Two very significant and relevant International reports have just been released- the world happiness report (WHR) 2023-24 and the human development report (HDR) 2024. Both are indicators of the level of development of various countries and the quality of life of the people living in them. The HDR ranks the countries on three factors- the average healthy life expectancy, mean years of schooling and quality of life. It is a measure of the health, education and quality of life levels of the people living in different countries and is based on data that is available with the countries concerned. The WHR, on the other hand, is based on a Gallup poll survey where questions are put to a representative sample size in each country on five variables which are healthy life expectancy, social security which means you have someone to count on, freedom to make life choices, generosity and perception about corruption. In addition there is a 6^th variable which is gross domestic product (GDP) per capita which is taken from the data available with various countries.

India’s rank in the WHR is 126^th out of 143 countries which means that India is amongst the unhappiest countries. One may have issues with this ranking particularly since Pakistan and Nepal are shown as being happier than India which is a little difficult to accept. However, these rankings are based on a survey and it is also a fact that ever since world happiness surveys started in 2012 India has consistently been ranked at the bottom of the pile. Finland has been ranked as the happiest country for at least the last five years and has maintained the top position in WHR 2024 also. It is followed by Denmark, Iceland, Sweden and Israel. The report points out that the survey regarding Israel was done before the Hamas attack and the resultant conflict. While United Kingdom is at the 20^th place, USA and Germany have dropped out of the top 20 for the first time and have been ranked 23^rd and 24^th respectively.

This year the WHR has also tried to do a correlation of age with happiness in different countries. It finds that there is a lower level of happiness in people born after 1980. However, the association between age and happiness varies according to region. For instance, in general the young are happier than the old in many regions while in Western Europe the happiness level is the same for old and young but in North America the old are happier than the younger people. For India they found that old age is associated with higher life satisfaction and older women have a lower level of life satisfaction than older men. The caste factor comes into play for India with upper castes being generally happier than other castes. Also, those who have completed at least secondary education are happier than those who have not been educated. For India as well as the entire world the WHR 2024 finds that there is an increase in the inequality of happiness.

In the ranking of countries on happiness amongst the young people below the age of 30 for the period 2021-2023 the WHR finds that Lithuania gets the highest rank followed by Israel, Serbia, Iceland and Denmark. Finland is at the 7^th position while UK slips down to the 32^nd position and most surprisingly USA gets the 62^nd rank. China is 79^th while India is ones again at the lower end being ranked 127^th. WHR 2024 then ranked countries according to happiness for old people whose age is greater than 60 years. Denmark turned out to be the country having the happiest old people followed by Finland, Norway, Sweden and Iceland. In this ranking USA is at the 10^th position and China is 30^th. This shows that the older people in USA and China are far happier than the younger ones. Unfortunately, India continues to languish at the 121^st position. It seems that the old and the young are equally unhappy in India though the report says that the young are happier than the middle age people in India. The happiness ranked for the old people in India is slightly better than that for the younger ones.

The HDR 2024 also does not present a good picture about India with the Indian rank being 134 out of 192. These rankings should act as a wake-up call for our public policy makers. It should set them thinking that in terms of GDP we are the 5^th largest economy in the world poised to become the 3^rd largest by 2028 and being recognized all over the world for its annual growth rate of about 7% and currently being the fastest growing economy of the world. In terms of per capita income India ranks 140^th in the world and this could be a possible explanation for the low happiness rankings. Also, the inequality both social and economic is high in India which would be contributing to a lower level of happiness. The HDR rank clearly shows that health and education are the most important components of human development and India must prioritise both in its development agenda.  We must be concerned with an overall improvement in the quality of life of the people rather than just be satisfied with high GDP and growth rate. Many thinkers and economists have argued that GDP is an imperfect measure of development because it does not taken to account all that is important for improving the quality of human life. Simon Kuznets who has done pioneering work in studying the development of countries was clear that GDP was limited in trying to explain development. Kuznets wrote “the welfare of a nation can scarcely be inferred from a measurement of national income”. The most scathing attack on GDP came from Bobby Kennedy who was a candidate for the president of United States.

He said “GDP measures neither our wit nor our courage, ; neither our wisdom nor our learning ; neither our compassion nor our devotion to our country ; it measures everything but that which makes life worthwhile”.

Bhutan came out with a gross national happiness index several years ago and United Nations has also recognized the importance of happiness index as a measure of human welfare and has declared 20^th March as the international day of happiness. India must also factor in the domains of health, education, diversity, resilience, good governance, environment and living standards in their policy making if we want to see our country as a happier one and where the human development index is high and people enjoy a good quality of life and have a positive feeling of wellbeing. Despite all the misgivings about the methodology of computing the index, we cannot deny that Indian policy makers must work at making India a happier country.

