India’s stand to abstain from voting against Russia at the United Nations Security Council has not only found backing from the opposition parties but also from urban Indians who believe that the Modi government’s decision was diplomatically correct, a new survey has revealed. While urban Indians are worried about the impact of the Russia- Ukraine crisis on their personal lives, a vast majority (63%) of them support India’s abstention from the UN vote against Russian aggression, a survey by conducted by YouGov Omnibus has found.

The online survey collected data among 1527 respondents between March 8th-14th, 2022 using YouGov’s panel of over 15 million people worldwide, a release said.

When asked about their views on the Russia-Ukraine crisis, four in five (43%) want India to maintain a neutral stance while (38%) want the government to offer humanitarian aid and support Ukraine. Only a few (4%) think India should refrain from providing any assistance.

The data shows that nearly two-thirds of urban Indians (64%) feel that the crisis may have an impact on the Indian economy leading to a rise in fuel prices while as many people think that it will also increase the price of essential commodities. Gen X is more concerned (70% for fuel prices and 61% for the cost of commodities) than their younger counterparts.

Around 52 per cent of people feel that the Russia-Ukraine incident may escalate into a third world war while many foresee volatility in the stock market (43%) and a surge in inflation (39%).

Those who expressed concern related to the fuel price hike said that any further increase in prices might push them towards using public transportation instead of using their own vehicles. While some are planning to switch to an electric vehicle (11%) or start using two-wheelers instead of cars (10%), only a few indicated that they would halt their plans of buying a new car (7%).

When asked about inflation due to the conflict, most urban Indians were of the view that it will impact their household finances and they will either have to reduce their discretionary expenses (49%), rely on their saving (18%) or take debt (9%) to make ends meet. Only 14% of the total respondents indicated that their household finances will not be impacted if the inflation rate in India surges.