On the occasion of World Suicide Prevention Day, the Government of India highlighted progress under its National Suicide Prevention Strategy, launched in 2022 with a target of reducing suicide deaths by 10 percent by 2030. The backgrounder noted that India records over 100,000 suicide deaths annually, with the national rate rising from 9.9 per lakh in 2017 to 12.4 in 2022. State-level variation remains stark, ranging from 0.6 in Bihar to 43.1 in Sikkim. To address this, the government has expanded Tele-MANAS helplines to 53 centres across all states and UTs, integrated mental health services into 767 district programmes and 178,000 Ayushman Arogya Mandirs, and strengthened training at AIIMS, Centres of Excellence and medical colleges. Youth-focused initiatives such as the Rashtriya Kishor Swasthya Karyakram, School Health and Wellness Programme and Manodarpan aim to promote resilience and early intervention in schools. The backgrounder aligns suicide prevention with the global theme “Changing the Narrative on Suicide” for 2024–2026, underscoring the need to reduce stigma and expand compassionate, system-level responses.
Relevant question for policy stakeholders:
How can India address regional disparities and strengthen evidence-based interventions to ensure its national suicide prevention targets are achieved by 2030?
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https://www.pib.gov.in/PressNoteDetails.aspx?NoteId=155178&ModuleId=3
