‘Startups bridging mental health gap through tech-led innovations’

New Delhi: Mental health-tech startups are emerging as one of the fastest growing in the segment in the country, with experts warning that India is in the grip of a deepening mental health emergency.

According to the India Mental Health Alliance (IMHA), a staggering 200 million Indians have diagnosed mental health conditions but receive no adequate treatment, leading to a treatment gap as high as 95 pert cent in some areas.

India is home to nearly 450 mental health-tech startups, which are using digital innovations to improve access to therapy, promote early intervention, and provide emotional support to those who remain outside the formal care system.

Platforms such as Evolve and Atman -- supported by the ACT, a tech-first venture philanthropy organisation -- are among those leading the change by making mental health care more accessible, inclusive, and stigma-free.

“The gap between accessibility and affordability is too large to keep up with, given the slow generation of competent resources and the exponential increase in both awareness, help seeking

behaviour as well as prevalence of mental health challenges,” said Dr Kavita Arora, child and adolescent psychiatrist and founding cohort member of the IMHA, on World Mental Health Day.

Traditional systems are buckling under the weight of demand and a new generation of health-tech innovators are stepping in as critical lifelines, harnessing technology to deliver mental health care that is more inclusive,

affordable, and capable of reaching those long left behind, she said.

With 10.6 per cent of adults in India experiencing mental disorders and only 0.75 psychiatrists per 100,000 population, far below the World Health Organization’s (WHO) recommendation of three, India’s mental health crisis has reached critical levels. with agency inputs