India worse than Pakistan, Bangladesh, China in world happiness index: Columbia Univ-sponsored study

A new report has said that India has slipped in World Happiness Index (WHI) ranking from 115 in 2005-07 to 117 in 2012-14, and is behind Pakistan, Bangladesh and China. Called World Happiness Report 2015 and edited, among others, by Jeffrey Sachs, along with John F. Helliwel and Richard Layard, for the Earth Institute of the Columbia University, it has said that, on a scale of 10, India has scored 4.565 in 2012-14, which is 0.587 down compared to the score it achieved in 2005-07.
The Gujarat government under Narendra Modi signed, significantly, signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) in 2003 (click HERE to read) with Sachs to "initiate" research for developing a growth model for ujarat's economy and promote foreign direct investment (FDI). The Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad, was to be part of the research project.
Praising Gujarat under Modi, Sachs, who is known for his free market approach similar to Niti Ayog vice-chairman Arind Panagariya, also from the Columbia University, had said that Gujarat did not face any "intrinsic problem" for development as it has a long coastline and has an urbanised culture.
The report shows that Pakistan ranks No 81, China No 84, Bangladesh No 109, Iran No 110, and Iraq (No 112). Switzerland ranks No 1, followed by Iceland, Denmark, Norway and Canada. United States ranks No 15, United Kingdom No 21, Germany No 26, France No 29, and Saudi Arabia No 35.
Among the key indicators taken into account while calculating WHI are six variables. These include "gross domestic product (GDP) per capita, social support, healthy life expectancy, freedom to make life choices, generosity, and freedom from corruption", the report points out, adding, "Taken together, these six variables explain almost three-quarters of the variation in national annual average ladder scores among countries, using data from the years 2005 to 2014."
The report states, "For a report that strives for objectivity, it is very important that the rankings depend entirely on the basic data collected from population-based samples of individuals, and not at all on what we think might or should influence the quality of their lives." It adds, "Thus the average scores simply reflect what individual respondents report to the Gallup World Poll surveyors."
The report says, "We extend the GDP time series from 2013 to 2014 using country-specific forecasts of real GDP growth from the OECD Economic Outlook (May 2014 release) for OECD countries, and the World Bank’s Global Economic Prospects (June 2014 release) for the rest of the world, after adjustment for population growth."
As for social support (or having someone to count on in times of trouble), the report takes as the national average of the binary responses (either 0 or 1) to the Gallup World Poll (GWP) question "If you were in trouble, do you have relatives or friends you can count on to help you whenever you need them, or not?”
The time series of healthy life expectancy at birth are constructed based on data from the World Health Organization (WHO) and the World Development Indicators (WDI). The freedom to make life choices is taken as the national average of binary responses to the GWP question "Are you satisfied or dissatisfied with your freedom to choose what you do with your life?"
Then, answer was sought to the question, "Have you donated money to a charity in the past month?" And finally perception of corruption was sought in answer to the question, “Is corruption widespread throughout the government or not?” and “Is corruption widespread within businesses or not?” The report adds, "Where data for government corruption are missing, the perception of business corruption is used as the overall corruption-perception measure."

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Irrational? Basis for fear among Hindus about being 'swamped' by Muslims

I was amused while reading an article titled "Ham Paanch, Hamare Pachees", shared on Facebook, by well-known policy analyst Mohan Guruswamy, an alumnus of the John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University, and the Graduate School of Business, Stanford University. Guruswamy, who has also worked as an advisor to the Finance Minister with the rank of Secretary to the Government of India, seeks to probe, as he himself states, "the supposed Muslim attitude to family planning"—a theme that was invoked by Narendra Modi as Gujarat Chief Minister ahead of the December 2002 assembly polls.

Why's Australian crackdown rattling Indian students? Whopping 25% fake visa applications

This is what happened several months ago. A teenager living in the housing society where I reside was sent to Australia to study at a university in Sydney with much fanfare. The parents, whom I often met as part of a group, would tell us how easily the boy got his admission with the help of "some well-meaning friends," adding that they had obtained an education loan to ensure he could study at a graduate school.

Tracking a lost link: Soviet-era legacy of Gujarati translator Atul Sawani

The other day, I received a message from a well-known activist, Raju Dipti, who runs an NGO called Jeevan Teerth in Koba village, near Gujarat’s capital, Gandhinagar. He was seeking the contact information of Atul Sawani, a translator of Russian books—mainly political and economic—into Gujarati for Progress Publishers during the Soviet era. He wanted to collect and hand over scanned soft copies, or if possible, hard copies, of Soviet books translated into Gujarati to Arvind Gupta, who currently lives in Pune and is undertaking the herculean task of collecting and making public soft copies of Soviet books that are no longer available in the market, both in English and Indian languages.

Gujarat slips in India Justice Report 2025: From model state to mid-table performer

Overall ranking in IJR reports The latest India Justice Report (IJR), prepared by legal experts with the backing of several civil society organisations and aimed at ranking the capacity of states to deliver justice, has found Gujarat—considered by India's rulers as a model state for others to follow—slipping to the 11th position from fourth in 2022.

Punishing senior citizens? Flipkart, Shopsy stop Cash on Delivery in Ahmedabad!

The other day, someone close to me attempted to order some goodies on Flipkart and its subsidiary Shopsy. After preparing a long list of items, this person, as usual, opted for the Cash on Delivery (popularly known as COD) option, as this senior citizen isn't very familiar with online prepaid payment methods like UPI, credit or debit cards, or online bank transfers through websites. In fact, she is hesitant to make online payments, fearing, "I may make a mistake," she explained, adding, "I read a lot about online frauds, so I always choose COD as it's safe. I have no knowledge of how to prepay online."

A conman, a demolition man: How 'prominent' scribes are defending Pritish Nandy

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Of lingering shadow of Haren Pandya's murder during Modi's Gujarat days

Sunita Williams’ return to Earth has, ironically, reopened an old wound: the mysterious murder of her first cousin, the popular BJP leader Haren Pandya, in 2003. Initially a supporter of Narendra Modi, Haren turned against him, not sparing any opportunity to do things that would embarrass Modi. Social media and some online news portals, including The Wire , are abuzz with how Modi’s recent invitation to Sunita to visit India comes against the backdrop of how he, as Gujarat’s chief minister, didn’t care to offer any official protocol support during her 2007 visit to Gujarat.

Area set aside in Ahmedabad for PM's affordable housing scheme 'has gone to big builders'

Following my article on affordable housing in Counterview, which quoted a top real estate consultant, I was informed that affordable housing—a scheme introduced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi—has deviated from its original intent. A former senior bureaucrat, whom I used to meet during my Sachivalaya days, told me that an entire area in Ahmedabad, designated for the scheme, has been used to construct costly houses instead.

Just 5% Gujarat Dalit households 'recognise' social reformers who inspired Ambedkar

An interesting survey conducted across 22 districts and 32 villages in Gujarat sheds light on the representation of key social reformers in Dalit households. It suggests that while Dr. B.R. Ambedkar's photo was displayed in a majority of homes, images of Lord Buddha and the 19th-century reformist couple, Savitribai Phule and Jyotiba Phule, were not as commonly represented.

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