Understanding India’s response to mental health care: a systematic review of the literature and overview of the National Mental Health Programme

India, the second most populous country in the world comprises around 18% of the global population and significantly contributes to the global burden of mental disorders. It was one of the first few LMICs to develop a National Mental Health Programme (NMHP) to address the mental health needs of the population. This paper discusses the history of India’s mental health response and reviews the NMHP to suggest the way forward. This review illustrates that NMHP has made considerable progress in the past few decades and is continuously evolving. Nevertheless, progress made under the programme is in different stages of implementation in different parts of the country with many desired modifications. Addressing the challenges related to governance, human resources, regular flow of funds, utilization and accessibility and a robust monitoring system is pertinent for effective implementation that will potentially improve health outcomes nationally and internationally.