GDP plus GNH: a true Indicator of country’s well-being.

(1           India has become the sixth largest economy in the world.

(2           India secured 17^th rank in Ease of Doing business

Good news! Isn’t it? Definitely yes. It shows the fast economic growth that the country is achieving over the past several years. But does this growth make people happy? Are people in India happy?
In the recent World Happiness Index 2019, the country further dropped by 7 steps and secured 140th position from the earlier rank of 133rd.
This shows that the economic growth or material development does not necessarily get translated into happiness among people on its own. The link between growth and happiness is weak.
Thus arises the need to evaluate a country’s progress not only in terms of the economy but the state of mental health, peace, and happiness of people. The true well-being of a country can be gauged by its performance on economic and happiness indicators i.e. GDP (Gross Domestic Product) and GNH (Gross National Happiness).
This essay will look into different sections of society, different aspects of our lives to analyze if material development is all that is needed. Or if true well-being needs both economic development and happiness in lives.
The history of India shows that securing happiness of people was an important part of the duties of the king, various ancient scriptures say that “in subjects’ happiness lies the king’s happiness”. King Ashoka actively worked for promoting peace, happiness, welfare through the doctrine of Dhamma.
In the contemporary world, however, the material progress or economic growth has become the chief parameter of a country’s well-being. The GDP – which is the sum total of the value of goods & services produced has become the indicator.
The world slowly recognized, however, that this is insufficient. Bhutan’s initiative of using Gross National Happiness to assess happiness of people as a mark of a country’s well-being changed the narrative.
Today, the world has come up with World Happiness Index which includes different parameters like income, well-being, trust, corruption, generosity, and governance. It is used to assess the level of happiness of people in different countries.
Agriculture as part of the larger Indian economy is in a much better state. India produces large tonnes of food enough for food security. It is the largest milk producer and second-largest fisheries producer. But, are farmers happy?
Along with good economic numbers on agriculture, India also faces the menace of farmers’ suicides. The march of Maratha farmers on Mumbai highway against stress is still fresh in memory. Thus, it shows that both economic numbers and real happiness in lives indicate well-being of people.
Similarly, the industry sector contributes 16.5% to GDP. The MSME sector alone produces some 11 crore jobs. The increase in entrepreneurship rather than just being job-takers is indeed an economic achievement.
At the same time, however, studies show that people employed in these jobs are poor. They don’t have access to decent working conditions, safety, and social security benefits. This again shows the importance of a national happiness index rather than just GDP.
The big corporates who come in crores, have big factories, companies etc are supposed to be happy. But the recent suicide committed by V.G. Siddhartha (Cafe Coffee Day Owner) shows the high level of stress that the big corporates are undergoing in India. This again proves the need for both GDP and GNH to assess well-being.
The students of India who have been proving their mettle especially in the IT sector all over the world have also an equally poignant story. Though we have given Sundar Pichhai, Satya Nadela to the world but ministry of Human Resource Development tells a different story. According to recent statistics around 2,000 students have dropped out of IIT for various reasons including stress and pressure their story portrayed through Bollywood movie 3 idiots is a case in point.
The women of India have a 23.3% labor participation rate. Even though it is less but a valid question to ask is that are those working women happy? Studies show that they undergo a lot of stress due to various factors like sexual harassment, double burden of job etc. This again shows that GDP alone cannot represent the well-being of a country.
The other minorities like Scheduled Castes, Scheduled tribes etc though have got jobs with the help of active state support but the situation at ground level is different. They still face discrimination forced to do bonded labor. The death of these workers due to manual scavenging is quite common in newspapers. The various cases of public flogging (like Una incident) show that the number of jobs secured by them solely doesn’t represent their happiness.
Despite high economic growth, there are growing societal tensions, conflicts etc. in India. India performs poorly on other indicators of happiness other than INCOME.
One of the parameters – Corruption is something India fares badly at. According to corruption Perception Index, India’s rank is 78. The high level of corruption in private as well as public life is one of the main reasons for lack of happiness among people. High amounts of black money, various scams in the government disturb the mental peace of people.
India fares badly in the health indicator of people. The distribution of healthcare workers is skewed in rural areas and richer states thus leaving a large chunk of people without access to good healthcare facilities. For instance, 61% of health expenditure is out of pocket which certainly increases the stress.
The governance in India is also not up to mark. The administration is marked by red tapeism, delay, technicality etc. which deprive people of essential services. For instance, only 18% of households have access to piped water. How are people supposed to be happy when something as basic as water is not there?
The Religion which is supposed to provide mental peace is nowadays becoming a reason for conflict. Religion-based mob lynching, hate speech, communal conflicts reduce the level of happiness.
The trust and generosity among people are also decreasing. For instance, people don’t offer assistance to accident victims despite good Samaritan laws. Despite charity being an essential part of various religious tenets like Islam, Hinduism, people don’t offer help to others. But at the same time, people are ready to give gold for gold plating at temples (Sarnath temple).
One of the major reasons for this behavior growing otherization and individualism in society. People’s lives have become robotic. This is further compounded by poor governance and conflicts with government like Naxalism, insurgency. Terrorism is one of the main reasons for low happiness level among Indians.
Thus, there is a need to work on improving the governance such as through e-governance, social audit, citizen charter etc. The government also needs to expand its health network through successful implementation of Ayushman Bharat. The rollout of various pension and insurance schemes like PM Shram Yogi Maan Dhan Yojna is also a good step.
There is also a need to sensitize people to maintain harmony between people. The unsocial elements consulting hate crimes should be strictly punished. At the same line, more cultural programs, social exchanges, Community participation need to be done to increase trust level and happiness.
A country may do well on the economy but if people are not happy, then all of that growth is wasted. For example, despite the largest economy, U.S suffers from mass shooting incidents by its own people. Hence it is very important to ensure not