses.

Overall, there are 13,86,150 registered allopathic doctors in the country.

ELEMENT 4

Clinical psychologists and nurses

As per data from the Rehabilitation Council of India, there are only 4,309 clinical psychologists and 801 rehabilitation social workers registered in India. The WHO recommends 0.7 social workers per 100,000 population.

In 2024-25, the National Medical Council started a BSc Clinical Psychology (Hons.) course, approving 19 universities to increase manpower in clinical psychology.

ELEMENT 5

Quote: Prataprao Jadhav, Union minister of state, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare

The data regarding the number of psychologists, psychiatrists and counsellors in the country at present is not maintained centrally. As per NMC website, approximately 1,300 MD psychiatry seats are available in various medical colleges. Psychiatry has now been made a compulsory subject with a dedicated question paper in MBBS.

Source: The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, NMHS Survey 2015-16

Note: The government has sanctioned the NMHS 2 survey to be conducted in all 28 states and eight Union Territories of India.