All 46 govt mental institutions in deplorable conditions: NHRC
New Delhi, Jan 26: The NHRC on Wednesday said all the 46 government-run mental healthcare institutions across the country are in "deplorable conditions", as it issued notices to the Centre and state governments asking them to submit their reports in six weeks.
The human rights panel's observations have come on the basis of the visits of the full commission to four government hospitals in Gwalior, Agra and Ranchi, and the remaining 42 by its special rapporteurs in various parts of the country in the last few months to assess the situation on the ground and the status of the implementation of the Mental Healthcare Act, 2017, officials said.
The National Human Rights Commission in a statement said that "all the 46 government mental healthcare institutions across the country are in deplorable conditions and depict a very pathetic handling by the different stakeholders".
"The inhuman and deplorable conditions of the mental health institutes recorded by it across the country, present sorry states of affairs amounting to infringement of the human rights of mentally ill patients. The cured patients are being kept illegally in the hospitals. There is acute shortage of doctors and staff," it said.
The reports of the visits have prompted it to take suo motu cognisance of the matter and issue notices to the Union Health and Family Welfare secretary; Director General of Health Services; chief secretaries and principal secretaries, health; director general of police and commissioner of police in metropolitan cities of all the state governments as well as Union territories, and directors of 46 mental institutions across the country calling for the specific reports and detailed action taken reports within six weeks, the statement said.
The chief secretaries, secretaries of health, and UT administrators have to submit an action taken report on how the cured patients are being kept illegally in mental hospitals by curtailing their liberty.
All such patients are to be sent back to their homes/halfway homes as per rules, the NHRC said, and also sought reports "on status of formation of Mental Health Authority, State Mental Health Review Board, State Mental Health Care Rules, and State Mental Health Care Regulation".
Also, they are to provide details on budgetary allocation and funds released with regard to the mental health institutions; state of the infrastructure of the institutes, plan for improvement of the buildings which include various amenities; status of the recruitment process of the health professionals including hospital staff; and measures taken to ensure de-crowding of mental hospitals/institutes, the statement said.
The NHRC also asked the authorities to create a conducive atmosphere for stay.
Details have also been sought on status of emergency services, maintenance of electronic data and medical records, measures and initiatives taken for reintegration and rehabilitation of the cured patients; statistics regarding discharged patients of last five years and their rehabilitation, reunion with the family or community, how many of them have become new inmates again, and status of number of such persons staying in the hospital with reasons thereof; and financial or social audit report of last three years, it said.
The Union Health and Family Welfare Secretary and Director General of Health Services have to submit the report on the status of framing rules under the 2017 Act as contemplated under Section 121 of the Act, as well as the establishment of the Central Authority as contemplated under Section 33 of the Act, and filling up the vacancies of the Central Authority and status of execution of various provisions of the Act by the Central government, the statement said.
The reports from the directors of the 46 mental institutions should include the steps taken or proposed to be taken for filling up the vacancies of professors and other staff members; records of the discharged patients, who have been cured from mental illness, latest status of the emergency ward and other overall improvement made after the visits of Commission and/or special rapporteurs of the Commission with regard to infrastructure, vocational opportunities to the inmates, number of persons released and reunited with the family members with specific statistics, it added.
The DGP and commissioner of police in the metropolitan cities of all states and Union territories have to submit reports with regard to the status of the complaints received or registered relating to mentally ill-persons, regarding non-rehabilitation or non-reintegration with the family and measures taken or proposed to be taken to ensure that cured persons from mental illness should be living with the family and other members of the community, the statement said.
The reports must also contain assistance or other measures taken from District Legal Services Authority or State Legal Services Authority, as the case may be, it added.
The NHRC visit reports suggested that none of the institutes have taken effective and long-term measures to ensure that a mentally ill person can exercise his right to community living unfettered, unchallenged and/or without any hindrance, the rights panel said.
Issuing the notices, the NHRC has noted that it is categorically mandated under Section 19 of the Mental Healthcare Act that where it is not possible for mentally ill person to live with his family or relatives, or where a mentally ill person has been abandoned appointed by his family and relatives, the appropriate government shall provide support as appropriate including legal aid and to facilitate exercise his right to live in a family home, it added.
It has further noted that it is a "travesty" that provisions of the statute have failed to ignite the consciousness of the appropriate government(s) to provide adequate support to such vulnerable persons who are suffering from mental illness.
The "more aggravating factor" is that even after the recovery from mental illness, they are not being allowed to reunite or regrouped with the society, family for the purpose of community living which is "unconstitutional" and a "failure" of the state governments, it added.
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Last Chance to Score 99%ile in CAT 2026: Strategy, Guide and Top Coaching
You are 6-7 months away from appearing for the CAT 2026 exam. We know that this sounds a little overwhelming for many candidates, but if you are a candidate who has not yet started their CAT preparation, then this time is the peak where you can make a right go-for-it strategy for cracking such a competitive exam in nature for the management domain. Many candidates are new to this preparation journey, but the best part is there are several strategies, guides and top resources that are really helpful to you if you select the right platform to start with.
