By Payal Mitra
There is an ever increasing worry surrounding our economic growth figures. We want to catapult back to 7% and even dream of double figure digits. So what do we do? Provide more subsidies and bail out packages to the already rich but debt ridden companies; keep the goodies flowing to MNCs and all foreign direct investment in hope of dragging our GDP over the bridge. Too pessimistic? Please, no. I am not one of the anti-FDI, anti-globalisation activists. I realise how important all of it is if done with certain safeguards. But what do we achieve? And more importantly, for the GDP obsessed, how much further could you possibly push the GDP without identifying and correcting the real roots of this proliferating problem? Is GDP the sole index we need to improve upon?
We currently rank 136 in the HDI index. Perhaps a quarter of our potential human resource bank lays waste owing to gender bias and high female foeticide rates. The next quarter goes waste because of lack of equal opportunity and education. The next fraction because of poor hygiene and health disorders.
What looks good on the countrys profile does not necessarily reflect on an average citizens profile. Someone who migrates from the village to the city in hope of better living conditions may register himself as a worker in a domestic help agency or some other firm. His income now adds to the accounting books of the country. Millions of such migrants enter the city hoping to find better living conditions but are fooled when higher salaries come lined with higher expenses owing to inflation and whatnot. So they pump up the GDP, but are not left with equal returns. And I could go on piling problems, something I believe I could earn a medal of proficiency in. But perhaps it is time to end our obsession with only GDP growth figures and start addressing these equally grave problems. There are the Mitals and the Ambanis and the Malayas. And then there are the rest of us. We need to start focusing on the rise of the rest of India. Why should so many want to flock abroad for better living conditions? It is time to start building and shaping our current nation so that it can stand strong in the future. Step one in this direction would be to self-acceptance through perhaps an alternate measure which is more holistic in its approach.
Enter Bhutan Its new and innovative tool for measuring progress: Gross National Happiness (GNH).
It took years to construct the model and put in place the mechanism. But though still new, it shows a lot of promise. It surveys the entire population on certain counts through in-depth interviews with each question having four options weighted differently. The overall score tells them whether the response is neutral, positive or negative. It covers 9 domains, and apart from economic living standards, it includes time-use, health, education, cultural resilience, environmental concern, psychological well-being, good governance and community vitality. It grades itself on all these parameters. And despite the fact that Bhutan has a long way to go with a large part of the county living without electricity or on less than $1.25 a day, it has made significant progress. Bhutan has doubled life expectancy and enrolled nearly 100% of its children in school. The country has pledged to remain carbon neutral and to ensure that at least 60% of its landmass will remain under forest cover in perpetuity.
There is an important message here, one the world needs to see. The GNH index is a much more rounded approach. Not the only model, but a definite alternate until we find the one that is best suited. It can help us pin point our exact problems and work toward solutions. Implementation might not be so hard with a backing of technology, media and an army of charged and enthusiastic youth who want to make a difference. Let us prepare grounds for thorough self-evaluation to pave way for the rise of the rest in India.
Payal is a second year student at St. Stephens College, Delhi, pursuing a Bachelor of Science degree in Physics. When she is not trying to make sense of endless equations and the most complex theories, she is an avid reader who likes to believe that she has a strong liking for the world outside physics too. She has a knack for finding problems, and fervently prays for a brainwave to their solutions someday. She hopes to help reflect change in society, wherever possible.
For any comment, please email her at: payal.mitra@hotmail.com