The Chairperson, Aditya Birla Education Trust (ABET), Smt. Neerja Birla and DG, CISF, Sh. RS Bhatti, IPS jointly reviewed the progress of Project Mann, a mental health initiative for which CISF and ABET signed an MoU in November 2024.DG, CISF appreciated the role of the ABET professionals in creating mental health awareness through awareness building, counselling, clinical interventions and training of CISF personnel.
He said that Project Mann has been able to help 75,181 CISF personnel and their families till date. ABET has also trained 1,726 CISF officers and sub-officers to identify and manage low-risk mental health issues and escalate serious cases to professionals.
This two-tiered structure has made psychological support more accessible at the grassroots level. Hyper-sensitive units such as IGI Airport, Parliament, Delhi Metro among others have had psychometric assessments of over 31,000 personnel for early identification in case of potential issues.
The initiative has resulted in counselling and interventions in the case of depression, marital discord, financial stress among others. Notably, the suicide rate of CISF has declined below the national average during the year 2024 and 2025 highlighting the impact of this initiative. Considering the success and impact of Project Mann, DG, CISF and Smt. Neerja Birla has jointly decided to continue the support for the coming years.
Highlighting the significance of this initiative DG, CISF said that “Mental health is as mission-critical as physical fitness for our personnel. This initiative strengthens our internal support systems and ensures that our personnel remain emotionally resilient, focused and operationally ready”.
Founder and Chairperson- Mpower, Aditya Birla Education Trust, Smt. Neerja Birla said that “Our long-term partnership with CISF is a testament to what can be achieved when mental health is institutionalised. Over the past three years, Project Mann has supported more than 75,000 personnel with psychometric screening, counselling, peer engagement and a 24×7 helpline across CISF units nationwide.
We appreciate CISF’s commitment to holistic well-being of integrating wellness protocols and care into daily system resulting in a 40 percent reduction in suicide incidents as a positive outcome.”