Understanding India’s Mental Health Mindset: Insights from अ-Nishchit Index 2.0 by Aditya Birla Sun Life Insurance
Bengaluru : Aditya Birla Sun Life Insurance Company Limited (“ABSLI”), the life insurance subsidiary of Aditya Birla Capital, India’s leading diversified financial services company, today released findings from its अ-Nishchit Index 2.0 ahead of World Mental Health Day on October 10.
The findings point to growing awareness of mental health concerns in India, alongside persistent hesitation around seeking professional support. They also show that there is no single mental health story in the country, with attitudes towards therapy and the concerns people face varying significantly across regions and genders.
Key Findings:
● 81% of Indians believe mental health issues are rising across society, while nearly 80% hesitate to seek therapy or counselling
● East India is the most hesitant. 25% of respondents in the East said they would hesitate to see a therapist, compared with 22% in the North, 21% in the West and 14% in the South
● Men are more hesitant than women in East. In the East, 27% of men were hesitant compared with 24% of women
● The East is most worried about rising mental-health problems. 26% of respondents in the East expressed this concern
● In the North and West, women worry more than men. 25% of women and 22% of men are concerned about the growing prevalence of mental-health problems
● Parents in the east worry most about their children. 25% of parents in the East are concerned about their children’s ability to cope with setbacks, against a national average of 21%
Mpower’s analysis of the findings underscores the need to move beyond recognising mental health concerns towards making early help seeking more normal and accessible. With barriers to seeking support varying across regions and genders, the findings highlight the importance of creating support pathways that are accessible, relevant and easier to navigate. For ABSLI, this insight also reinforces the importance of extending support beyond financial protection to the emotional needs of families during difficult life experiences.
In line with this approach, ABSLI, in partnership with Mpower, provides grief counselling to the families and loved ones of deceased policyholders. The service connects them with trained counsellors who provide professional guidance and emotional support through bereavement. Each nominee is eligible for two complimentary grief counselling sessions, helping families access professional support during a difficult period.
Mr. Kamlesh Rao, MD & CEO, Aditya Birla Sun Life Insurance, said, “The Index shows that attitudes to mental health in India are shaped by region, gender and family circumstances, so our response has to account for those differences. At ABSLI, we see protection as more than financial cover. Our grief counselling service, run with Mpower, supports families after the loss of a loved one, when they need emotional support as much as financial support. We want asking for help to become an ordinary thing to do.”
Adding further, Mr. Amit Gupta, CFO – Aditya Birla Education Trust, Head – Operations, Mpower, “The findings point to an important gap, people may recognise that mental-health concerns are rising, yet recognising distress in oneself or a loved one and knowing when to seek professional help remain very different things. Grief is a powerful example of it, as it is often deeply buried, with its impact surfacing in professional productivity, family relationships and physical health, while the need for support goes unrecognised. This reinforces the need to build mental-health literacy early and embed it in school curricula, so that recognising distress and seeking help become part of everyday life.”
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