India’s 1st Repository of Psychiatric Disorders: CALM-Brain | 27 Mar 2026

Source: TH 

India has launched CALM-Brain, the country’s first digital repository of major psychiatric disorders, aimed at transforming research, diagnosis, and treatment of mental illnesses. 

• CALM-Brain: It is a first-of-its-kind open-source database that compiles detailed information on brain structure and function in psychiatric disorders, enabling advanced scientific research and clinical applications. 
  • The repository has been developed by the National Institute of Mental Health and Neuro Sciences (NIMHANS) and the National Centre for Biological Sciences (NCBS) - TIFR under the Rohini Nilekani Centre for Brain and Mind (CBM). 
  • The repository traces its roots back to 2016 as part of the Accelerator program for Discovery in Brain disorders using Stem cells (ADBS project), which was jointly funded by the Department of Biotechnology and the Pratiksha Trust. 
• Data Coverage: The platform integrates clinical, neuro-imaging, behavioural, and genetic datasets, covering key disorders such as addiction, bipolar disorder, dementia, and schizophrenia, making it comprehensive in scope. 
  • The repository includes data from over 2,000 individuals across 900 families, enabling robust comparative analysis between affected and unaffected individuals. 
• Biorepository Linkage: It is linked with a stem cell biobank, allowing researchers to explore the biological basis of psychiatric disorders and advance experimental research in mental health. 
• Research Objective: The primary goal is to identify biomarkers and neurocognitive indicators of psychiatric illnesses, understand disease progression, and study treatment responses for better clinical outcomes. 
• Significance: CALM-Brain has the potential to enable early diagnosis, personalised treatment, and precision psychiatry, thereby improving mental healthcare delivery in India.