National Student Mental Health Act

 

Dear Cabinet Ministers 

Subject: Urgent Need for Regulatory Framework on Student Mental Health – Supreme Court Directive

I write to draw your attention to a historic Supreme Court judgment (26 July 2025) that mandates urgent reforms across India's education system in response to the alarming rise in student suicides.

The Court has rightly termed this a “systemic failure” and invoked Articles 32 and 141 to ensure immediate implementation of mental health safeguards. However, these interim guidelines will remain in force only until Parliament enacts a suitable legislative framework.

India has over 1.5 million schools, 45,000 colleges, and thousands of private coaching centres, cumulatively catering to 200+ million students. Yet, as I have highlighted in my earlier blog, "1 Doctor for every 10,000 Mental Health Patients?", we face a severe shortage of qualified mental health professionals.

In this context, the new law must mandate and incentivize the use of Remote Listening Platforms—AI-powered chatbots, virtual therapists, and anonymous digital counselling—accessible through mobile apps and available 24x7.

May I respectfully urge you to initiate the drafting of a national “Student Mental Health Act” that:

·         Formalizes the Supreme Court’s interim guidelines.

·         Mandates integration of AI-based mental health tools (as envisioned in my blogs Talk to Bots when Feeling Lonely, Virtual Therapist: Arriving as Envisaged, and Mental Therapists: ChatGPT / Stella).

·         Establishes an open-access “National Digital Listening Grid” linked with existing helplines like KIRAN.

Let us not wait for the next tragedy to act.

With warm regards,
Hemen Parekh
www.HemenParekh.ai | www.IndiaAGI.ai | www.My-Teacher.in
Dear Parent: Save Your Child from Suicide

Related References :

Smart but sensitive: Balancing AI efficiency with emotional intelligence in mental health.. Eco Times .. 28 July

Extract :

Over the past few years, we have seen a dramatic rise in the use of AI tools in  mental health care.

Applications like Woebot, Wysa, and Replika use conversational AI to offer mental health support around the clock.

These platforms use principles of cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) to help users manage anxiety, stress, and depression.

They have become especially useful in low-resource settings and among populations reluctant to seek traditional therapy due to stigma or accessibility issues.