  

Hearing and watching the debates in the parliament and UP State assembly over the last few days on the Budget and the address of the honorable President of India and Governor respectively it struck me that, perhaps, the most important area of discussion should have been the status of education. India is a young nation with a median age of 29 and a major proportion of the population falling in the category of youth. If equity in education is not pursued as a cherished goal then we will be doing a great disservice to the nation. The road map to make India a developed nation has to put education at the very top of its agenda. If we cannot impart quality education to our youth then we will not able to provide social justice, economic development and political empowerment to all sections of society and the aspiration of India to become a developed nation would remain a dream.

There is cause for concern about the learning outcomes of our children at the school level and even at the higher education level. The greatest worry should be about our school children who evidently do not even possess the foundational literacy and numeracy skills. The recent ASER (Annual status of Education Report) 2023 surveyed youth in the age group of 14 to 18 years in which it found that the position regarding enrollment in the age group of 14 to 18 year old is reasonably good but for the 18 year old it is 32.6 % which is definitely on the lower side and means that a large proportion would enter the working age population without high school education. It is also disturbing to note that most of the young people in this age group were enrolled in the humanities stream (55.7%) followed by STEM at 31.7%. These children in the humanities stream are likely to have issues of employment in a job environment where technology is the disruptive force. Only 5.6% of the youth are taking vocational training further hindering their job prospects.

Regarding foundational skills of these youth in the age group of 14 to 18 about 25 % cannot read a standard II level text in the regional language. Only 43.3% can do simple division and only a little over half can read sentences in English and most of them do not understand the meaning of what they are reading. The functional application of knowledge is also not of the required level. The survey strongly brings out the point that the youth is not being equipped with essential knowledge and skills. The report clearly focuses on the point that India will not be able to make full use of its demographic dividend as these young people will not be able to contribute according to their innate ability.

The above survey report regarding the youth in the 14 to 18 age group suggests that the Governments both at the centre and the states will have to take remedial teaching packages for them so that they come up to the desired level. This will call for a reorientation of teaching at the secondary school level. If this is not done then these children will not be in a position to pursue higher education without which it is not possible for India to become a knowledge economy and becoming a developed nation would remain an unfulfilled dream. It is also important that facilities for science education increase and in accordance with the national education policy 2020 (NEP) more youth opt for vocational education so that they become employable. My view is that as brought out in the NEP the youth should be encouraged to take cross functional courses and not be pursuing only humanities or science. Students of humanities need to have full exposure to computers and related courses so that they do not become victims of digital divide. In fact courses in coding and basic computer knowledge should be introduced from the class 6 level.

The aim of the NEP is that the GER (Gross Enrollment ratio) which is currently at 26.3% should be raised to 50% by 2035. This is not only a laudable goal but also essential for India’s development. However if the level of students at the secondary school level is qualitatively so poor then how will they become feeders to the higher education stream?

Incidentally, if we take the ASER report of 2022  regarding age group 6 to 14 There is an improvement in the  level of enrollment at early childhood and primary educational level but the learning outcomes leave a lot to be desired.  The worrying part as that the children’s basic knowledge of arithmetic and language is still very poor and the alarming thing is that it has declined over the 2018 level. This can be attributed to the damaging effect of the pandemic. For instance the proportion of children of class 5 who could read a class 2 level text fell from 50.5% in 2018 to 42.8% in 2022. Similarly the children in class 5 who could do simple division questions have fallen from 27.9% in 2018to 25.6% in 2022. These children require special attention in the form of summer school or extra classes. My personal experience with literacy programmes has been that there are a lot of volunteers amongst the senior school and college going boys and girls at the village level and city level who can be roped in to provide this remedial education. In fact, I have often felt that students in institutions of higher learning should be mandated to adopt primary schools to improve the learning outcome at that level.

It is clear that the quality of education being imparted at the school level do not fulfill the criteria of either equity or quality. A mission approach which does not work in silos and with specific parameter of learning outcomes to be achieved within a specified time frame is the need of the hour. The political will to do this is essential and this should be a major narrative in the manifestos of the political parties. Administrative leadership and making quality teachers available along with using modern techniques would be required to implement things at the ground level where the real problem lies. Education is the single most important factor which will push India into the take-off path to be coming a developed nation and make this century rightfully an Indian One.

“We also make policy” is exactly what it says in the cover of the book that it is an insider’s account of how the finance ministry functions. Subhash Chandra Garg had a long and varied experience of working in the finance sector. He worked as principal secretary finance in the Rajasthan Government, he was executive director with the world bank and then secretary economic affairs and secretary finance to Government of India. He definitely has the pedigree to talk about issues that the finance ministry handles and the various pulls and pressures that it is subjected to. He has gone in great detail to describe how major economic decisions were taken during his tenure. The tussle between the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and the finance ministry is very succinctly brought out in both its professional as well as personal aspects. Urjit Patel the then RBI Governor is depicted as zealously guarding the autonomy of RBI but this very concept of autonomy is interpreted differently by the finance ministry and RBI. Personal ego clashes add to the cauldron.

