Striking a pessimistic note, as many as 75 per cent people of India are of the opinion that the country is marching on the right track while unemployment is billed to be their biggest cause of concern, a monthly survey report revealed. In contrast, around 60 percent of people have poured out a pessimistic feeling across the world, citing the reason that  they believe that their nation is heading in the wrong direction, according to the findings of a global survey carried out by Ipsos What Worries the World for the month of January (2023).

As per the survey report, the markets which oozed out optimal optimism include: Saudi Arabia (96 per cent) and Indonesia (82 per cent), while the lowest on the scale of  least optimistic includes – Argentina (12 per cent), South Africa (17 per cent) and Peru (21 per cent).

Optimistic Indians

Ipso India CEO Amit Adarkar says that urban Indians are optimistic because India has steadfastly and cautiously managed tough macro-economic situations and handled pandemic catastrophe efficiently. 

He added: “Domestic consumption has been steering the economy and timely actions on the fuel crisis and inflation have reduced burden on citizens. This wave was done before the Union Budget was tabled on February 1, 2023. With a slew of measures to reduce the tax burden on the middle class, in the Budget, optimism could further improve next month.”   

What worries Indians?

For Indians, unemployment is the topmost worry, followed by the fear of Coronavirus getting back. Indians put financial and political corruption on the last rung of the list of worries. 

Top worries of urban Indians 

Unemployment (38 per cent)

Coronavirus (26 per cent)

Crime & Violence (26 per cent)

Poverty & Social inequality (24 per cent)

Financial/ Political Corruption (24 per cent)

“Indians continue to worry about jobs and unemployment. This wave had been conducted before the Budget 2023 was unveiled, which has some concrete big steps for skilling and employment generation. Hence, we could see the worry levels recede in the next monthly survey,” said Adarkar

Corona concern

Ipso India CEO added: Coronavirus has made a reappearance in the top worry list of India people, so precautionary measures should be taken to ensure inbound and outbound travellers are well screened. 

Crime, corruption at lower rung

“Crime is another area of concern, so is social inequality. Corruption has moved lower in the pecking order after being the 2nd biggest worry for a long time. Since there is a lag in the survey wave, the February wave will present a more realistic picture,” he said.

Ipsos’ What Worries the World survey covers public opinion on important social and political issues across 29 countries, drawing on over ten years of data to place the latest scores in context.