MICROFINANCE AND GROSS NATIONAL HAPPINESS (GNH) -A STUDY ON THE IMPACT OF LIVING STANDARDS OF THE POOR

Purna Prasad Sharma

Purna Prasad Sharma Assistant Professor, Gaeddu College of Business Studies, Royal University of Bhutan (Kingdom of Bhutan)

Keywords: Micro-finance, Gross National Happiness, Living Standard

Abstract

The study primarily aims to discover the role of microfinance in enhancing the index of Gross National Happiness
(GNH). To do so, microfinance is linked with one of the key indicators of GNH i.e., the living standards of the poor.
Microfinance, as one of the tools of poverty eradication, has been given due consideration by the policy planners across the
globe. The skill of the poor found worthy in multiplying paltry amount of their disposal and free from the clutches of
avaricious moneylenders. Also, the paper focuses on the capability development of the poor at micro level through the
fighting weapon called microfinance for achieving happiness at individual level. The study relies on secondary data
obtained from various sources such as Centre for Bhutan Studies, United Nation's Development Programme, US Census
Bureau, UNICEF, World Bank, Ministry of Rural Development, BDBL, and NABARD and mainly confined to India
and Bhutan