Regional Mental Health Hospitals to be Converted into Teaching Institutions: CM Devendra Fadnavis

Mumbai, May 2026: Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has said that the regional mental health hospitals located at Yerwada, Thane, Ratnagiri and Nagpur will be converted into teaching institutions. He stated that this is not only an expansion of the healthcare system but also a visionary and human-centric step towards quality treatment, research, and the creation of trained manpower.

He said that through this initiative, the government aims to strengthen its commitment to providing better, accessible and modern mental health services to underprivileged sections of society.

The Chief Minister said that these four regional mental health hospitals in Maharashtra are already providing large-scale healthcare services, especially to weaker sections of society. These hospitals provide outpatient and inpatient services and together have around 5,700 beds, along with strong infrastructure and manpower.

He said that in this background, the state government has proposed converting these hospitals into teaching institutions. This step will promote quality treatment services as well as education and research in the mental health sector.

This initiative is in line with the Central Government’s Manpower Development Scheme under “Strengthening PG Departments in Mental Health Specialties (Scheme B)”. It aims to address the shortage of trained manpower in mental health services.

Under the National Mental Health Programme (NMHP), special emphasis has been given since the 12th Five-Year Plan to improve mental health education and training. Priority is being given to starting postgraduate courses in institutions where infrastructure already exists.

The Chief Minister said that on 16 September 2019, the state government issued a resolution approving the following courses:

MD Psychiatry
M.Phil Clinical Psychology
M.Phil Psychiatric Social Work
Diploma in Psychiatric Nursing

These courses have been approved to be started at regional mental hospitals in Thane, Pune (Yerwada) and Nagpur.

He further informed that the MD Psychiatry course has been started at the Regional Mental Hospital, Nagpur through joint efforts of the Medical Education Department and the Public Health Department.

With the cooperation of Indira Gandhi Government Medical College, Nagpur, the course started from the academic year 2022–23 and has an annual intake of four students. So far, 12 students have been admitted and 2 students have completed the course.

In the nursing sector, the Diploma in Psychiatric Nursing course has also been started at Thane and Pune regional mental hospitals from 2022–23. Each centre admits 20 students every year. So far, 59 students have passed from Thane and 60 students have passed from Pune.

The government said that the conversion of these four regional mental health hospitals into teaching institutions will bring several benefits. These include better and specialised treatment for patients, increased number of trained psychiatrists, psychologists and social workers, promotion of research and innovation, and expansion of mental health services in rural and underprivileged areas.

The Chief Minister said this initiative is an important step in healthcare, education and social development. He added that coordination between the Central and State Governments will further strengthen mental health services in Maharashtra.