Subhash was initially in support of demonetization but subsequently felt that the initial objective of eliminating black money was not achieved. An interesting snippet seems to suggest that Mr. Arun Jaitly the then finance minister did not have an inkling about the announcement of demonetization though he later fully supported it. Subhash Garg is very much in favour of the electoral bond scheme
which he feels makes the process of donation to political parties more transparent and he is of the view the Supreme Court should not interfere with it.The matter is sub-judice before the Supreme Court and let us see how the honorable court views it.

Subhash is very candid in his appraisal of his colleagues in the finance department and does not mince words about those whose working he did not like. In dealing with issues Subhash comes out as an officer who speaks and writes what he thinks is correct even though it may be against the general thinking around and even contrary to the directions of the top which includes PMO.
The spicy part of the book is about his strained relationship with the new finance minister Nirmala Seetharaman which ultimately led to his transfer from the finance ministry and was the main cause of his seeking voluntary retirement. He had an excellent relationship with the earlier finance minister Mr. Jaitly.

Unless you are very interested in the intricacies of the working of the finance department, certain sections of the book appear to be a little to detailed and do not make easy reading. It is, however, a very welcome and useful addition to public policy literature.

I just finished reading “Dethroned-Patel, Menon and the integration of princely India” by John Zubrzyck This book gives a remarkable insight into the story of how the over five hundred princely states were integrated into India at the time of independence. One was aware of the stellar role of Sardar Patel and his secretary of the states department Mr. V.P Menon in making the states sign the instrument of accession in favour of the Indian dominion but this book reads like a thriller. The intricacies that were involved in the process are fascinating. Patel and Menon coaxed, cajoled and used subtle threats to make the princes agree to make their state a part of the Indian union. Hyderabad, Bhopal, Junagadh and some of the Rajput states were the most recalcitrant. The Nizam of Hyderabad declared himself independent and it required army intervention in the Garb of Police action to make him buckle down. The Iron will of Sardar Patel and the negotiation skills of Menon made this impossible situation a reality. Nehru also was fully involved in making the states accede to the Indian union but he was a pacifist in his approach as opposed to Sardar Patel who did not shirk from twisting the arms of the princes who were acting difficult. The book brings out that contrary to the claims this process of accession and so called Police action was anything but bloodless.

The author does show Lord Mountbatten in a favourable light with which I personally do not agree but I guess western authors have this predilection. The book shows that the Kashmir issue was taken out of the purview of the state department. Incidentally, about article 370 it says that initially all members of the Congress working committee barring two were opposed to it. However, Nehru who was abroad made an emotional plea to Sardar Patel who then used his stature to make all members of CWC agree to article 370.
The book also has very interesting and amusing anecdotes about the eccentricities and peccadilloes of the princes. The remarkable fact is that despite the extravagance of the princes and their addiction to a hedonistic life of some of them they were very much respected by their subjects.

The book is an interesting read for all those who are interested in the contemporary history of India in particular to the momentous events of India getting its independence. For those interested in this subject I would suggest they read the biography of V.P Menon and also the book on reorganization of states written by Menon. I read these books sometime ago and they are the source material for “Dethroned”. Incidentally, for those who may not know V.P Menon was not an ICS officer but started his career as a stenographer in the home department.

Indian independence

Sardar Patel

V.P. Menon

Integration of princely states

Indian Union

One felt very comfortable reading Naresh Nandan Prasad’s autobiography as the terrain traversed by him was very familiar to me as he was my colleague in the Uttar Pradesh cadre of I.A.S. Naresh served in U.P. , Uttaranchal, Government of India and in International organizations. Naturally he has a very rich and absorbing tapestry of experiences to share which makes the book a very interesting read. Naresh comes out from the pages of the book as anything but a small cog in a large wheel. In different postings he left his indelible mark by his initiative, creativity and positivity.

The book starts from his training at the Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy of Administration at Mussoorie where he had a great time just like most of us. I can fully connect myself with his sentiments when he says that the days spent at Mussoorie are the best days in life. Endearing and enduring friendships are built and there is an immense sense of contentment and joy. Of course, for Naresh the memories would be sweeter as he met his life partner Anjali at the academy.

The remarkable thing about Naresh is that he took every posting in a positive light even if he had experienced initial disappointment. He made the most out of every chair he occupied confirming the belief that it is the officer and not the assignment that matters. There is immense potential in every job that one gets in the I.A.S to serve the people and bring about transformative changes. I was particularly impressed by the courage shown by him in getting the Etawah elections countermanded on grounds of unfair electoral practices even though the Chief Minister of the state was contesting from there. It is all the more significant considering that he was in the secretariat of the same chief minister before being posted as D.M. His integrity drew a grudging statement of praise even from a difficult person like Mr. T.N Seshan the Chief election commissioner. The more remarkable thing is that the chief minister concerned did not carry any animosity towards him.

More than the brilliant work he did as vice chairman Kanpur Development Authority it was his successful crusade against corruption in the authority which is worth appreciating. His creative side is evidenced in full bloom in the work that he did as principal secretary Tourism, Government of Uttaranchal. He made a mark in his Government of India assignments also and then spent more than a decade at an international organization at Geneva. The organizational politics that he experienced at Geneva makes interesting reading and only goes to show that human beings are the same everywhere. Naresh had more than his fair share of jealous bosses and colleagues during his career.

