MP to be first state in India to have a happiness ministry

BHOPAL: Following the example of Bhutan, which measures its prosperity by gauging the citizens' happiness quotient and not GDP, Madhya Pradesh chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Thursday announced a happiness ministry to measure the state's progress. “We will make a happiness ministry to track our growth,“ he said while addressing a state BJP convention.

Chouhan said a “welfare state cannot only deal with politics and economy“. “The state will be made responsible for the happiness and tolerance of its citizens, and will rope in psychologists to counsel people on how to be always happy ,“ said the chief minister. He related happiness to developments in the country while showering praise on Prime Minister Narendra Modi. “Modi is god's gift to the country ,“ he said.

He said the PM had become the “most popular leader in the world and was working to make India strong and prosperous“.“Hence, the happiness index plays an important ro le,“ he added. He called Modi a man of ideas, who has the will to execute them.“Wherever in the world he goes, people chant his name. He will make India vishwa guru by 2022,“ he said.

The trend for a more holistic approach to governance seems to be catching on around the world. Last month, the UAE appointed state ministers for happiness, tolerance and youth.