NEW DELHI: A growing number of Indians are losing confidence in their quality of life due to stagnant wages and rising living costs under Prime Minister Narendra Modi, according to a survey released ahead of this week’s annual budget.
According to findings released by polling agency C-Voter on Wednesday, more than 37% of respondents in a pre-budget survey expect the overall quality of life for ordinary people to worsen in the coming year. This is the highest percentage recorded since 2013.
Modi has been prime minister since 2014. C-Voter said it polled 5,269 adults across Indian states for the survey.
Ongoing food inflation has tightened household budgets in India, reducing spending power, and the country’s economy is set to experience its slowest growth in four years.
Nearly two-thirds of survey respondents stated that inflation had remained uncontrolled and that prices had risen since Modi became prime minister. Additionally, more than half of those surveyed said the rate of inflation had negatively impacted their quality of life.
Modi, in the nation’s annual budget this week, is expected to announce steps to shore up faltering economic growth, lift disposable incomes, and placate a stretched middle class, Reuters news agency reported.
About half of respondents said their personal income had remained the same over the last year while expenses increased, while nearly two-thirds said rising expenses had become difficult to manage, the survey said.
Despite experiencing world-leading economic growth, India’s job market lacks enough opportunities for its large, youthful population to secure regular wages.
In the last budget, India allocated nearly $24 billion over five years for various job-creation schemes. However, these programmes have yet to be implemented as discussions on the details continue to delay progress.
