MANAS PLATFORM

Subject: Governance

Context: Recently, the Principal Scientific Adviser to the Government of India has virtually launched the MANAS Platform.

Concept:

About MANAS Platform

The MANAS platform stands for Mental Health and Normalcy Augmentation System.
It was endorsed as a national program by the Prime Minister’s Science, Technology, and Innovation Advisory Council (PM-STIAC).
It is a comprehensive, scalable, and national digital wellbeing platform and an app developed to augment mental well-being of Indian citizens.
It was initiated by the Office of the Principal Scientific Adviser to the Government of India.
It is a joint venture by Pune-based Armed Forces Medical College (AFMC) and National Institute of Mental Health and Neuro-Sciences (NIMHANS), Bengaluru.
The application has been developed by the Bengaluru centre of the Centre for Development of Advanced Computing (CDAC).
It is based on life skills and core psychological process, with universal accessibility, delivering age-appropriate methods and promoting positive attitude focusing on wellness.
The current version has identified two age groups i.e. ages 15 to 20, termed as Mann-Marg, and ages 20 to 35, termed as YoungISTAN.

PM-STIAC

The Prime Minister’s Science, Technology, and Innovation Advisory Council (PM-STIAC), is an overarching Council that facilitates the Principal Scientific Adviser’s Office to assess the status in specific science and technology domains, comprehend challenges in hand, formulate specific interventions, develop a futuristic roadmap and advise the Prime Minister accordingly.
The Office of the Principal Scientific Adviser (PSA) to the Government of India coordinates to facilitate and ensure the implementation of significant interventions by concerned government departments, agencies, and ministries.
The PM-STIAC Secretariat is based at Invest India and provides support to the Office of the PSA on project management and monitoring of the aforesaid interventions and national missions.