India takes huge step forward by announcing mental health initiatives in its budget
Categories: DAILY NEWS
The world is still reeling (and will continue to) with the coronavirus pandemic and its after-effects. The unprecedented crisis that has started to become the new normal. Since its first outbreak in late 2019, COVID-19 has killed millions of people and left millions of others grieving the loss of their loved ones. Humans have a tendency of moving on quickly in a really fast-paced lifestyle, but sometimes we don't understand to what extent some tragedy has affected us. Covid has impacted our sanity beyond our understanding, but it's extremely important to identify it and address it before it's too late or starts influencing our day-to-day life or how we behave. First of all, it is completely normal that people are distressed in the context of the Covid fears and perceived threats. Unarguably, there will be fear, anxiety and stress. We might see ourselves crying or getting emotional more often even while watching movies and even while reading already-read stories or novels. For a normal person, it is certainly difficult to understand what's behind the emotional outbursts, why emotions are getting triggered even for the smallest of things. Sometimes we don't realise that maybe childhood trauma is behind the distress and agony we are facing at the age of 30 and 40. Instead of blaming everything on the pandemic, let's open up and stop being in denial. The government of India has taken an initiative at a national level for mental health issues and awareness, which is extremely important and quite encouraging. While presenting the Union Budget for the year 2022-2023, India's Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced a National Tele Mental Health Programme, in view of 'long Covid', the phenomenon of coronavirus-related ailments remaining in patients long after they recover. The government also informed about rolling out of an open platform for the National Digital Health Ecosystem.Sitharaman said the programme will be launched to improve access to quality mental health counselling and also care services. When such steps are taken by governments at a national level, they will certainly bring about changes in the longer run, opening up a common platform for dialogue over the importance of mental health.It stated that keeping a positive approach, developing vulnerable-group-specific need-based interventions with proper risk communication strategies can provide a robust system in the country.Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government brought up the issue of mental health while presenting the annual budget, a window has definitely opened to establish a healthy conversation.