The Economic Survey 2024-25 flagged the low levels of mental well-being in the country as “worrying” and sounded the caution that the ramifications of these trends on the economy are equally disturbing. The survey report emphasizes that given the direct costs to human welfare and the spirit and sentiment of the nation, putting mental well-being at the centre of the economic agenda is prudent. Rising incidents of suicides, spikes in depression, anxiety, and other mental issues have outpaced various interventions by the government and society to address the issues of mental health. Transitioning from the prevailing “medical model” of mental health to the convergent model as recommended by the Parliamentary Committee on Health and Family Welfare can be a pragmatic approach. This approach, according to the committee’s report, acknowledges the intricate interaction among behavioural, environmental, biological, and genetic elements across an individual’s lifespan, particularly during pivotal stages like childhood and adolescence. The prevailing interventions are more symptomatic rather than preventive and focussed on medical care and counselling. The committee expressed the view that initiatives like establishing peer support groups in schools and colleges and community-based interventions leveraging technology can also encourage help-seeking behaviour. The Economic Survey report also insists that there is an urgent need for school and family-level interventions to encourage healthy pastimes such as meeting with friends and playing outside. The parliamentary panel, however, feels that there is still scope for policy and programmatic interventions to effectively prioritise and address the underlying factors, such as vulnerable groups, unemployed youth, women, and others contributing to mental health issues. Its recommendation to the Ministry to integrate psychosocial interventions targeted at specific vulnerable groups into schemes and programs, such as those related to social justice, women’s empowerment, and child development, is based on this reality. The Economic Survey findings highlight that currently, 47 mental health institutes are operational across the country. Additionally, the government supports mental health services at primary, secondary, and tertiary levels under the National Mental Health Program. The parliamentary panel, however, observed that there is still considerable scope to improve the treatment gap that results from the lack of mental health professionals, weak mental healthcare infrastructure, inadequate and inequitable access to mental health services, stigma, and discrimination. The committee has recommended to the central government to significantly increase budgetary allocations to mental health institutions like the National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences (NIMHANS) and LGB Regional Institute of Mental Health, Tezpur, saying that adequate funding is crucial for research, infrastructure development, and expanding mental health services to underserved areas. NIMHANS, it points out, despite having an excellent reputation and expertise, faces challenges due to limited resources. “While it strives to provide quality mental health services and research, the constraints on funding can hinder its ability to reach a broader population and invest in advanced research endeavours,” states the report, which puts into perspective the funding gap in addressing mental health issues in the country. Official data highlights that the sanction of posts in mental health institutes like NIMHANS is grossly inadequate compared to the requirement to deliver timely treatment and care to the growing number of people suffering from mental health issues. Another key recommendation of the committee that deserves the urgent attention of the government is developing a comprehensive long-term strategic plan for mental health care, research, and infrastructure development. This plan should outline clear goals, timelines, and resource allocation strategies to address the evolving needs of the mental health sector and ensure sustainable growth and excellence in service delivery, the committee insists. The government having comprehensive and updated data on the mental health situation is crucial to formulating this strategic plan. The available data on the mental health situation in the country is attributed to the National Mental Health Survey (NMHS)-1 conducted in 2015-16. Expeditious completion of NMHS-2 is essential to understand the ground realities, state-wise variation, availability of trained professionals compared to the actual population of people requiring specialised care and assistance, and the level of awareness among parents, teachers, employers, industry, and business owners on mental health concerns and remedial measures that are required to be taken. The NMHS-1 highlighted a gloomy picture as it brought to light that about 10.6% of the country’s adult population suffered from mental disorders while the treatment gap for mental disorders ranged between 70% and 92% for different disorders. The COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated the mental health situation, but the actual picture will be revealed only in NMHS-2 findings. Putting in place continuous updating of the data instead of waiting for a long period is essential to prevent mental health issues from becoming a silent epidemic and ruining the country’s economy by reducing people’s productivity. States undertaking their own annual surveys can go a long way in filling the data availability gap. Formulating an elaborate plan of action to remove the shortcomings is the urgent need of the hour.