Section Article

Mental Health Awareness and Policy Initiatives in India (2018–2025)
Author(s): Mrs. Sweety Rajput

Abstract
This paper examines the trajectory of mental health awareness and policy initiatives in India between 2018 and 2025 a period marked by rapid policy innovation digital public health interventions and a widening public conversation catalyzed by the COVID-19 pandemic. India’s approach in these years reflects a shift from a purely biomedical and institutional model to a rights-based community- and technology-enabled model that emphasizes prevention early intervention and continuum of care. Key developments include the operationalization of the Mental Healthcare Act’s rights framework the launch of national helplines and student support platforms and the creation of a federated multilingual tele-mental health program that has brought services to the last mile. The paper situates these measures against enduring challenges of human-resource shortages stigma regional disparities and financing constraints. It argues that India’s policy architecture has decisively expanded access pathways and public awareness but sustained gains will depend on robust implementation intersectoral coordination and investments that translate rights into services for all.