The Story
Behind Manotsava
In July 2023, the Rohini Nilekani Centre for Brain and Mind was launched, a result of a landmark INR 100 Crore grant to NCBS and NIMHANS to support long-term research and capacity-building pertaining to five mental disorders: schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, addiction, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and dementia.
Along the way, the need for a shared platform became clear, one that could connect cutting-edge research with everyday life and bring science closer to society.
With this in mind, the Rohini Nilekani Philanthropies, NIMHANS, and NCBS came together to create Manotsava, a first-of-its-kind National Mental Health Festival designed to spark dialogue, build community, and make mental health research accessible to all.
Neuroscience Symposium at NCBS
The Neuroscience Research Symposium - 2026 will be held at the National Centre for Biological Sciences - TIFR, Bangalore, on December 3 - 4, 2026. It is part of Manotsava, the National Mental Health festival in its third edition. The symposium is open to academicians and industry personnel working in the fields of neuroscience and mental health research. Over the two days, the symposium will have keynote talks, panel discussions, poster presentations and networking sessions themed around cutting-edge research in the field of mental illnesses and allied research. A pre-symposium CALM-Brain workshop will be organised on December 2, 2026.
Community Driven Programming
Every year, Manotsava is co-curated through an open Call for Proposals, inviting ideas that reflect the needs, interests, and lived experiences of the public.
Manotsava 2024 received over 250 proposals from across the country. In 2025, that number nearly tripled, with more than 700 submissions, reflecting a rising public interest in mental health and a strong desire to contribute to the festival’s evolving conversations.
Through the invaluable prowess and collaborative efforts of our partners, we co-curate a festival program designed to ensure depth, inclusivity, meaningful engagement and scientific accuracy. This collaborative approach ensures a vibrant space where community voices are at the heart of the conversations.
Festival Program Team
Anjali Marar
NCBSAnushka Banerjee
NIMHANSDr Biju Viswanath
NIMHANSDr Reeteka Sud
NIMHANSDr Shriya Palchaudhuri
NCBSHema E
NCBSKadambari Patil
NIMHANSMadhushree Kamak
RNPNatasha Joshi
RNPNisha Raghavan
NCBSProfessor Raghu Padinjat
NCBSProfessor Y.C. Janardhan Reddy
NIMHANSRupsy Khurana
NCBSVaishnavi Sridhar
NCBSYashasvi Murali
RNPScientific Review Committee
Dr Suhas Ganesh
NIMHANSDr Jayant Mahadevan
NIMHANSDr Anish Cherian
NIMHANSDr Jaisoorya TS
NIMHANSDr Meena Iyer
NIMHANSDr Eesha Sharma
NIMHANSDr PT Sivakumar
NIMHANSDr Latha K
NIMHANSDr Shyam Sundar Arumugham
NIMHANSDr Suhas Satish
NIMHANSDr Meera Purushottam
NIMHANSDr Shantala Hegde
NIMHANSDr Srinivas Bharath
NIMHANSDr Pavithra Jayasankar
NIMHANSDr Sanjeev Jain
NIMHANSDr Himani Kashyap
NIMHANSDr Jayant Mahadevan
NIMHANSDr Indrani Datta
NIMHANSDr Aishwariya Jha
NIMHANSDr Pradip Paul
NIMHANSDr Sreeraj VS
NIMHANSDr Shriya Palchaudhuri
NCBSDr Ashita SNM
NIMHANSDr Reeteka Sud
NIMHANSDr Veena Satyanarayana
NIMHANSDr Kalyani Bindu
NIMHANSDr Imtiaz Zafar
NIMHANSDr Bhagyalakshmi
NIMHANSKadambari Patil
NIMHANSAnjali Marar
NCBSAnushka Banerjee
NIMHANSDr Ajay Nair
NIMHANSDr Swarna Buddha Nayok
NIMHANSDr Paulomi Sudhir
NIMHANSDr YC Janardhan Reddy
NIMHANSDr Anita Mahadevan
NIMHANSPartners
