AP CM Chandrababu Naidu Starts Happiness Index Department in India

April 05, 2017 16:22

The successor state of Andhra Pradesh (AP) is going to have an exclusive happiness index (HI) department, by the State CM, Mr. Chandrababu Naidu.

Chandrababu Naidu, who started this project as his pet scheme, is going to head the HI wing. He will be the second CM in India, to start HI department, followed by Madhya Pradesh CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan.

Speaking at a conference, “Future Decoded”, earlier in March, at Microsoft India, Naidu stated that he wanted to include happiness as an index, besides economic indicators.

The objective is to make AP, as the best destination in the world by 2050, by giving major preference to happiness, said Naidu.

He further devised the parameters for this Happiness Index and wants to see that every family in AP gets Rs 10,000 income. The HI will be measured from data collected from periodic surveys, in the districts.

Already, AP Government’s vision-2029 document is inspired from Bhutan’s Gross National Happiness index (GNHI). This encompasses nine domains like psychological well being, health, time use, education, good governance, community vitality, cultural diversity and resilience, ecological diversity and resilience, and living standards.

Chandrababu, in addition to the vision, recently launched a campaign on achieving happiness in society. The urban civic bodies in AP districts, upon his instructions, started organizing weekly dance and song jamborees. These are done under the “Happy Sunday” programme.

The State Government is also coordinating with other departments in the government, as Naidu remarks that happiness would not be achieved without meeting the financial needs.