Civil servants particularly I.A.S officers would love reading this book. The style and flow of the narrative should attract other readers also especially those interested in leadership and public policy.
It is sad that Naresh is no more with us. His life story as sketched out in the book will remain with the reader for a long time.

Civil servants in general and IAS and IPS officers in particular would welcome the decision of the Honorable Supreme court in the SLP filed by the State of Uttar Pradesh on the matter of personal appearance of officers being desired by the honorable courts in contempt matters or to assist the court. The specific cause of action were two orders of the division bench of the High court of judicature at Allahabad relating to the exercise of criminal contempt jurisdiction and the practice of frequent summoning of Government officials to court. It had transpired that in the matter relating to post retirement benefits to honorable Chief Justice and Judges of High Court, the high court had issued certain directions and finance department of UP Government had not complied with them and had instead questioned them. The high court had directed that officials of finance department present in the court be taken into custody and had issued bailable warrants to ensure presence of the Chief Secretary and the additional Chief Secretary in the court on the next day. The honorable Supreme Court said that the invocation of criminal contempt and taking the Government official into custody was not warranted. It concluded that the conduct of the high court in frequently summoning officers to exert pressure on the Government under threat of contempt is impermissible.

The honorable Supreme Court also framed SOP’s on personal appearance of Government officials in Court proceedings. It was of the view that in most cases instead of calling the officers the issue could be addressed through affidavits and other documents. Only if it is felt that specific information required by the Court is being deliberately withheld by the concerned officer then there is cause for calling for the personal appearance of the officer concerned. It has been my experience that going to the Court when summoned often leads to spending the entire day in travelling and in the process. The Supreme Court has said that as the first option the Court should allow the officer to appear before it through video conferencing. This would definitely save a lot of valuable time. The Court further said that as far as possible a specific times lot should be kept for addressing matters where the personal appearance of an officer is mandated. It also said that the Government officials participating in the proceedings need not stand throughout the hearing. These are also very welcome directions as often officers have to wait the entire day for the case to be heard and most often they are not even provided a chair to sit on. In a lighter vein I recall that a senior officer of the secondary education department of UP was called by the Court so often that he actually set up a table and chair near the Court and disposed of  official work as he would have to wait for his case to be heard for the best part of the day.

Recently there have been instances when officers have faced comments by the Court on their dress or demeanor. This has been most unfortunate and has demoralized the senior officers. Supreme Court has viewed this tendency with concern and said that during the course of the proceedings no oral remarks with the intention of humiliating the officials will be passed. The Supreme Court has further added that the courts shall refrain from making comments on the physical appearance, educational background or social standing of the official appearing before it. It advised the court to cultivate an environment of respect and professionalism. The officers and the members of the judiciary are respected representatives of the executive and the judicial arm of a democratic Government respectively and I feel it is essential that there is mutual respect between them. I personally remember the numerous occasions when I had to travel from Lucknow to Allahabad to be physically present in the court and this often amounted to a loss of more than one day. Further had it not been for the consideration shown by a very amiable joint registrar protocol of the High Court one would have had to spend the entire day standing inside or just outside the Court.

The orders of the Court must be complied with and for this the senior officers of the Government should be held accountable. Very often non compliance or not taking action on time is a result of negligence of the junior officers of the department concerned. I used to handle this by having a register of all Court orders maintained in my office even when I was Chief Secretary and one official was specifically made responsible for monitoring time bound action. I used to personally review this register once every fortnight. This kind of a practice should be followed by all senior officers. Sometimes I discovered that there used to be collusion between the person who had got the orders from the Court and the lower level officers in the secretariat. The officers would not put up the matter before their seniors deliberately for obvious reasons and wait for notice of contempt from the court. The idea being that the moment a contempt notice comes the officers concerned hurriedly try to comply and no time is left for serious examination of the order and consider making a review application or going in appeal. The answer to this lies once again in very detailed monitoring by the senior officers and fixing responsibility on the junior officers if they have deliberately avoided putting up the matter for necessary action.

It is also true, as the honorable Supreme Court has observed, that there is a process involved at the Government level in complying with Court orders. Wherever there is a financial involvement the concurrence of the finance department is essential and often higher orders up to the level of the Chief Minister have to be taken. The courts must give reasonable time for compliance of their orders. Also, as the honorable Supreme Court has pointed out the Court should not take it adversely if the officer comes back to the courts with the request for review or modification of order. The point that should be understood is that hardly any officer would willfully disobey the orders of the court. The Supreme Court has put this in perspective by observing that the concerned court should evaluate instances of non compliance taking into account to procedural delays or technical reasons. It should give appropriate extension if required to facilitate compliance.

These SOP’s issued by the Supreme Court will go a long way in allowing the officers to carry out their work with integrity and without any sense of undue fear. The officers must also show respect to the court orders and monitor them personally. A relationship of mutual respect between senior executive officers of the Government and the judiciary will certainly make for more effective Governance .

