Modi’s never ending ‘Honeymoon Period’
By UK India Business Council (UKIBC)
Two years into a less than straightforward introduction to political office, Narendra Modi still appears to be in his ‘Honeymoon Period’ with the Indian public, according to new research by the Pew Research Center
Modi's popularity with the Indian public has remained strong. Image credit - Narendra Modi, Flickr
The state of the domestic economy seems to be the main factor in Modi’s positive approval ratings, as 80% of those surveyed stated they believe the current state of the economy is ‘good’ – mirroring the numbers of those who hold a favourable view of Modi, at 81%.
The Pew Research Center study, shows Modi’s favourability rating has fallen 6% since 2015. This is counterbalanced by satisfaction with the direction of the country jumping from 56% last year, to 65% in 2016, showing a broad acceptance that Modi is steering India in the right direction.
Even among Congress supporters, Modi’s ratings are impressive, with a combined total of 61% viewing him either as ‘very favourable’ or ‘somewhat favourable.’
There does remain a perception in some quarters that Modi’s government have not yet quite lived up to expectations – an opinion shown in the UK India Business Council’s ‘Modi Government Progress Report’ where the NDA government were given an average score of 7/10.
This however, does not seem to have been translated into a loss of popular support, and it seems that the Indian public are still enamoured with Mr Modi.
Modi’s personal popularity continues to be a significant asset to the BJP, who as a party have seen their favourability rating drop from 87% to 80% in the last year, whilst those holding a favourable view of the Congress party have seen their numbers increase to 67% from 60% last year.
The study, conducted among 2,464 respondents in India from April 7 to May 24 2016, will certainly make encouraging reading for Modi and his BJP party, who have seen a total increase in public satisfaction of 29 percentage points since taking office in 2014. If the economy continues to grow at staggering rates of over 7%, it is hard to see Modi’s BJP take any significant hit in the polls before 2019.
It is clear from the study that support from the Indian public for Modi’s liberalising reforms of the economy is significant, and the message to the Government certainly seems to be – ‘go further.’
GST kick starts the next phase, and continued drive for reform has seen confidence in the economy grow, as an increasing number of Indian companies are seeking to import international goods.
The trajectory of the economy is clear and opportunities will continue to grow as Modi’s reforms begin to take hold, providing UK companies good prospects to expand into the Indian market. Export opportunities to India are increasing across sectors that play to the very strengths of UK business.
The post-Brexit cocktail, only adds to the compelling case for UK business to tap into the world’s fastest growing major economy now.
