 bill no 301 of  2016 the compulsory mental healthcare counselling facilities in government schools bill, 2016 bydr kirit premjibhai solanki, mp a billto provide compulsory mental healthcare counselling facilities in government schools and for matters connected therewithbe it enacted by parliament in the sixty-seventh year of the republic of india as follows:—in government schools  act, 2016short title, extent and commencement(2) it extends to the whole of india2 in this act, unless the context otherwise requires,—(a) "appropriate government" means in the case of a state, the government of that state and in all other cases, the central government; and(b) "counselling" means a process by which a psychiatrist addresses the mental healthcare of a child; 5(c) "mental healthcare" includes analysis and diagnosis of a person's mental condition and treatment as well as care and rehabilitation of such person for his mental illness or suspected mental illness;10(d) "mental illness" means a substantial disorder of thinking mood, perception, orientation or memory that grossly impairs judgement, behaviour capacity to recognise reality or ability to meet the ordinary demands of life, mental conditions associated with the abuse of alcohol and drugs, but does not include mental retardation which is a condition of arrested or incomplete development of mind of a person, specially characterised by subnormality of intelligence;153 of 1956 102 of 1956 102 of 195620(e) "psychiatrist" means a medical practitioner possessing a post-graduate dgree or diploma in psychiatry awarded by a university recognised by the university grants commission established under the university grants commission act, 1956, or awarded or recognised by the national board of examinations and included in the first  schedule of indian medical council act, 1956, or recognised by the medical council of india, constituted under the indian medical council act, 1956, and includes, in relation to any state, any medical officer who having regard to his knowledge and experience in psychiatry, has been declared by the government of that state to be a psychiatrist for the purposes of this act; and(f) "prescribed" means prescribed by rules made under this act253 the appropriate government shall provide mental healthcare counselling in every government school in such manner, as may be prescribedcompulsory mental healthcare counselling in government schools4 the appropriate government shall  appoint adequate number of psychiatrist to provide mental healthcare counselling in government schools in such manner, as may be prescribedappropriate government to appoint psychiatrist in government schools exemptions305 notwithstanding anything contained in section 3, the appropriate government may,by notification in the official gazette, specify the circumstances and technical grounds under which exemptions may be granted to any government school from the provisions of this act356 the central government shall, after due appropriation made by parliament by law in this behalf, provide requisite sums to the appropriate governments for carrying out the purposes of this actcentral government to provide requisite funds power to remove difficulty7 (1) if any difficulty arises in giving effect to the provisions of this act, the central government may, by order published in the official gazette, make such provisions, not inconsistent with the provisions of this act, as appears to it to be necessary or expedient for removing the difficulty:40provided that no such order shall be made after expiry of two years from the date of commencement of this act (2) every order made under this section shall, as soon as may be after it is made, be laid before each house of parliament8 the provisions of this act shall be in addition to and not in derogation of any other law, for the time being in forceact not in derogation of any other lawpower to make rules9 (1) the central government may, by notification in the official gazette, make rules for carrying out the provisions of this act 510(2) every rule made under this act shall be laid, as soon as may be after it is made,before each house of parliament, while it is in session, for a total period of thirty days which may be comprised in one session or in two or more successive sessions, and if, before the expiry of the session immediately following the session or the successive sessions aforesaid, both houses agree in making any modification in the rule or both the houses agree that the rule should not be made, the rule shall thereafter have effect only in such modified form or be of no effect, as the case may be; so, however, that any such modification or annulment shall be without prejudice to the validity of anything previously done under that rule statement  of  objects  and  reasonsa number of children, especially in the rural and remote areas undergo some kind of violence at home or oustide, be it sexual or domestic apart from sexual abuse and rape, pushing, slapping, punching, stalking and emotional abuse are other forms of domestic violence against children girls are more susceptible to such violencethese experiences lead to mental health issues such as depression and anxiety amongst the children if left untreated, these mental health issues can have a direct impact on child's learning, academic performance and overall personality development it is comparatively easy for children in the cities too open about such instances and seek help however, children in the villages tend to be unaware at times about what actually happened to them furthermore, due to lack of education and advancement in some cases, they do not feel comfortable talking to anyone about the violence either stigma attached to such instances is another reason for children not seeking helpmental health counselling by professionals like psychiatrist will help the children to speak up about the problems they face seeking help will prevent further mental issues that these children could face professionals know the appropriate way to deal with such issues and thus, help these children overcome the trauma and lead a normal childhoodhence this billnew delhi;kirit premjibhai  solankinovember 9, 2016 financial  memorandumclause 3 of the bill provides that appropriate government shall provide mental healthcare counselling in government schools clause 4 provides for appointment of psychiatrist in government schools clause 6 provides that the central government shall provide adequate funds to  the state government for carrying out the purposes of this bill the bill, therefore, if enacted, will involve expenditure from the consolidated fund of india it is estimated that an annual recurring expenditure of rupees fifty crore is likely to be incurred from the consolidated fund of indiaa non-recurring expenditure of about rupees one hundred crore is also likely to be involved memorandum   regarding   delegated  legislationclause 9 of the bill empowers the central government to make rules for carrying out the purposes of the bill as the rules will relate to matters of detail only, the delegation of legislative power is of a normal character———— a billto provide compulsory mental healthcare counselling facilities in government schools and for matters connected therewith————(dr kirit premjibhai solanki, mp)gmgipmrnd—3364ls(s3)—29-11-2016