Dust seems to have settled on the furious debate that was triggered by the statement of Sri Narayan Murthy that the Indian youth needs to put in seventy hours of work every day if India is to realise its goal of becoming a developed nation by 2047. The intent behind what Mr. Murthy said is quite clear and I agree with his thought process. Nothing in life is achieved without persistent and dedicated hard work and if India is to keep its date with destiny then its leaders, managers and officers have to put in a lot of effort.

Many leaders from the corporate world came out vociferously in support of the statement made by Mr. Murthy. On the other side of the spectrum a lot of young managers were critical of this comment as they felt that this kind of a work schedule will not leave any time to do anything else and completely destroy the work life balance. Incidentally, I was addressing students at a reputed management institute and I deliberately raised this issue about the statement of Mr. Murthy. I was surprised to find that the students were almost in unanimous agreement that seventy hours of work every week is neither possible nor desirable. They felt that this would seriously undermine the concept of work life balance and lead to early burnout and disruption of family life and even lead to physical and mental health issues. On the other hand I had a discussion with some senior level corporate managers who not only strongly agreed with Mr. Murthy but also were very critical of the younger generation’s attitude towards work.

I feel the statement has not been appreciated in its proper context. Seventy Hours was just a number indicating that a lot of hard work has to be put in by the youth. It does not in any way say that one has to ignore one’s responsibility to the family or health or any other aspect of life. It is simply talking about having a commitment to one’s work and emphasizing a truism that there is no substitute for hard work if an individual or a nation has to progress at a rapid pace. It is true that average working hours per week in the western nations is lesser than that prevailing in India. In fact a country like France works 35 Hours a week whereas the corresponding figure for India is about 48-49 Hours. It is thus true that Indians are working harder than their western counter parts. However, it is also a fact that the productivity of the Indian work force is much less and also that we are, as a nation, at a different level of economic development. The managers in developed countries assign great value to leisure whereas India has not reached the stage where it can factor leisure as a necessary part of life.

Having established the significance of putting in hard work I must point out that it is important not only to work hard but to work smart. If the time is not managed properly and the work is not efficiently organized then any number of hours will not lead to better results. The idea is to get the maximum out of the effort made because this is the only way to enhance productivity which is the essence of the problem facing India today. This requires a culture of developing leaders and not only managers. Of course, efficient management of human, financial and technological resources to achieve the desire goals is necessary but the current disruptive environment requires all our corporate managers and civil servants to perform at a different level and with a far greater degree of dynamism and responsiveness. They must inculcate the qualities of leaders. A leader must have a vision for the organization or his department and have the capacity to align all members of his team with the goal. She should have the ability to motivate and inspire her team members to a higher level of performance. A culture of prompt decision making is the need of the hour and the capacity to translate vision into reality. All this is possible only if the leader possesses excellent communication skills and has positive problem solving approach. The leader must be willing to take initiative to drive new ideas and encourage creativity in her team members. The leader today must not only be aware of the rapid technological changes taking place around her but also be able to understand them and harness them for the benefit of her organization. The leader to be more productive must realise that it is people who should use technology and the fact that people skills are of paramount importance for the leader to be able to promise a better future for all. This requires the human resource in the organization to be motivated and happy.

Happy employees are always more productive and this is where it is necessary to see an employee not merely as a human resource but in a holistic manner as a human being. Qualities of emotional intelligence and, in particular, those of empathy and compassion are required to make each member of the team feel valued and given the self belief to perform at his best. This means that the issue of work life balance needs to be addressed in a positive manner because a human being can not be made to perform like a machine. There is a trend in many organizations to put excessive pressure on the managers by setting impossible deadlines and creating a toxic work culture. This leads to mental health issues due to stress and anxiety and eventual burn out which is detrimental not only for the manager but also for the organization. Besides, an organization must give time and space for a manager to grow by developing his innate strengths and learning new things. The time must be given to sharpen the saw for better results. Moreover, creativity requires a manager to be away from the constant pressure of daily work and think freely. This is possible only if the work environment is conducive to development of new ideas and the manager also is feeling inner peace and harmony to be able to think creatively.

The question, then, is not about the number of hours of work put in but the results that you get out of the work. Greater and better results are possible if the work culture is participative, creative and non-hierarchical. India has a young work force and it must reap the demographic dividend if it has to join the group of developed nations. It must get the best performance out of its youth. This is possible only if the work culture is congenial and work force enthused about its work. We need a happy work environment to make the work force more productive and propel the organizations and the country to a faster and higher track of growth.

27^th of June is celebrated as the national MSME day. MSME’s not only play a crucial role in the economic scenario of India but are of great global relevance. According to the World Bank small and medium enterprises play a major role in most economies of the world and particularly in developing countries. They represent 90% of global businesses and contribute to more than 50% of the employment. The World Bank estimates that around 600 million jobs would be needed by 2030 to absorb the growing global work force which makes the development of SME sectors a priority for most governments. In India the MSME sector has emerged as a highly vibrant and dynamic one. It provides large employment opportunities at comparatively lower capital cost than large industries and is a important vehicle of industrialization of rural and backward areas. The MSME sector in India contributes about 29% of GDP and 31.83% of Gross value add. It also contributes 48.10% to exports and creates employment for almost 11 crore people. It is clear that MSMEs are the growth engine for the Indian economy.

