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J&K leads national-level digital initiative on mental healthcare

This was announced at the national launch of video consultations in Tele Manas and Tele Manas App 1.0 (Hindi Version) on July 16, 2025 with Aradhna Patnaik, Additional Secretary and Mission Director, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW), Government of India, as the Chief Guest
11:59 PM Jul 03, 2025 IST | ZEHRU NISSA
This was announced at the national launch of video consultations in Tele Manas and Tele Manas App 1.0 (Hindi Version) on July 16, 2025 with Aradhna Patnaik, Additional Secretary and Mission Director, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW), Government of India, as the Chief Guest
j k leads national level digital initiative on mental healthcare
J&K leads national-level digital initiative on mental healthcare
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Srinagar, Jul 3: Long battling mental health crises, J&K is emerging as the path blazer in India’s digital mental health landscape.

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The J&K’s Tele Manas Centre has become the first to launch video consultations, an availability that makes mental health care accessible and acceptable throughout not just the tech-savvy youth population, but over the mountains and forests that remain cut-off due to their terrain and distance from centrally located facilities.

This was announced at the national launch of video consultations in Tele Manas and Tele Manas App 1.0 (Hindi Version) on July 16, 2025 with Aradhna Patnaik, Additional Secretary and Mission Director, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW), Government of India, as the Chief Guest.

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Dr Naveen Kumar C, Professor and Principal Investigator at the Apex Coordinating Center for Tele-MANAS, highlighted J&K’s leadership in adopting this innovative service. “Video consultations represent a significant evolution from audio-only services, enabling escalated and more effective clinical engagement,” he said during the launch. Despite technical and logistical challenges, Dr. Kumar described the process as a “continuous learning journey” and expressed optimism about the national rollout, “We are committed to making digital mental health services more accessible and impactful,” he said.

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In J&K, the start of Tele-MANAS has been nothing short of revolutionary, particularly for far-flung areas like Gurez, Poonch, Rajouri, and Uri, where access to physical mental health facilities is limited.

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Prof Arshid Hussain, Nodal Officer for Tele-MANAS in J&K, while speaking at the launch said that J&K had surpassed one lakh audio consultations in the first week of June. “Digital consultations are clicking and becoming more accessible with both digital-loving youth and also underserved populations in remote areas,” he said. He recollected that during recent conflict periods this year, the Tele-MANAS team recorded a surge in calls from affected communities seeking mental health support from areas in Poonch, Rajouri, and Uri. “This underscores the platform’s role in addressing crises in real-time. It is a beacon of hope in areas marked by uncertainty,” he said. Prof Hussain emphasised that making mental health services “available” was not enough. “Mental health care must be accessible and embraced by the people and J&K is showing the way forward,” he said.

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Video Consultations marks a significant leap in making mental health services accessible, interactive, and impactful, and are particularly undeniable in their impact in the remote and underserved regions of J&K. A flagship program for digital mental health, Tele Manas began its pilot phase for video consultations in October 2023 across Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, and J&K.

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