India, Oct. 27 -- The Union budget for 2026-27 committed the government to a second campus of the National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences somewhere in north India, citing the region's total lack of a national mental health institute. Jaipur has the strongest claim, and the usual arguments made on its behalf are weak.

The National Mental Health Survey put India's treatment gap for mental disorders at 84.5%. Fewer than one in six people with a diagnosable condition receives care of any kind. For depression and anxiety it runs past 85%. There are 0.75 psychiatrists per 100,000 Indians against a WHO recommendation of at least three. Suicide kills more Indians aged 15-29 than anything else.

The conventional next move is to reac...