8000 persons with mental retardation registered every year

On an average, 8,000 persons with mental retardation from across the country are registered every year at the National Institute for the Mentally Handicapped Headquarters and its three regional centres, government said today.
"On an average in a year, 8,000 persons with mental retardation, including mentally retarded women with children, from across the country are registered at NIMH Secunderabad and its three regional centres and Model Special Education centre at New Delhi," Minister of State for Social Justice and Empowerment P Balram Naik said in a written reply in Rajya Sabha.
The three regional centres are in Navi Mumbai, New Delhi and Kolkata. The minister also said around 35 per cent of registered cases were that of women.

Naik said the service provided to them included detailed diagnostic assessment by a multi-disciplinary team consisting of doctors, clinical psychologists, special educators, speech therapists and others.
"The department of Disability Affairs under its Deendayal Disability Rehabilitation Scheme also provides financial support to voluntary organisation extending various services, including those to mentally retarded persons," Naik said.
As per figures presented in Rajya Sabha, Rs 3.91 crore has been released to NIMH under plan head under DDRS in 2012-13 in comparison to Rs 7.54 crore in 2011-12 and Rs 11.67 crore in 2010-11.
Similarly, Rs 45.99 crore has been released to different NGOs for 2012-13, the minister said.