The Karma Index (KI): A Novel Model for Measuring Ethical Casaulity and integrating Ancient Wisdom in Modern governance

This paper presents the Karma Index, a quantitative framework for integrating principles from ancient wisdom traditions into contemporary governance policy analysis. The framework addresses a persistent gap in policy scholarship: the absence of systematic, measurable approaches to assessing the ethical dimensions of governance decisions.

We propose a five-stage methodology that combines narrative policy analysis, textual interpretation of wisdom traditions (dharmic principles), quantitative impact assessment, principle extraction, and structured presentation formats. The Karma Index formula synthesizes positive and negative policy impacts weighted by certainty, magnitude, temporal scope, and implementation scope to generate a numerical assessment of ethical alignment.

Using Goa's preventive healthcare initiative as a case study, we demonstrate application of the framework and generate a preliminary Karma Index score of 9.2/10. The analysis identifies strong alignment between the initiative's approach and identified dharmic principles including selfless leadership, preventive intervention, inclusive access, and collaborative implementation. However, long-term outcome validation remains incomplete and would require extended longitudinal research.

The paper contributes to governance scholarship in three areas: (1) a replicable quantitative methodology for assessing ethical dimensions of policy decisions, (2) systematic approach to integrating wisdom tradition principles into secular policy analysis while maintaining interpretive integrity, and (3) structured format making ethical assessment accessible to practitioners and policymakers.

Significant limitations include challenges in long-term validation, risks of cultural misinterpretation when applying wisdom traditions across contexts, and implementation dependency on institutional support and leadership commitment. Future research should prioritize cross-case testing to establish generalizability, longitudinal outcome tracking, and investigation of conditions enabling ethical governance frameworks to influence actual policy decisions.

The framework is positioned as one potential tool for improving how ethical considerations are incorporated into governance analysis, not as a comprehensive solution to governance challenges.