There have been different definitions of MSME sector from time to time but the latest one is applicable from 1^st July, 2020. Now any industry having investment in plant and machinery upto rupees 50 crore and annual turnover not more than 250 crore qualifies as being a MSME. The limits have presumably been expanded on the request of certain sections of industry with the idea of bringing more units under the ambit of MSME and also taking advantage of economies of scale. However, to my mind this new definition compromises the interest of the micro sector which accounts for 99.47% of the total units under MSME and provides 96.96% of employment. A micro industry is defined as one having investment up to Rs. 1 crore and turnover less than 10 crore. It creates a situation where the larger units in MSME corner all the benefits of the various government schemes. The highest numbers of MSME are in the state of Uttar Pradesh, which is 14% of the total. The employment generated by MSMEs is almost equal for manufacturing, trade and other services.

Despite its obvious importance to the Indian economy, the MSME sector continuous to face several challenges like availability of adequate and timely credit, high cost of credit, collateral requirements, retention of skilled people and access to equity capital and rehabilitation of sick enterprises etc. Most of the micro units are not registered or mapped which constraints the ability of the government to develop them. Further, one of the biggest hurdles is the lack of financing as most banks and financial institutions are reluctant to meet the credit needs of the MSME sectors. This may be because of their past experience of a high ratio of bad loans. In addition, the MSME sector suffers from a huge delay in payments made to them including from the government and others. Since most of the MSME units are in the unorganized sector there is a lack of reliable and updated data base. Moreover, because of its poor paying capacity, this sector faces shortage of skilled man power resulting in not being able to have the desired managerial capabilities.

Since, most of the units in MSME belong to the micro sector, it is this sector which plays a major role in generation of new employment. We are all aware that India has the largest number of people in the working age and more and more young people are becoming ready for employment. Today, the biggest challenge that the Indian economy faces is creating enough employment to absorb the youth entering the labor force. It is essential that the right kind of focus and emphasis be given to the micro sector. It is recommended that a special cell for the micro within MSME sector should be created so that the problems of this sector are addressed.

There is no doubt that government of India and the state governments have introduced numerous schemes for the development of the MSME sector. To provide technical education to MSME sector the government has introduced the technology centre system programmes under which technology centers have been developed for giving technical education and support to MSME. Steps have also been taken to register these units in an easy manner on various digital platforms. The MUDRA (micro unit development and refinancing limited) is also a significant step in providing employment to the small entrepreneur. There are schemes like credit guarantee scheme which was especially announced as a relief during the Covid period and then there is PMEGP (prime minister Employment generation programme). The state governments have also introduced their own schemes like ODOP (one district one product) that has been introduced by UP government. To enable the MSME sector to get the benefit of the schemes the government has assured a single window clearance thereby ensuring that the entrepreneur does not have to run from one department to another to get the requisite permissions. The governments have also been giving capital subsidy, interest subsidy, GST refund and reduction in stamp duty. Several state governments have prescribed up to 20 to 25 % preference given to MSME sector in government purchases.

One finds that there is lack of awareness amongst the MSME entrepreneurs about the plethora of government schemes which have been formulated for their benefit. Moreover, even if they know about a scheme they are not able to access the benefits as they do not have the required skill set to do so. As a beginning, large scale efforts need to be made to make the entrepreneurs aware of government scheme and also to train them so that they know how to apply for various schemes, what documents are to be furnished etc. A continuous process of handholding is required, particularly, for the micro sector.

If the micro sector and the entire range of MSME have to play their important role in the Indian economy then certain steps need to be taken on priority. To begin with the definition of MSME sector needs to be relooked in to. At least a certain percentage in all government schemes should be reserved for the micro sector to enable them to take benefits of the opportunities. If separate targets are fixed for the micro sector then the bankers also will not be reluctant to extend credit to them. One of the major problems plaguing the MSME sector is that of pending payments. The government of India has announced that payments would be made within 45 days but this is not happening in reality. There is great requirement to establishing a payment recovery tribunal for MSMEs to ensure this. In the preferences purchase policy of the government the 25 % purchase from MSME sector must be made a reality and it should be seen that on fabricated grounds of poor quality this benefit is not denied to them. Once again a separate quota is required for the micro sector in this policy. Most of the governments are now making purchases through the digital GEM Portal which has several advantages and acts as a check on corruption. However, even here in actual practice things work against the interests of the MSME sector as the tender specifications are often designed in a manner that tends to favor some large enterprise and tends to exclude the MSME sector from its ambit. A major capacity building programme for MSME sector should be launched. Having an escrow mechanism to ensure payments to MSMEs from government should also be considered. Above all to enable the MSME sector to get funds from the market there is a need for a separate MSME stock exchange to be developed.

