I recently came across a simple yet psychologically challenging film, The Lunchbox (2013), in which Ila, a married woman disillusioned with the complexities of her life and her husband's emotional distance, wishes to escape India and settle in Bhutan, where the currency may be weaker but the happiness index is not.

India's real GDP grew by 7.8% in the first quarter (April–June) of the financial year 2026–27, according to the Press Information Bureau (PIB). Bhutan's economy is also projected to grow at a healthy rate, although estimates vary by institution and the period covered. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) projects growth of 7.5% for calendar year 2026, while the World Bank's forecast for Bhutan's financial year 2026–27 is 6.4%. These figures demonstrate that economic growth and the pursuit of well-being need not be mutually exclusive.

However, economic growth alone cannot tell us whether people are satisfied with their lives. The World Happiness Report 2026 ranks India 116th out of 147 countries, with a life-evaluation score of 4.536 out of 10. Pakistan ranks 104th, with a score of 4.868, while Nepal ranks 99th, with 5.147. China ranks 65th. These rankings raise an important question: why does rapid economic growth not necessarily translate into greater reported life satisfaction?

Bhutan is not included in the 2026 World Happiness Report's country rankings because it has not been surveyed by Gallup recently enough to provide the required data. However, Bhutan has developed its own approach to measuring well-being through its Gross National Happiness (GNH) framework.

Bhutan's GNH Index assesses nine domains: psychological well-being, health, education, time use, cultural diversity and resilience, good governance, community vitality, ecological diversity and resilience, and living standards. This approach recognises that a person's quality of life depends on several interconnected factors, rather than income alone.

In India, by contrast, public discussion of national progress remains heavily focused on Gross Domestic Product (GDP), investment, infrastructure and other economic indicators. While these are important measures of development, they do not, by themselves, capture the full picture of human well-being.

India's Emerging Focus on Well-Being

Some Indian states have taken initiatives to explore happiness and well-being beyond conventional economic indicators. Madhya Pradesh established the Rajya Anandam Sansthan, commonly known as its Department of Happiness, in 2016. In 2017, the department signed an agreement with the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Kharagpur to develop a happiness index for measuring the well-being of the state's residents.

Kerala has also pursued various community-based well-being initiatives through its local self-government institutions. Andhra Pradesh has discussed happiness and well-being in its broader development planning. However, these initiatives should not be confused with the existence of a uniform, nationally recognised happiness index across Indian states.

Claims that smaller states such as Himachal Pradesh and Mizoram are happier than India's major metropolitan centres also need to be supported by comparable, reliable data. Nevertheless, the broader question of how urbanisation, working conditions, pollution and social pressures affect quality of life deserves serious attention.

Mumbai, India's financial capital, offers considerable economic opportunities but also confronts overcrowding, long commutes and high living costs. Bengaluru, the country's major technology hub, attracts professionals with its employment opportunities, yet demanding work schedules and work-life imbalance can affect their well-being. New Delhi, the national capital, faces persistent concerns about air pollution, crime and the cost of living.

These challenges do not mean that people living in metropolitan cities are necessarily less happy than those elsewhere. They do, however, underline the importance of examining the social and environmental costs that can accompany economic success.

If development is intended to improve people's lives, policymakers must look beyond the number of jobs created, the value of investments attracted or the pace of infrastructure expansion. They must also ask whether people have time for their families, access to clean air, affordable housing, adequate healthcare and opportunities to live with dignity and peace of mind.

Bhutan's Gross National Happiness: An Alternative Perspective

Nepal ranked 99th in the 2026 World Happiness Report, making it the highest-ranked South Asian country in that edition. Its long-term national vision, expressed in the slogan "Prosperous Nepal, Happy Nepali", also places people's well-being within the country's development aspirations.

Bhutan, however, offers one of the most distinctive examples of an attempt to institutionalise happiness as a development objective. The country's Fourth King, Jigme Singye Wangchuck, popularised the concept of Gross National Happiness in the early 1970s, arguing that development should not be judged by economic output alone.

Bhutan's approach does not reject economic growth. Instead, it seeks to balance material progress with social, cultural, environmental and psychological well-being. The country's GNH framework provides a basis for assessing how public policies affect different dimensions of people's lives.

The 2008 Constitution of Bhutan also incorporates the principle of promoting conditions that enable the pursuit of Gross National Happiness. This gives the concept an institutional foundation beyond its symbolic appeal.

Bhutan's model should not be romanticised, however. The country faces challenges involving employment, economic diversification and public finances, among other concerns. Nor does the GNH framework establish that every Bhutanese citizen is happier than people elsewhere. Its significance lies in the attempt to broaden the definition of development and incorporate non-economic considerations into policymaking.

