Central Institute of Psychiatry

The Central Institute of Psychiatry (CIP) Ranchi, situated in Kanke, Ranchi, Jharkhand, is directly governed by the Government of India. Founded on 17 May 1918 as the 'Ranchi European Lunatic Asylum' under British rule, it initially served European mental patients with a capacity of 174. Renamed 'European Mental Hospital' in 1922, it became affiliated with the University of London for the Diploma in Psychological Medicine that same year. Over the decades, CIP pioneered numerous psychiatric services in India, including Occupational Therapy (1922), ECT (1943), psychosurgery (1947), and clinical psychology and EEG departments (1948). The Indian Psychiatric Society was established in 1948 due to CIP's efforts, and the first draft of India's Mental Health Act (1987) was written there in 1949. Spread over 210 acres, CIP is the largest psychiatric hospital in Asia, with 643 beds across 16 wards. It functions as an open hospital, emphasizing individualized care, pharmacotherapy, ECT, psychotherapy, and milieu therapy. As a leading training center, CIP offers postgraduate courses such as M.D. Psychiatry, Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology, and diplomas in psychiatric nursing, affiliated with Ranchi University. In 2013, students protested over lack of recognition and staffing issues in certain courses.