Finding the path to happiness

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Finding the path to happiness

Wednesday, 23 October 2019 | Bindu Dalmia

Finding the path to happiness

Most actionable solutions to the findings of a recent survey on the status of women and their health, literacy and employment, will come through the digital revolution

Last week I had the pleasure of releasing The Status of Women in India report in Nagpur, which is a comprehensive survey conducted by the Sangh-linked organisation Drishti Stree. I share my reflections in two parts on this very thought-provoking survey: The problems red-flagged in the report and how most of the solutions can be addressed through the big digital revolution in the offing in the country.

While the sample size of 74,000 is large, the fact remains that had more people from metropolitan cities and States with high literacy rates like Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Kerala been included and more inputs been taken from professionals like bankers, lawyers, corporate executives and so on, the report might have arrived at better averages. Because while the real Bharat resides in its villages, it also comprises the aspirational class in the cities. In some areas the report is an eye-opener, while in some it just confirmed preconceived notions.

The following findings did not surprise anyone: Recently, India slipped 10 places in the World Economic Forum’s (WEF) Global Competitive Index. This was attributed to a poor employable skill base, lack of worker protection rights and critically-low participation of women in the workforce. All three factors were accurately captured in this survey conducted last year, confirming the authenticity of the Dristhi methodology.

Workers from tribal areas are given low wages and subjected to trafficking and inhuman exploitation in the unorganised sector of domestic staff. Therefore, employment agencies must be accredited and regulated and the Government must ensure that statutory provisions for medical coverage, dignity of labour and minimum wages are enacted.

The survey revealed that there is an increased participation by women in voting, which shows that there is more understanding of local and national issues, enough for them to assert their electoral preference.

According to the survey, there is also a need to ensure that women, especially in the rural areas, are equipped to handle every adverse situation in life. Any social scientist would confirm that over-dependency is a complacent state of being, hence women must also learn how to cope with every contingency.

Because, with life expectancy increasing — and wives are known to outlive their husbands — in order not to be economically vulnerable, women need to be included in the decision-making process of deployment of family savings and understand the basics of matters like title-deed, financial securities and savings instruments. The report confirmed the healthy trend that “today one-third of the women participate in decision-making in the family”, which was earlier a male domain.

The survey captured high dropout rates up to high school and that women were falling off the employment curve due to family responsibilities between the ages of 18 to 30 years, which is also the peak earning period for most people. The future success of globalised economies will lie in the increased participation of women. Regrettably, on the Gender Inequality Index, India ranks as low as 132 out of 136 countries. Gender parity is a basic human right and its achievement has multiplier socio-economic implications. Empowering women makes for thriving economies, elevates their self-worth and protects them from domestic violence. Further, according to the survey,  Jan Dhan Yojana figures revealed that 79 per cent women have individual bank accounts, which is a step towards financial inclusion. However, just opening a bank account without earning adequate income is not enough. The Drishti study confirmed the NABARD’s (National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development) pan-India findings — which had a larger sample size — that median income was between Rs 5,000 and Rs 20,000.

Most actionable solutions to Dristhi’s findings on literacy, health and employment will come through the big digital revolution that is in the offing.

Low per capita income and low per capita savings can only increase through increased economic opportunities. The solution is rapid industrialisation of rural India by bringing employment to the villages. This can happen through increased digitisation and advancement of online commerce. Because rural women are hesitant to travel far in search of jobs and for skilling or educational purposes, we need to lower the cost of smartphones and increase internet penetration.

It is heartening that literacy rates improved to 79.63 per cent up to graduation levels. But acceleration is needed to improve the figure of 46 per cent in achieving primary literacy. To further improve India’s low ratings in the Human Capital Index, NITI Aayog has proposed to increase education outlays from the current three per cent of  the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) to six per cent by 2022.

Our education system has remained static for too long and we are ill-equipped for the Fourth Industrial Revolution.

The solution, according to the latest McKinsey report, lies in lifelong learning and upgradation of skills, so as to be continuously prepared for challenging technological disruptions and a paradigm shift from theoretical to experiential learning in specialised domains like agriculture, Information Technology, tourism and so on.

Online education through e-classes and skill training through distant learning will bridge the gaps in teaching quality of Government schools where there is a shortage of brick and mortar schools in villages, and bridge the low student-teacher ratio. There are mega e-learning platforms like Byju’s and so on that have sprung up in the country, but awareness of these institutions is low. Increased digitisation will provide “stay-at-home employment” through e-commerce jobs for women in rural areas and Tier-1 and Tier-2 cities. Digital commerce bought millions out of poverty in China, as it linked the remotest craftsmen and farmers to the global marketplace. In India, we have the successful model of Khadi Gramodyog, that linked clusters and communities to national marketing networks, so as to get a market-linked price for their commodity.

As India progresses from being a high-cash economy towards a digital economy, even dispensing credit to those that lack credit histories and collaterals will become easier, as algorithms in future will determine creditworthiness of borrowers.

As regards healthcare, because India has a low patient-doctor ratio, and poor patient-hospital bed capacity, we need to progress to online doctor consultations. This will help take medical expertise to remote areas and fulfil the need for preventive care and diagnosis.

With this in mind, the NITI Aayog has proposed increased outlays for health from a paltry 1.5 per cent to three per cent of the GDP. Also, medical insurance premiums must be lowered for women, as only 20 per cent of them are covered by it at present.

However, the findings of the survey that surprised were that the Gross Happiness Index (GHI) scores were as high at 80 per cent, regardless of trying circumstances and stresses of daily life.

What was hard to endorse was that the survey found that “income has no influence on levels of happiness.” I am sure that most would agree that money is not everything, but is surely a necessity for self-sufficiency.

To the contrary, the World Health Organisation’s (WHO’s) 2017 report on depression, shows India in the top 10 slot. It also states that depression has risen by 50 per cent in the last eight years.

Look at Punjab and Delhi, where substance abuse is on the rise and drugs are available freely in betel shops, the increase in farmer and student suicides and rise in divorce rates.

How can we be high on the GHI? There exists a powerful correlation between a country’s economic development and social progress, and GHI is a composite picture of multiple feel-good factors linked to increased literacy levels and employment opportunities; increased per capita incomes and savings; advanced amenities for better living conditions; decrease in incidence of lawlessness and crime; social security; high quality and accessible healthcare; physical exercise and nurturing spiritual practices.

(The writer is an author, columnist and Chairperson of the National Committee on Financial Inclusion at NITI Aayog.)

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