The contrast with India is instructive. India's large and diverse population, federal structure and economic circumstances differ considerably from Bhutan's. India cannot simply replicate Bhutan's model. It can, however, examine how well-being indicators might complement conventional economic measures in its own development framework.

The Human Cost of Economic Progress

The film The Lunchbox offers a useful starting point for this discussion. Ila's desire to move to Bhutan reflects her search for a more fulfilling life, while Saajan Fernandes, a lonely accountant portrayed by the late Irrfan Khan, represents the isolation that can accompany an otherwise ordinary working life.

The film highlights a familiar contradiction: people may work hard, earn a reasonable income and meet their material needs, yet still feel lonely or dissatisfied. When daily life revolves around work, commuting and financial responsibilities, opportunities for meaningful relationships, rest and personal fulfilment can become limited.

The film also depicts the consequences of alcohol addiction through Ila's father. His story provides an entry point into a broader public-health concern in India: the social and familial harm associated with harmful alcohol consumption.

Research has documented an association between alcohol misuse by husbands and domestic violence in India. An analysis of nationally representative data from the National Family Health Survey-4 found that 71% of women who reported alcohol misuse by their husbands also reported marital violence, compared with 22% of women whose husbands did not drink. These figures describe an association and should not be interpreted as evidence that alcohol is the sole cause of domestic violence.

Such findings underline the importance of addressing substance misuse, mental health, family violence and access to healthcare as part of a wider approach to human development. However, specific claims about alcohol-related psychiatric emergencies or its contribution to particular national health indices require clearly identified and verifiable sources before they can be included.

Economic development must therefore be accompanied by public-health policies, accessible mental-health services, social support systems and efforts to improve working conditions. Income matters enormously, particularly for people struggling to afford food, housing, education and healthcare. But income alone cannot resolve every source of distress.

Rethinking India's Development Priorities

India's vision of Viksit Bharat 2047 seeks to transform the country into a developed nation by the centenary of its independence. NITI Aayog has discussed a pathway towards a $30 trillion economy, alongside improvements in living standards, infrastructure, education, skills and other social indicators.

These are significant ambitions. Yet the pursuit of a larger economy should also prompt a wider discussion about what development is ultimately intended to achieve.

Other countries offer useful examples of how governments can incorporate well-being into policy. New Zealand's Wellbeing Budget has sought to connect public spending with broader social outcomes, while the United Arab Emirates has established a ministerial portfolio dedicated to happiness and well-being. Nordic countries, including Finland, Denmark, Iceland and Sweden, have consistently performed strongly in the World Happiness Report, although their experiences cannot be attributed to any single policy or measure.

These examples do not suggest that India should abandon economic growth or adopt a slower pace of development. Instead, they invite policymakers to consider whether economic indicators are sufficient to evaluate progress.

The 2026 World Happiness Report measures people's life evaluations and examines factors associated with differences in reported well-being. Its rankings are not a comprehensive assessment of every aspect of a country's performance. Nevertheless, India's position provides an opportunity to examine how social support, healthy life expectancy, freedom to make life choices, generosity and perceptions of corruption relate to people's experiences of life.

India need not choose between economic development and happiness. It could strengthen its existing development framework by systematically measuring indicators such as mental health, life satisfaction, work-life balance, environmental quality, social trust and access to essential services. Such measures could help policymakers identify gaps that conventional economic statistics may overlook.

The question is not whether India is growing, but whether the benefits of that growth are translating into better lives for its citizens. A larger economy can provide the resources needed to improve health, education, housing and social protection. The challenge is to ensure that these resources are used in ways that expand people's opportunities and improve their everyday experiences.

Ultimately, development should be measured not only by what a country produces or how much wealth it accumulates, but also by the opportunities it creates for people to live healthy, secure and fulfilling lives.

A country is made by its people, not merely by the size of its economy. India's development ambitions will be more meaningful if the pursuit of prosperity is accompanied by a sustained commitment to the well-being of its citizens.

REFERENCES

https://data.worldhappiness.report/table https://nivarana.org/the-fine-print/a-deep-dive-into-indias-alcohol-problem Press Information Bureau https://www.researchgate.net/publication/374615398_Gross_National_Happiness_Policy_Ou tputs_in_Bhutan_from_1972_to_2014 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gross_National_Happiness NITI Aayog Health Index https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/economy/indicators/india-ranks-116th-in-worldhappiness-report-2026/articleshow/129682973.cms?from=mdr https://myrepublica.nagariknetwork.com/news/nepal-positioned-92nd-in-world-happinessindex-topmost-in-south-asian-regio-45-67.html https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/other-states/Madhya-Pradesh-becomes-first-Stateto-have-%E2%80%98Happiness-Department%E2%80%99/article14491921.ece

(The author is an English Honours student at the University of Delhi, working at the intersection of literature, politics and social realities. The views expressed are personal. She can be reached at ishikachauhan9c17@gmail.com)