India's National Mental Health Survey 2016: What It Revealed and What Comes Next
What Is the National Mental Health Survey?
How many people in India experience mental health difficulties? How many receive the help they need? And what prevents others from getting care?
These were some of the questions addressed by India's National Mental Health Survey (NMHS) 2015–2016.
Commissioned by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare and conducted by the National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences (NIMHANS), the survey aimed to understand mental health conditions, treatment needs and available services across India.
Researchers completed interviews with 34,802 adults across 12 states, representing six geographical regions. Participants were selected using a scientific sampling method, allowing researchers to estimate patterns across the wider population (Pradeep et al., 2018).
Although conducted during 2015–2016, the survey is commonly referred to as NMHS 2016 because its findings were released that year.
Why Was the Survey Important?
Before NMHS, India had several studies on mental health, but they often used different methods or focused on particular regions. This made it difficult to understand the overall situation.
NMHS provided a common approach to measuring mental health conditions across multiple states.
Importantly, it investigated more than how many people had a condition. It also examined whether people received treatment, what difficulties they faced in accessing care, and what mental healthcare resources were available.
This information is essential for planning services, training healthcare workers and deciding where resources are most needed (Pradeep et al., 2018).
What Were the Key Findings?
1. Mental health conditions were common.
The survey estimated that approximately 10.6% of adults had a mental health condition covered by the survey at the time of assessment.
That is roughly one in every ten adults.
The estimated lifetime prevalence was 13.7%, meaning that approximately this proportion had experienced one of these conditions at some point in their lives (Gautham et al., 2020).
2. Depression, anxiety and substance use were important concerns.
The survey reported the following estimates:
Depressive disorders: Approximately 2.7%.
Anxiety and stress-related disorders: Approximately 3.5%.
Alcohol use disorders: Approximately 4.6%.
Severe mental disorders: Approximately 0.8%.
Tobacco dependence was measured separately and affected approximately 20.9% of adults.
These percentages represent different categories that may overlap. They should not be added together. Importantly, tobacco dependence was not included in the headline 10.6% estimate (NIMHANS, 2016).
3. Most people needing treatment were not receiving adequate care.
Perhaps the most concerning finding was the 84.5% treatment gap.
A treatment gap refers to the proportion of people with a condition who are not receiving treatment or are receiving inadequate treatment.
In simple terms, more than eight out of ten people identified as needing mental healthcare were not receiving adequate care.
The gap varied by condition. It was approximately 85% for common mental disorders and 73.6% for severe mental disorders (Gautham et al., 2020; NIMHANS, 2016).
4. Mental health difficulties were not distributed equally.
The survey identified higher overall rates among middle-aged adults, people living in urban areas and people from lower-income households.
Patterns also differed by condition. For example, depressive disorders were more common among women, whereas alcohol use disorders were substantially more common among men (NIMHANS, 2016).
These findings highlight the need to understand how social and economic circumstances can influence mental health.
Why Is the Treatment Gap So Large?
Accessing mental healthcare can be difficult for several reasons.
The survey identified barriers including:
Limited awareness of mental health conditions.
Fear of stigma and discrimination.
Financial difficulties.
Long distances to healthcare facilities.
Shortages and uneven distribution of trained professionals.
Delays in recognising symptoms and seeking help.
These barriers affect individuals differently. Someone may recognise that they need support but be unable to afford it, while another person may avoid seeking care because they fear being judged.
Reducing the treatment gap therefore requires both better awareness and more accessible, affordable services (NIMHANS, 2016).
What Were the Survey's Limitations?
The findings remain valuable, but they should be interpreted carefully.
The survey included 12 states rather than every Indian state and Union Territory. Cities with populations exceeding ten million were excluded, and children younger than 13 were not covered in the main survey.
It also provides a picture of mental health during 2015–2016, not a direct estimate of the situation in 2026 (Pradeep et al., 2018).
What Is the Latest National Mental Health Survey?
India's National Mental Health Survey–2 (NMHS-2) is the next major effort to understand the country's mental health needs.
Conducted during 2024–2026, it is designed to cover all 28 states and eight Union Territories, with a planned sample exceeding 250,000 people.
The second survey expands the scope of the earlier study by including adolescents aged 13–17, examining disability and access to care, and exploring concerns such as loneliness, technology-related problems and the effects of social circumstances. A component involving younger children is also planned (NIMHANS, 2026; Rao et al., 2026).
A scientific paper published in August 2026 anticipated the release of results by October 2026. However, a complete, publicly released national findings report could not be verified as of 8 November 2026.
Until those results are available, the 2015–2016 estimates should be presented with their original survey dates rather than described as current prevalence.
Conclusion
The National Mental Health Survey 2016 helped establish something important: mental health difficulties affect a substantial number of people in India, yet many do not receive the support they need.
Its greatest contribution may be identifying the distance between needing care and receiving care.
NMHS-2 offers an opportunity to understand how that situation has changed and where improvements are most urgently required.
Ultimately, the purpose of these surveys goes beyond producing statistics. Their findings should help India build a mental healthcare system in which seeking support is easier, services are more accessible, and people are treated with dignity.
References
Gautham, M. S., Gururaj, G., Varghese, M., et al. (2020). The National Mental Health Survey of India (2016): Prevalence, socio-demographic correlates and treatment gap of mental morbidity. International Journal of Social Psychiatry, 66(4), 361–372.
National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences (NIMHANS). (2016). National Mental Health Survey of India, 2015–16: Prevalence, patterns and outcomes. Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India.
National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences (NIMHANS). (2026). National Mental Health Survey 2: Objectives and methodology.
Pradeep, B. S., Gururaj, G., Varghese, M., et al. (2018). National Mental Health Survey of India, 2016 – Rationale, design and methods. PLOS ONE, 13(10), e0205096.
Rao, G. N., Patel, V. A., NMHS-2 Central Monitoring Team, et al. (2026). Quality control protocol of the National Mental Health Survey-2 of India. PLOS ONE, 21(8), e0355561.