Archive · 11 Oct 2026
Vandrevala Foundation Expands Free Mental Health Support Across India
The Vandrevala Foundation helps people in India who are feeling emotionally distressed.
It began in 2009 with helpline numbers in several cities.
Now, people can reach its support through one national number or WhatsApp.
Trained counsellors provide free help, including during a crisis, at any time of day.
People who need care for longer can also pay for ongoing therapy.
The Foundation says many people have contacted its services, but stigma can still make it hard to ask for help.
A government service called Tele-MANAS also offers mental-health support across India.
These services aim to make it easier for people to talk to someone who can help.
The Vandrevala Foundation, established by Cyrus Vandrevala in 2009, provides free counselling and crisis support by phone and WhatsApp.
Its helpline has grown from multiple city-based numbers to one national number and operates around the clock.
The Foundation reports more than 1.2 million free counselling sessions in the past five years and about 30,000 calls monthly.
India’s government-run Tele-MANAS programme had handled more than 3.43 million calls by March 2026.
The article describes stigma and limited willingness to seek help as continuing barriers, particularly for young people and women.
- Who
- The Vandrevala Foundation, founded by Cyrus Vandrevala.
- What
- It provides free, round-the-clock mental-health counselling and crisis support, as well as paid longer-term care.
- When
- The Foundation began in 2009; the article gives Tele-MANAS figures through March 2026.
- Where
- Across India, through a national helpline and WhatsApp.
- Why
- To make professional mental-health support more accessible amid widespread need and barriers such as stigma.
- Foundation established
- 2009
- Free counselling sessions
- More than 1.2 million during the last five years, according to the Foundation
- Monthly helpline volume
- An average of 30,000 calls and approximately 20,000 messages, according to the Foundation
- Tele-MANAS calls
- More than 3.43 million handled by March 2026
- Tele-MANAS coverage
- 53 cells across all 36 States and Union Territories, with services in 20 languages, by March 2026
- India suicides in 2024
- 170,746 recorded; the article gives a rate of 12.2 per lakh population