The governments keep focusing on bringing in new investments and setting up new units and no attention in paid to the grievances of the existing units. A framework to redress the grievances needs to be formulated and a policy is required for the revival and rehabilitation of sick MSMEs. Finally, a proper MSME data bank must be developed in order to formulate the right kind of polices and channelize their benefits to the MSME sector.

In conclusion, one must appreciate the attention being given to MSME sector both at the central government level and in the state governments. However, this sector still remains challenged and persistence and greater efforts are required to make this sector viable to allow it to fulfill the role of being the growth engine of economy.

The latest world happiness report has come out and Finland has once again been ranked as the happiest country. The Nordic countries along with Switzerland, New Zealand, Netherland and Iceland have traditionally occupied the top positions in the happiness index. This is probably due to the welfare state model that they have which provides a high degree of social security to its citizens in addition to high per capita income. India has improved its rank from the previous year and has come 126^th but this low rank which India has been getting consistently over the last ten years since the world happiness reports started is a matter of concern. To a large extent this is difficult to believe and explain since India ranks lower than even Pakistan, Bangladesh and Nepal. However, over the last ten years India has remained at the bottom percentile of the happiness index. This is indeed a distressing situation and it is easy to go into denial mode and dismiss the findings as being due to faulty methodology or western bias. In fact, this is exactly the tenor of a spate of recent articles on this subject that have appeared in the media.  However, the right approach would be to attempt to diagnose the problem so that the policy makers may be guided in designing better policies to improve the happiness quotient of the people.

Gross domestic product or GDP is no longer considered to be a comprehensive measure of the level of well being of the people though most countries are obsessed with the data on GDP growth rate. Various other indicators are used to assess the subjective well being of people like the human development index which factors in indicators on health and education along with per capita income to indicate the level of development of a country. The happiness index goes beyond this on the basis of a Gallup poll using questionnaires in which people are asked to rank themselves from 1 to 10 across various parameters to arrive at a happiness index score. The latest measure being used by most progressive countries is to compute gross national happiness (GNH) of its people rather than focus merely only on GDP. This concept of GNH originated from the mountain kingdom of Bhutan whose king decided that he would like to focus on all aspects of well being of his people and to measure this a detailed analysis was done to arrive at gross national happiness. The United Nation has also recognized the importance of happiness and declared 20^th March as a World Happiness Day. The world happiness reports which started being released from 2013 onwards have analysed the factors influencing the happiness every year and arrived at a ranking of countries on happiness index. The essence of this index is that happiness is not only a factor of material well being but includes several non economic, social and psychological factors which can be measured through a well designed survey. The common factors which are taken into account while calculating the happiness score of the nation are GDP per capita, social support, healthy life expectancy, freedom to make life choices, generosity and perception of corruption. Ranking also takes into account the positive feelings like joy, peace, calmness and negative feelings like sadness which a person may feel while comparing his present condition to the immediate past. This is indeed a very comprehensive analysis and it cannot be denied that it does give a very concrete picture of well being of the people.

India is growing at seven percent per annum in the current year and is one of the fastest growing economies in the world. India has also become the fifth largest economy and is poised to leave Germany and Japan behind and become the third largest economy in the world with GDP of about five trillion dollars. However, it is not GDP per se which is relevant but GDP per capita which is a more important factor and India ranks poorly on this indicator even if we use the purchasing power parity. Consistently, India has been ranked beyond 100 on GDP per capita index and this is perhaps the main reason which pulls down the ranking of the country in the happiness index. This should provide immediate material for thought for our policy makers who should focus on reduction of inequalities and inclusive growth. This would mean that the country should give the highest importance to the areas of education and health which would help in strengthening the human capital and also enable its citizen to participate on a equal footing socially, culturally, politically and, of course in the economic sphere.

India is a complex country where along with economic inequality there are factors like inequality of caste, gender and family background account for lower levels of well being. The inequality extends to issues like availability of school facilities, sanitation and basic infrastructure like electricity, water or health care. In addition, because of social and economic factors the crime rates are also on the higher side and because of the population pressure there is a continuous threat of environment degradation.

This is the age of television and social media which have made even people living in rural areas aware of the quality of life that is being enjoyed by the better off sections of the society. India is also enjoying a demographic dividend with its median age being 29 and this young population is full of aspirations for a better life. This could that they would not be satisfied or happy with their existing state of affairs and that is why in any survey related to happiness there would be a tendency to give a lower score on the current level of happiness. This, by itself, is not something wrong but the important thing is the policy makers must take India on a higher and faster path of development so that the dreams and aspirations of the people are realized or at least achieved to a considerable extent.

