Psychiatry in India

India is a low-income country that is characterised by huge diversity within and between its 35 states and union territories. For example, the infant mortality rate (per 1000 live births) ranges from a low of 16.3 in Kerala to a high of 86.7 in Uttar Pradesh, over a fivefold difference (International Institute for Population Sciences & ORC Macro, 2001). This considerable variation is evident in virtually every aspect of human development in India, and any summary figures are likely to be unrepresentative of most parts of the country. Within the scope of this short article, this important limitation of averages must be recognised at the outset.