India, May 25 -- The government will start full-fledged teaching institutes at four regional mental health hospitals in the state. The major move aims to strengthen mental healthcare services, expand research, and address the shortage of trained mental health professionals in the state.

Chief minister Devendra Fadnavis on Saturday said the decision goes beyond merely expanding healthcare infrastructure. "It marks a human-centric step toward improving access to modern, quality mental healthcare, especially for vulnerable and underserved sections of society," he said.

The proposed transformation will cover the regional mental health hospitals at Yerawada in Pune, Thane, Ratnagiri and Nagpur. These hospitals currently provide large-scale o...