A key aspect of well-being is balance between development and residents’ quality of life
International Day of Happiness, which is being observed today (March 20), was established in 2012 through a United Nations General Assembly resolution. The day recognises happiness and well-being as universal human goals and underscores the need for governments to include them in public policy.
By way of background, the initiative was championed by Bhutan. This tiny Himalayan kingdom has long promoted the concept of Gross National Happiness (GNH) as a development philosophy.The UN observes this day with campaigns for well-being, mental health, social connection and sustainable development. Governments and non-government bodies (schools, NGOs and community groups) have been encouraged to join in. They have been requested to consider organising talks, cultural events, volunteer drives, mindfulness sessions, music and art programmes and social media campaigns. The focus could be on gratitude, kindness and life satisfaction.
The World Happiness Report is released annually by the Wellbeing Research Centre at the University of Oxford with Gallup and the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network. For its rankings, it considers six factors: GDP per capita, healthy life expectancy, social support, freedom to make life choices, generosity and perceptions of corruption. Finland and other Nordic countries have ended up at the top of the list. India ranked 118th out of 147 countries in the 2025 report.
Without intending to nitpick, one could point out that this is strikingly different from what the founder of this concept, Bhutan, sees as the philosophy of GNH. For the Bhutanese, it is a balance of material, spiritual, social, cultural and environmental factors rather than income alone. Their GNH rests on four pillars—sustainable and equitable development, environmental conservation, preservation of culture, and good governance. So, seen thus, true happiness comes from harmony between people, nature and values, not just economic growth.
What one sees depends on where one stands, as they say. One’s perspective can also vary. Incidentally, India was itself ranked very highly on certain happiness or life satisfaction indices in the past, when the context and methodology were very different from today’s World Happiness Report. For fast-changing regions such as Goa, we need to remind ourselves of past times when we all had less but were content in different ways. While that could be dismissed as part of our ‘rosy retrospection’ or ‘nostalgia bias’, there is more to life than bread alone.
In the Goa Budget, Chief Minister Pramod Sawant said the Happiness Index of Goans is increasing by the day. He also said that the assessment of well-being would be carried out soon. It may come as a surprise that the Goa Golden Jubilee Development Council, headed by scientist Dr Raghunath Mashelkar, in the Vision and Road Map: Goa 2035 submitted to the Manohar Parrikar government in 2012, had spoken of a Happy Goa. The 17-member council had proposed that Goa should become the first state to start the process of measuring and monitoring happiness, sending a signal that Goa considers this to be the most critical socio-economic development indicator. “GGJDC also wishes that Goa becomes not only the happiest state in India but in the world. That should be our vision for Goa 2035.” Only if Goa had accepted and implemented the report, which was commissioned by the previous government.
International Day of Happiness is a reminder of local priorities: strengthening community bonds, promoting mental health awareness, preserving cultural life and balancing development with residents’ well-being. Quality of life issues can, however, be given attention every day; we need not wait for such occasions alone.
