UNITED STATES, September 17, 2015 (Pew Research): One year after history-making political change swept the country, Indians’ fervor for their leader Narendra Modi has not abated. A new poll in India shows the public’s views of the country’s direction and the economy are on the rise. Even so, Indians continue to see problems in their daily lives and in foreign relations. Nevertheless, in advance of Modi’s visit to the United States later this month, Indians are confident in relations between the two countries.
According to a new Pew Research Center report, Indians are overwhelmingly more positive about their country than they were two years ago. More than half (56%) of Indians express satisfaction with their country’s direction – up 27 percentage points from 2013. And nearly three-quarters say the current state of the economy is good, whereas only 57% said so two years ago. Indians’ love for Modi runs across the country. Fully 87% of Indians have a favorable view of Modi, including a strong majority (68%) who see the prime minister very favorably.
Indians have high opinions of the U.S. and President Obama. Later this month, U.S. President Barack Obama and Indian Prime Minister Modi will meet in New York to discuss, among other issues, climate change – a top concern for Indians. Meanwhile, 70% of Indians hold a favorable view of the U.S., and ratings of Obama, who visited India in January 2015, are even higher, with nearly three-quarters of the public expressing confidence in him to do the right thing regarding world affairs.
More of report findings at source.
The full report may be downloaded here:
http://www.pewglobal.org/files/2015/09/Pew-Research-Center-India-Report-FINAL-September-17-20151.pdf