New Delhi - Students at New Delhi's government-run schools started getting lessons in how to be happy on Monday with the launch of a "happiness curriculum" devised by the Dalai Lama.

The new initiative, which focuses on "holistic education," covers 800 000 students from pre-kindergarten to teenagers at 1,000 schools.

"India is the only country that can bring together modern education and ancient Indian knowledge," the Tibetan Buddhist leader and Nobel Peace Prize winner said, according to the organizers.

"This is needed to deal with destructive emotions in the world. So what is being started in Delhi schools can have an impact on the whole world."

The curriculum focuses on daily mindfulness practice or meditation, moral teachings, mental exercises and activities with the aim of teaching students to be good human beings, deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia said.