Annual Report 2009-2010 b. c. d. e. f. g. h. i. j. B. Quartz mining Foundries Sand blasting Ceramics Gem cu�ing and polishing Slate/pencil Construction Glass manufacture Other mining industries. Mental Health 6.13 As a part of the larger mandate of promotion and protection of human rights of each and every citizen of the country, the NHRC has been making efforts to reach out to those sections of the population that have hitherto remained naturally or socially excluded. The Commission is mandated under section 12 of the PHRA to visit mental institutions under the control of the State Government, where persons have been detained or lodged for purposes of treatment, reformation or protection, for the “study of the living conditions of the inmates thereof and make recommendations thereon to the Government”. Besides discharging this specific responsibility, the NHRC, right from its inception, has been giving special a�ention to the human rights of the mentally-ill patients because of their vulnerability and need for special protection. 6.14 Realizing that persons with mental disabilities constitute the most disabled, yet forgo�en and ignored section of the Indian society, the NHRC had taken early steps by way of sponsoring the preparation and publication of a monograph titled – ‘Quality Assurance in Mental Health’, way back in 1999 in collaboration with the National Institute of Mental Health and Neuro Sciences (NIMHANS) in Bengaluru. With the growing consciousness about the right to mental health (RMH) both at the national and global level, the NHRC has renewed its efforts in the direction of creating a be�er understanding and awareness about the RMH in the country. 6.15 As reported in its earlier Annual Reports, the Commission is deeply concerned about the shortage of psychiatrists in the country. As such, it had requested the Medical Council of India (MCI) to increase the intake of number of psychiatrists in the country. It urged the MCI and the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India to redouble their efforts to meet the demand for adequate human resource in the field of mental health. The NHRC had also asked the MCI to relax its standards from the present 1:1 (one Professor : one student) to 1 : 2 ( one Professor : two students) for a 10-year period to overcome the shortage of psychiatrists in the country at the earliest. The MCI informed the Commission that their General Body in its meeting held on 13 November 2008 had approved the amendment in the Post-Graduate Medical Association Regulation, 2000 under Clause 12 (1) (2) and (3). As per the proposed amendments, the ratio of Post-Graduate Teachers to the number of students to be admi�ed for the super speciality course will be 1:2 for Professor/Associate Professor and 1:1 for other cadre NHRC 89