Indian Psychiatric Society is the largest association of Indian Psychiatrists. It was founded in 1929 under the banner of Royal Medico Psychological Association. Its current president is Dr P.K. Dalal
IPS is the largest professional body of psychiatry in India, whose stated aim is to:
promote and advance the subject of Psychiatry and allied sciences in all their different branches,
promote the improvement of the mental health of the people and mental health education, promote prevention, control, treatment and relief of all psychiatric disabilities, formulate and
advise on the standards of education and training for medical and auxiliary personnel in psychiatry and to recommend adequate teaching facilities for the purpose,
promote research in the field of psychiatry and mental health, propagate the principles of psychiatry and current development in psychiatric thought,
deals with any matter relating to mental health concerning the country and
to do all other things as are cognate to the subjects of the Indian Psychiatric Society, *safeguard the interest of psychiatrists and fellow professionals in India and
promote ethical standards in the practice of psychiatry in India
It was reported in 2013 that the then-incoming president of IPS, Indira Sharma had delivered a speech which recommended marrying off men at a younger age to prevent sexual crimes against women. Subsequently, it was also reported that high-ranking IPS officials were ordering IPS members to abstain from communicating with media houses to prevent any further controversy and negative press. The IPS officials also convened a meeting to discuss whether to publish her speech on the IPS website, or to censor the controversial sections. At the January 2014 annual meeting of the Indian Psychiatric Society, and in , Dr. Sharma, then the Immediate Past President, engendered even more controversy by stating that homosexuality was unnatural, homosexuals can be cured, and that - by talking openly about sex - homosexuals were making everyone else uncomfortable. Dr. A.K.Kala, a senior member and Chairperson of Mental Health Legislation Committee requested the IPS President to post the official position of the IPS about homosexuality on its website. When that didnot happen Dr.Kala resigned from the membership of IPS, possibly the only Psychiatrist to have ever done so. In response, the IPS stated in newspaper reports that Dr. Sharma's views are but didnot post its position on its official website.
