24 July 2024 – The Indian Express

All About India’s Vision Of The Year 2047

What is India@2047 Vision?

• The goal of the Vision India@2047 project, launched by India’s top policy think tank, NITI Aayog, is to produce a roadmap for the country’s growth over the next 25 years.
• India is to become a global leader in innovation and technology, a role model for social welfare and human development, and an advocate for environmental sustainability as a result of this project.

What Elements Make Up Viksit Bharat?

• The transfer of resources from low-productivity industries (like agriculture) to high-productivity industries (like manufacturing and services) is referred to as structural transformation. This can lessen poverty, increase economic growth, and provide jobs.
• Organising labour markets entails raising worker employability and skill levels, increasing the amount and quality of labour supply, and making sure labour laws are just and effective. This has the potential to boost social protection, lower informality, and raise labour productivity.
• Increasing competitiveness means making businesses more innovative and efficient, raising the calibre and variety of goods and services, and growing both the domestic and global markets. This has the potential to boost exports, draw in investment, and promote economic dynamism.
• Enhancing financial and social inclusion entails making financial services and social welfare programmes more accessible and affordable for the underprivileged and excluded populations. Along with improving their health, education, and sense of empowerment, this can also increase their income, savings, and consumption.
• Reforms in governance: This entails fortifying the institutions and procedures of government, including accountability, transparency, participation, and the rule of law. This can decrease corruption, increase legitimacy and trust, and improve the provision of public goods and services.
• Taking advantage of the Green Revolution’s prospects entails embracing and advancing eco-friendly practices and technology including energy efficiency, renewable energy, and climate resilience. This can lessen greenhouse gas emissions, slow down the deterioration of the ecosystem, and open up new avenues for development and growth.

What Aspects of India’s Development, Apart from Economic Growth, Are Most Important?

• Acquiring the title of the largest economy globally will not fulfil all of India’s ambitions. Even if material growth is crucial, India has several other objectives by the year 2047.
• Critics cast doubt on conventional theories of economic growth and modernity and progress.
• It’s time to reconsider “Viksit Bharat” and take into account additional crucial facets of India’s development.

What Other Factors Need to Be Taken into Account?

• At the centre of this journey should be the search of happiness. Development is meaningless if happiness cannot be attained. Strangely, despite the nations’ development, citizens are not content.
• The theme should be “Happy India-Developed India” (Khushhal Bharat-Viksit Bharat) rather than “Viksit Bharat.”
• Wealthy countries are not inherently happy countries. Rich countries have done terribly on measures of social and psychological well-being, while they have excelled on GDP and per capita income.
• Conveniently, this development plan ignores mental health and wellness.
• Numerous developed countries have low happiness scores, according to the World Happiness Report 2023.
• Some countries have balanced success in both areas.
• The happiest nations are those that include Finland, Denmark, Iceland, and the Netherlands. Development was attained, but not at the expense of societal unrest.
• Rather, they have established support networks and social ties.
• India’s issue is particularly significant because, despite having the fifth-largest GDP, it is placed 126th out of 137 nations.
• Should we be unable to envision a way to improve our happiness index, development and the Viksit Bharat goal will remain a pipe dream.

What Importance Does the Happiness-Induced Development Model Have in India?

• India is a particularly relevant country for a happiness-induced development model, since our lives are heavily influenced by social interactions and cultural norms.
• Quite the contrary, our social order is severely disrupted by the existing model of merely economic progress.
• Crime and disorders are the results of this type of development. In this cycle of evolution, not every area of life undergoes simultaneous change, leading to conflicts and imbalances.
• These things are evident in contemporary society, where economic and industrial advancements are causing startling changes, while improvements in quality of life are still lagging behind.
• In many nations, happiness metrics are already the main objective of public policy. Happiness is not a personal experience anymore.

How Can the Growth-Induced Happiness Model of Development Be Incorporated?

• Integration of the Human Development Index (HDI): Give the HDI, which takes into account factors including income level, life expectancy, and educational attainment, a weight. This gives a more complete picture of well-being than only looking at traditional economic metrics.
• Inclusion of the Social Development Index (SDI): Include the 16 fundamental indicators that make up the Social Development Index from the UN Research Institute for Social Development. This can help create a more comprehensive view of growth by providing insights into a range of social elements.
• Using the World Bank’s Green Index to assess a country’s wealth based on its produced assets, natural resources, and human resources is one way to adopt the Green Index. This reflects a balance between environmental responsibility and economic prosperity and is in line with sustainable development ideals.
• Examining the International Human Suffering Index: Use the index to determine a nation’s level of development by incorporating factors associated with human suffering. This offers a more complex viewpoint on life’s general quality.
• Add Diverse Indices: Add a range of indices, including the World Press Freedom Index, the Corruption Perceptions Index, the Poverty Index, the Rule of Law Index, and the Global Innovation Index. Each of these indices focuses on different facets of happiness and growth, adding to a more thorough assessment.
• Put Happiness and Well-Being First: Create a unique index or collection of metrics that gauge happiness and well-being in particular. In keeping with the idea of a Happy India, these might encompass things like mental health, social ties, and general life satisfaction.
• Frequent Monitoring and Assessment: Put in place a reliable mechanism to keep an eye on and assess the selected indices on a regular basis. This guarantees that the long-term goal of promoting happiness and well-being is reflected in policies and initiatives.
• Align national development plans and policies with happiness objectives: Align development plans and indices with identified happiness objectives. This guarantees that public policies have a direct positive impact on citizens’ quality of life.
• Educational and Awareness Programmes: To encourage a culture shift towards putting happiness and well-being first, put educational programmes and awareness campaigns into action. Initiatives to lessen the stigma associated with mental health, support work-life balance, and highlight the value of social relationships are a few examples of this.

Way Forward:

• India can aim to attain a more sustainable and gratifying development trajectory by embracing a holistic approach that prioritises happiness and well-being alongside economic success.