A total of 787 armed forces personnel died by suicide since 2014 according to the data provided by the government on Monday. Maximum cases were reported from the Army with 591 suicides.
Minister for Defence Shripad Naik told Rajya Sabha that there were 18 incidents of fratricide in the Army and 2 in the Indian Air Force during the period. According to the details given by the minister, the Army had 591 incidents of suicide, the Navy reported 36 while the Air Force had 160 from 2014 to 2021.
“The issue of stress and strain is being addressed by the commanders in a comprehensive manner at various levels. Sessions for stress management are organised by commanders and psychiatrists at all major stations,” said the union minister.
Measures to address this problem have been taken into consideration, like various workshops and lectures on mental health and stress management are being organised by the IAF as a part of its Mission Zindagi campaign which is organised quarterly at all stations. The Indian Navy has also established mental health centres in cities like Mumbai, Visakhapatnam, Kochi, Port Blair, Goa, and Karwar. The government is also taking several initiatives towards stress amelioration amongst soldiers, according to the studies conducted by the Defence Institute of Psychological Research (DIPR).
