Home / About
AboutFour decades of psychiatry, public mental health and professional leadership.
A career that has moved from the consulting room to the lecture hall, from a hospital ward to the leadership of a national institute, and into the laws and systems that shape mental-health care in India.
Biography
Prof. (Dr.) Nimesh G. Desai is a psychiatrist whose work has been shaped by one question: what is psychiatry's responsibility beyond diagnosis and treatment?
He trained and taught at two of India's foremost centres of psychiatry — the National Institute of Mental Health & Neurosciences (NIMHANS), Bengaluru, from 1982 to 1988, and the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), New Delhi, from 1988 to 1998.
In 1998 he joined the Institute of Human Behaviour & Allied Sciences (IHBAS), Delhi, as Professor and Head of Psychiatry. Over the next 23 years he served as Medical Superintendent and, from 2010 to 2021, as Director. During this period IHBAS was recognised by the Government of India as a Centre of Excellence and became one of the first mental-health and neuroscience hospitals in the country to achieve full NABH accreditation.
Alongside running an institution, he helped shape how mental-health care is organised in Delhi and nationally. He served as Member Secretary and later Chief Executive Officer of the State Mental Health Authority, Delhi, including during the transition to the Mental Healthcare Act 2017. He coordinated the core group that prepared India's National Disaster Management Guidelines on Psycho-Social Support and Mental Health Services in Disasters (2009), and contributed to the National Human Rights Commission's Core Group on Mental Health.
His training extends beyond India. He was a Humphrey Fulbright Fellow at Johns Hopkins University, where he completed a Master of Public Health, and is a Member of the Royal College of Psychiatrists (UK) and a Fellow of the National Academy of Medical Sciences.
He has written around 100 research papers, 10 book chapters and 10 monographs, and has received five national research awards and an oration award. His writing ranges from urban mental-health services and disaster psychiatry to mental-health law, professional ethics and the place of psychiatry in society.
Today he sees patients at his clinic in East Delhi, teaches and mentors, and remains active in professional leadership — most recently as Organising Chairperson of ANCIPS 2026, the 77th Annual National Conference of the Indian Psychiatric Society.
Career chronology
| Years | Role | Institution |
|---|---|---|
| 1982 – 1988 | Training and faculty in psychiatry | NIMHANS, Bengaluru |
| 1988 – 1998 | Faculty, Department of Psychiatry | AIIMS, New Delhi |
| 1998 – 2010 | Professor & Head of Psychiatry; Medical Superintendent | IHBAS, Delhi |
| 2010 – 2021 | Director | IHBAS, Delhi |
| Concurrent | Member Secretary, later CEO | State Mental Health Authority, Delhi |
| Present | Senior Consultant Psychiatrist; teaching and mentoring | Dr Desai's, East Delhi |
| Present | President | Manovikas Charitable Society |
Education & fellowships
- MD (Psychiatry)
- International Visitor Program, US Department of State — 1998
- Humphrey Fulbright Fellowship and Master of Public Health, Johns Hopkins University — 2001
- Fellow, National Academy of Medical Sciences — 2003
- MRCPsych, Royal College of Psychiatrists, UK — 2005
Professional service
- Honorary General Secretary, Indian Psychiatric Society — 1997–99
- Honorary Editor, Indian Psychiatric Society national journal — 2005–07
- Chairperson, International Affairs Sub-Committee, Indian Psychiatric Society
- Advisor, Conference Sub-Committee, Indian Psychiatric Society
- Organising Chairperson, ANCIPS 2026 — 77th Annual National Conference of the Indian Psychiatric Society
- Coordinator, Core Group — NDMA National Guidelines on Psycho-Social Support & Mental Health Services in Disasters (2009)
- Member, NHRC Core Group on Mental Health
Honours
- Vishisht Chikitsa Ratan Award, Delhi Medical Association — 2012
- IMA Dr. Ramachandra N. Murthy Award in Psychiatry, Indian Medical Association
- Five national research awards and one oration award
Today
Dr. Desai's work continues on several fronts at once: clinical consultation for individuals and families, teaching and mentoring younger professionals, speaking on public mental health, and service to his profession. As President of Manovikas Charitable Society, he also supports work with people with intellectual and developmental disabilities and their families.
Short biographies
For conference organisers, publishers and media. Please use these versions as written.
Prof. (Dr.) Nimesh G. Desai is a psychiatrist and public mental-health specialist in Delhi. Formerly faculty at NIMHANS and AIIMS, he spent 23 years at IHBAS, Delhi, eleven as Director. A Humphrey Fulbright Fellow (MPH, Johns Hopkins), he has worked across clinical psychiatry, mental-health law, disaster mental health and teaching.
Prof. (Dr.) Nimesh G. Desai is a senior psychiatrist whose four-decade career spans clinical care, academic psychiatry, institution building and public mental health. After faculty positions at NIMHANS, Bengaluru, and AIIMS, New Delhi, he led the Institute of Human Behaviour & Allied Sciences (IHBAS), Delhi, as Director from 2010 to 2021, and served as CEO of Delhi's State Mental Health Authority. He coordinated India's national disaster psychosocial-care guidelines (2009). A Humphrey Fulbright Fellow with an MPH from Johns Hopkins and MRCPsych (UK), he has published around 100 papers and was Organising Chairperson of ANCIPS 2026.