Free Mental-Health Helplines in India (Tele-MANAS, KIRAN, iCall): Numbers, Hours and Who to Call in 2026

Compiled by the team at Mynaa AI.
A free and confidential list of mental-health and suicide-prevention helplines in India, with numbers and operating hours last verified in June 2026. If you or someone you know is in immediate danger, please reach out now — help is one call away, in many Indian languages.

If there is an immediate medical emergency, call 112. If you are having thoughts of ending your life, please contact one of the 24/7 services below right away. You do not have to be in crisis to call — these lines are for anyone who is struggling, anxious, or simply needs to talk.

National helplines (free, available across India)

Trusted city and regional helplines

For students specifically

If you are a student, exam pressure, hostel loneliness, family expectations and uncertainty about the future can all feel overwhelming at once. The national lines above — especially Tele-MANAS on 14416 — are confidential and will not judge you. Reaching out is not weakness; it is one of the bravest and most sensible things you can do.

If language is a barrier, Tele-MANAS and KIRAN both offer support in several Indian languages. And Mynaa itself offers a private, multilingual space to talk at any hour — with an immediate, gentle handover to a human service if you are ever at real risk.

How to help someone else

If a friend or family member confides in you, the most useful things you can do are simple: take them seriously, stay calm, listen without rushing to fix, do not leave them alone if they are in immediate danger, and help them connect to one of the numbers above. You do not need to have the right words. Your presence is the help.

This list is provided for information and is kept current to the best of our ability. Numbers and operating hours can change; if a line does not connect, please try Tele-MANAS on 14416, which operates nationally around the clock.

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The Mynaa AI team

About the author

Dr. Chandra Sekhar Bondugula is the founder of Mynaa AI - India's first comprehensive mental-health compliance platform for educational institutions. A doctor and technologist, he conceived Mynaa to operationalise the Supreme Court of India's 2025 and 2026 directives on student mental health and to translate NIMHANS-validated clinical protocols into a 24/7 multilingual digital service available to every student in India. Read the full founder profile →

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