Gross National Happiness or rather GNH is a sustainable approach to development and is a philosophy that guides the government of Bhutan. This approach balances material and non-material values with the belief that human beings want happiness. One of the main objectives of GNH is to achieve a balanced development in all the aspects of life. In the year 1972 the term “Gross National Happiness” was coined during an interview by a British Journalist for the Financial Times. In the interview the King of Bhutan said “Gross National Happiness is more important than Gross National Product”.

The Gross National Happiness is distinguishable from Gross Domestic Product by valuing collective happiness as the aim of governance, by emphasizing harmony along with nature and traditional values. There are 4 pillars of GNH and below is the list.

• Sustainable and equitable socio-economic development
• Environmental conservation
• Preservation and promotion of culture
• Good governance

Apart from the 4 pillars GNH is also expressed in the 9 domains of happiness which are psychological well being, health, time use, cultural diversity and resilience, good governance, ecological diversity and resilience, community vitality. Each and every domain of GNH comprises of both subjective and objective indicators. They weigh equally but the indicators differ by weight within each domain. Domains work differently depending on a person’s GDP. For example if there are two people, one whose is busy with work, having zero time for friends and family, whereas the other one is not as good in working conditions but spends a lot of time with friends and family. Now, according to Carol Graham, the person who spends quality time with friends and family ends up having a greater GNH as compared to the other one. It means that a person who can focus on little things can be happier.