You will see around many candidates who might be scared of VARC/DILR/QA, as per their interests. Maybe if VARC is easy for someone but the others are altered, they get stuck for the other two sections or vice versa. This article comes with a strategy that helps you to choose the right resources to continue your CAT 2026 preparation even if you haven’t started yet.
When you are preparing for the competitive exams like the Common Admission Test, there are several resources that you should keep in mind, including the peer-learning environment in the form of the largest community, the best CAT online coaching in India and more. Have seen around many aspirants get attracted towards iQuanta’s CAT preparation community to start their journey with. Let’s discuss the strategy to start with the CAT preparation journey in a detailed manner.
How Can You Start Your CAT 2026 Preparation?
The Common Admission Test is highly competitive in nature because the top IIMs or B-schools in India accept candidates based on various parameters, and the selection probability is also very low. The initial preparation plan for the CAT exam requires the understanding of the CAT syllabus in depth across the VARC, DILR and QA. As per the past year's CAT exam paper, the VARC section comprises 24 questions, followed by 22 questions in DILR and 22 questions in QA.
There are several points mentioned here that are really helpful for you during CAT preparation:
- Understanding the CAT syllabus in-depth across the VARC, DILR and QA. With what are the weightage covered across sections and majorly focused domain.
- The QA section requires rigorous practice from the candidates across important sections, including Arithmetic, Algebra, Modern Maths, Geometry and Number System. Among all the topics, Arithmetic and Algebra both considered as super important for the candidates that they should not afford to left while preparing for the CAT 2026. Because as per the past year CAT exam analysis, major questions appeared from these sections only.
- Next comes the other important section, i.e., LRDI. This section comprises logical sets which can be tackled if practice sessions are taken into consideration properly. Candidates can plan the consistent preparation strategy across Logical Reasoning and Data Interpretation.
- VARC is further classified as Reading Comprehension and Verbal Ability. The main strategy for covering this section is by building daily reading habits and solving PYQs, which really matters the most.
Step-by-Step CAT 2026 6-7 Month Preparation Guide
6-7 months is all you have got for your CAT 2026 target 99%ile. With little time left, it is important to move in the right direction and start preparing now. Based on iQuanta CAT toppers' preparation strategies, which helped them attain their dream IIMs and top B-schools, here is a step-by-step CAT 2026 6-7 month preparation guide.
Step 1 - Identify your weak areas and take a trial mock test to see where you stand.
Step 2 - Live classes are really helpful for you to explore topics for consistent preparation across the section. iQuanta uses the dual-pedagogy approach to a streamlined preparation strategy for candidates.
Step 3 - Build conceptual clarity, work on your weak areas and develop problem-solving speed to boost your confidence.
Step 4 - Join an online CAT community, resolve your doubts online, take help of online mentorship, and analyse mock tests to reduce mistakes and improve performance. Among candidates, iQuanta’s largest CAT preparation community is popular and overall builds the peer-learning environment.
Step 5 - Remain consistent by following a proper preparation schedule, staying motivated and utilising different types of resources available through the top coaching.
How the Best CAT Coaching Impacts Your CAT 2026 Preparation?
The CAT exam is written by students as well as working professionals across the domains. But planning a proper strategy is quite different as per the candidate. The working professional might not be able to give sufficient time due to workload in comparison to students. This is the main reason the CAT online coaching is a strategic approach for aspirants to be consistent, even if they get stuck due to any reason, to ensure smooth preparation. Now what are the major point that candidates should verify while starting their CAT preparation with the top CAT coaching in India. The following pointers needed to be covered, including the 24/7 doubt-solving support, specialized modules which help to build strong basics across the sections, top faculty across the domain, and outstanding results.
iQuanta is highly popular among the candidates for CAT preparation due to their dual-pedagogy teaching methodology, maximum number of 99+%ilers which resulted in an amazing performance, and more.
They have specialized modules such as Engineer’s VARC, Non-Engineer’s QA and LRDI Essentials, which are highly helpful for the candidates if they find difficulties building a strong foundation across the section. With such important resources it is quite important for the candidates that they should explore top CAT faculty at iQuanta, including Amit Panchmatia sir (CAT QA 100%iler & LLRDI 99%iler), Shabana ma’am (CAT VARC 99.5%iler), Raj Kumar Jha sir (6 times CAT QA 100%iler) and more.
Wrapping Up!
Preparing for the CAT exam is a strategic process but can be simplified if you take the right resources into consideration. So, balance across the section is quite important for the candidates to consider during CAT 2026 preparation. This is the best time when candidates can strategise their preparation journey with consistency with the help of the best CAT online coaching in India.
