‘83% of Indians say economy doing good’
Indians have the most positive view of their economic situation in the developing world, says the annual Pew Research Centre survey of global economic attitudes.
Even compared to the citizens of rich countries, Indians are near the top with 83% describing their current economic situation as good.
The survey said, “Notably, 30% of Indians believe their economy is very good.” This was “the strongest such sentiment among any country in the survey.”
The survey found only 12% of Indians described their economic condition as bad. The next highest developing country was the Philippines where 78% gave a thumbs up to their economic situation. Only the Netherlands, Germany and Sweden – with figures between 84 and 87% -- surpassed India.
In the United States 58% of those surveyed had positive views of their economic situation, just above the global median of 46%. Among the BRICS country, only 15% of Brazilians described their economic situation as good. The number was 46% for Russia. China was not part of this survey, reportedly because Beijing unusually declined to give permission.
Indians are also among the most upbeat about future prospects for their children. Just over three-quarters believe their children will be better off than they will. In comparison, only 37% of Americans believe that to be the case.
Commenting on the overall positive view of Indians, Bruce Stokes, director of the Pew Research Centre, says, “While such optimism might seem to flow logically from positive sentiment about current economic conditions, Indians are among only a handful of nations where publics feel good about current economic conditions and good about the future. In contrast, in Europe and the United States, those who feel good about the economy today are, nonetheless, generally negative about their kids’ prospects.”
The survey took place between February 21 and March 10 this year in eight vernacular languages.
This would mean Indians were expressing such views even in the aftermath of the demonetization exercise.
Everybody loves street momos, but not lawyer and BJP legislator Ramesh Arora of Jammu and Kashmir. He wants the dumplings dumped for good, saying they contain the carcinogenic monosodium glutamate or Ajinomoto.
The member of the legislative council has been campaigning for a ban against the cheap street food, invented arguably in Nepal.
“Momos have been found to be the root cause of several lifethreatening diseases, including cancer of the intestine,” Arora said on Wednesday.
He met health minister Bali Bhagat recently to persuade him to prohibit the sale of momos and Chinese street food.
He has been speaking at public functions for the past five months, seeking a ban on the sale of momos at least in his state.
His food activism is not limited to the innocuous dumplings. The lawmaker is an avowed crusader against “cancer-causing” Chinese cuisine laced with monosodium glutamate, sold under the brand name Ajinomoto, a chemical flavour enhancer.