How has PM Modi’s approval rating changed since his meeting with Biden?

Ahead of his visit to Italy for the G20 Summit, YouGov shows PM Narendra Modi’s approval rating among urban Indians

YouGov’s political tracker, that tracks public opinion on politics and government affairs in the country shows PM Modi’s approval rating among urban Indians has improved since August 2021, when we first started tracking this data, from 53% in the beginning of August (9th August 2021) to 58% in October (18^th October).

The improvement in his rating since August corresponds to the waning impact of the second wave of Covid-19. However, it peaks in early October, highlighting the positive impact of his recent US visit on his perception among urban Indians.

Approval for PM Modi is the highest among residents of North India- at 63%. On the other hand, disapproval is the highest among South Indians (at 36%).

Public perception of the country’s direction has also improved slightly during this period; from 53% saying things in this country are headed in the right direction in early August to 59% saying this now (18^th Oct).

According to the public, unemployment, women’s safety, and corruption are considered as the top three issues faced by the country today. While unemployment is a bigger concern in East and North East India (at 45%), women’s safety is believed to be a more dominant issue in South India (at 37%).

When looking at the perception of people around the government’s performance in key concerning areas, we see that two-thirds of urban Indians (67%) think the government is handling the issue of unemployment very or somewhat poorly.

Similarly, the proportions for those who rate the government’s handling of the issues of corruption and women’s safety poorly are 62% and 55%, respectively.

However, public’ rating is more positive than negative for issues such as national security, healthcare, education and reservation of SC/ST/OBC, where people are more likely to say the government is doing a good job in these areas.

Even though a majority thinks the government’s performance in key concerning areas is not satisfactory, they approve of the way the Prime Minister is handling his job and generally think the country is headed in the right direction.

With Covid stabilising in many parts of the country and the economy reopening to a great extent, there is hope for a brighter future. YouGov will continue tracking the public sentiment around government affairs to see how world events affect the opinion of people.

**Data based on responses collected of around 5095 urban Indian adults between August and October 2021.