Much before US economist Richard Thaler won Nobel prize for economics, the Narendra Modi government had put his famous theory in practice by dedicating a separate unit to it. Thaler popularised the idea of 'nudge economics', which emphasises subtly guiding humans toward beneficial behaviours without forcing them to comply. Thaler's theory was one valuable addition to the field of behavioural economics.Last year, the government's think tank NITI Aayog tied up with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to set up a 'nudge unit' that would work towards bringing about behavioural changes and recommending policy corrections to help make the programmes more effective.The unit aimed at sensitising people at the grassroots towards the government's flagship programmes such as Swachh Bharat, Jan Dhan Yojana, Digital India and Skill Development through social messaging and new ad campaigns.The idea struck NITI Aayog when several ministries approached it with problems related to implementation of key schemes in the government's priority areas.The unit was set up to recommend changes in advertising, financial outflow and other softer elements related to the success of the programmes.India had taken a leaf out of Britain's book. Officially known as the Behavioural Insights Team, the unit was first set up in the UK in 2010 in the Prime Minister's Office to apply nudge theory to try to improve government policy and services while minimising expenditure.The concept has now expanded to the United States and even Australia.