Budget 2026 gives a boost to mental healthcare: North India to get its own NIMHANS | India News

NEW DELHI: Union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced the plans to set up a new unit for the National Institute for Mental Health and Neuro Sciences in North India. Acknowledging the lack of mental health institutions in the region, she also announced the national mental health institutes in Jharkhand’s Ranchi and Assam’s Tezpur shall also be upgraded.Addressing the gaps in the mental health infrastructure in India, Sitharaman introduced the upgrade, stating, “Reaffirming our commitment to mental health and trauma care, there are no national institutes for mental health care in North India.”

She further announced the government’s plan to establish and upgrade mental health institutions in North India. She said, “We will therefore set up a NIMHANS 2.0 and also upgrade national mental health institutes in Ranchi and Tezpur as regional apex institutions.”