Caste remains an important factor in Indian society and despite the progress that has taken place caste discrimination still continues to be a matter of discord and unhappiness in Indian society. This is despite the fact that over the years there has been political empowerment of the backward castes. Social support is one of the important factors for happiness and this implies mutual trust, sharing and caring in the society. India has a family system which I feel gives much more support to its members than in the west but strangely with urbanization and development the supportive role of the family is getting reduced which is reflected in the low ranking that India gets in this factor also in the happiness index. The public expenditure on health in India is only 1.3% of GDP which leads to a low ranking in healthy life expectancy and other health related indicators. It is true that we are a vibrant democracy but the voters have repeatedly shown in elections that there is more often than not an anti incumbency factor. Also the perception of corruption in government and society is on the higher side. These are the various factors which need attention of the policy makers if India has to significantly score in the happiness index.

It is imperative for policy makers to focus on those aspects of policy which directly influence the level of well being of the people. Instead of rejecting the findings of the world happiness report we should realise that India is a welfare state and we should target to create an environment where most of the people feel happy about their current quality of life. Such a society would be based on harmony and peace and lead to greater realization of the human potential.     

We are in the midst of celebrating the 75^th year of our Independence and the entire country is organizing functions and programmes to commemorate this year as Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav. There is a lot that we should be justifiably proud of in our progress during this period but at the same time we should be aware where we stand with respect to various indicators of development and also consciously chalk out a road map to make our country a developed nation by 2047. A holistic approach of development is required but we must realize that the 21^st century is one where knowledge will determine the progress of a nation. If India wants to keep pace or even go ahead of the rest of the world in the 21^st century then main area of focus has to be education. We have a vast army of young people giving us the advantage of a demographic dividend but without providing quality education to all this will turn into a disaster. Education is a tool of political empowerment and also the means to bring about social equality and economic progress. The SDG goal for education very succinctly puts it that we have to strive to achieve “inclusive and equitable education to all by 2030”. This is a tall order for our country where the mean years of schooling are low and the gross enrolment rate for higher education in only 26.3 percent at the moment and the status of all education indicators are much lower for girls.

We had an education policy in 1986 under which a significant amount of work was done in the education sector but the new education policy coming 34 years after this in 2020 has a completely new vision about what education should mean for the Indian citizen. The vision statement envisions an education system rooted in Indian ethos and wanting to transform India (Bharat) into an equitable and vibrant knowledge society by providing high quality education to all. It seeks to inculcate pride in being Indian but also to become a truly global citizen. It is indeed a wonderful vision which aspires to blend the Indian culture and ethos with modern science and technology. The NEP decisively wants to free itself from the shackles of the colonial legacy as pronounced in the famous Macaulay minute on education. The Indian citizen should be a self confident person conscious of the great culture of the country but also desire to bring in the best of science and technology.

The foundation has to be strong for any building to withstand any shock or pressure. Unfortunately, our elementary education system is of an abysmal quality and this clearly means that it would be difficult to build the edifice of a developed nation on this base. Rightly the NEP has focused on foundational literacy and numeracy. The education system would now be 5+3+3+4 years instead of current 10+2+3. There would be a national mission for foundation literacy for the first five years of a child’s education. This would be till the age of eight years and is based on the scientific premise that 85 percent of a child’s cumulative brain development occurs up to the age of 6. Today we see the sorry spectacle as brought out by the survey reports of the NGO Pratham that students of class five can barely read or do simple arithmetic of class two level. This requires serious remediation if our nation has to develop. The teachers need to be specially trained in early childhood care education. In India this work is done by Aganwadis who are not trained for this job and have a lot of additional duties to perform. They will have to be trained specifically for this job and a synergy would have to established with the primary school teachers so that together they are able to fulfill the goal of foundational literacy. It is indeed a matter of sadness that even today I have noticed in UP there are a large number of schools where the children don’t even have chairs and desks and they sit on the floor. We cannot become leaders of the knowledge society if serious steps are not taken to completely overhaul primary education. The community has to be involved in this. I would vouch for decentralization of primary education so that the village level local bodies are able to monitor them and bring about improvement in the quality of education.

Teachers are crucial if school education has to turn round the corner. The new education policy rightly says that efforts have to be made to restore the respect and dignity of teachers which should motivate her to feel responsible and accountable for imparting quality education. We need to create an environment where the best are willing to enter the teaching profession and are prepared to work in outlying rural areas. There should be a regular programme of training and capacity development for teachers and to keep them motivated the governance has to ensure a fair and impartial system of career management and progression. Qualified teachers should be recruited. Vacancies need to be urgently filled up and system evolved to protect the teachers from the menace of transfers.

The goal of having a multi disciplinary approach at the school level is laudable but difficult to implement. The schools system as well as teachers will have to be oriented and geared to take up this responsibility. Besides it is imperative to give equal importance to vocational and extracurricular education but once again this requires a lot of reforms at the school management level.

The new education policy has given valuable suggestions about developing education from primary to higher level but I feel we have to begin by focusing on school education.  If the quality at this level remains poor then higher education will not improve. Education must get the highest priority from all political parties and the governments otherwise the problem of unemployment will grow larger and we will have an army of frustrated youth who would be diverting their energies into deviant channels. The future of India depends upon how we manage and transform school education.