Economy - The Hope And The Worry

In the third year of PM Modi’s second term and two years into the pandemic, a majority of Indians continue to have faith in the Centre’s handling of the economy. However, high inflation, a lack of jobs and shrinking incomes mar any rosy outlook

- M.G. Arun & Shwweta Punj

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s second term has been filled with challenges, foremost among them being the Covid-19 pandemic, which upended India’s economy, dragging growth into the negative, stoking both inflation and unemployment. Everyday Indians have suffered immense hardship, with successive waves of Covid-19 taking a toll on both lives and livelihoods. However, despite the suffering, Prime Minister Modi seems to have retained public support, be it for his handling of the pandemic or economic management. Though optimism about his handling of the economy had dropped significantly in the previous MOTN (Mood of the Nation) survey in August, it has risen this time around. What seems to have worked in his favour are the slew of welfare schemes and policy measures that have, to some extent, addressed the pain in most sectors. The economy rebounded in the second quarter of 2021-22 as business activity returned to pre-Covid levels. However, with the arrival of the fast-spreading Omicron variant, business activity has once again come under a pall of gloom.

In the current MOTN poll, over half the respondents rated the NDA government’s handling of the economy as ‘outstanding’ or ‘good’. However, this is tempered by the fact that as many as 26.4 per cent rated it as ‘poor’ or ‘very poor’. Also, only 64 per cent of respondents said their economic status had remained the same or improved since Narendra Modi took charge as prime minister, down from the nearly 76 per cent that reported a status quo or economic improvement in August 2021.