Budget 2026: Mental Health In Focus As Sitharaman Announces NIMHANS 2.0 For North India

Last Updated:February 01, 2026, 18:37 IST

Sitharaman noted that northern India currently lacks a national-level facility, and the new institute aims to bridge this regional gap.

Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman.

Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Sunday announced the establishment of a second National Institute of Mental Health and Neuro Sciences (NIMHANS) in north India as part of her Union Budget 2026-27.

The first NIMHANS, a premier institute for mental health and neuroscience, is based in Bengaluru. Sitharaman noted that northern India currently lacks a national-level facility, and the new institute aims to bridge this regional gap.

Presenting the budget in Parliament, she said, “There are no national institutes for mental healthcare in north India. We will, therefore, set up NIMHANS 2.0 and also upgrade national mental health institutes in Ranchi and Tezpur as regional apex institutions."

The Finance Minister also addressed the challenges families face during emergencies, particularly the poor and vulnerable. She announced that district hospitals’ emergency and trauma care capacities would be increased by 50 per cent, with new centres being established to provide timely critical care.

The Union Minister also said the national mental health institutes in Ranchi (Jharkhand) and Tezpur (Assam) will also be upgraded as regional apex institutions.

Welcoming the decision, CIP authorities have expressed happiness over the announcement and said they had been demanding the institute’s upgrade on the lines of NIMHANS. The institute was established by the British on May 17, 1918 with the name of Ranchi European Lunatic Asylum.

CIP Ranchi director Vijai Kumar Chaudhary said they have already sent a proposal for the upgrade of the institution to the central government.

“We have proposed a 500-bed new hospital on the institute campus, in which there will be facilities such as neuro-surgery, neurology department and pediatrics department," Chaudhary told PTI.

“We are confident of getting the budget sanctioned in the coming financial year. This will be one of the biggest upgrades and will benefit people of Jharkhand and adjoining states," he said.

Spread over 220 acres, CIP Ranchi hopes to begin work on the project in the next financial year, Chaudhary said.

(With inputs from PTI)

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