India makes positive strides in populist demands of citizens, finds survey

Indian Express

16 hours ago

India has made significant progress in some of the key aspects of populism by meeting with the expectations of the citizens, according to the 6th edition of Ipsos Populism Report. The report surveyed 31 countries tracking down how people around the world feel about populism issues.
In 2025, 59% Indians agreed to the Broken Index of the Ipsos System, which is an agreement of five statements – the country's economy is rigged to advantage the rich and powerful, traditional parties and politicians do not care about people like me, to fix we need a strong leader to break the rules, country needs a strong leader to take the country back from the rich and powerful and experts in the country do not understand the lives of people like me. This statistic is far better and indicative of improvement compared to the 2023 and 2016 surveys where 73% and 65% Indians agreed, respectively.
Surprisingly, with a decline of 14% compared to the figures of 2023, 59% Indians believe in 2025 that the country needs a strong leader who is willing to break the rules. Whereas, 60% Indians (with a decline of 11% from 2023), do believe that India needs a strong leader who can take the country back from the clutches of the rich and powerful. Similarly, for areas like experts in the country who do not understand the lives of people like me, 59% Indians agreed, again 14% less than that in 2023.
Amit Adarkar, CEO, Ipsos India said, 'India has shown improvement in some of the key areas of populism, with expectations emerging less glaring as opposed to some of the previous years, when more number of citizens emphasized on the system being broken, and there being lack of meritocracy and level playing field and system was meant to favor the rich and powerful and the citizens being vehement in their demand of the country needing a strong leader at the helm. The incumbent leader has shown strong leadership traits, decision making and tough talking, with the expectation now receding on some of these key aspects, indicating improvement in areas which were strongly expressed by the citizens.'
However, 53% Indians believe that the country today is in decline, i.e. one in every two Indians, and this statistic shows a sharp incline of 31% from 2016. This could be the result of people's dissatisfaction from society in general and the degrading value system across generations.
The survey also draws attention to the prominence of different aspects of national identity amongst Indian citizens. As much as 73% of Indians believe that it's the duty of the citizens of a nation to defend their country when it is criticized.
According to the survey data, around 70% of the citizens believe that the right to vote, to be able to voice their opinion, being born in your own country, treating people from different backgrounds with the same level of respect, and being a part of the religious majority are all parts of national identity.
Indian citizens also voted in which sectors the government should increase its spendings. And, more than 70% of the citizens agreed that the major areas include job sector (to create more employment opportunities); education sector (schools, universities and job training); public safety (enforcement of law, fire and emergency services); defence and national security (military); healthcare (disease prevention, diagnosis, treatment and research); infrastructure (building roads and bridges, securing rail and air networks, and providing water, electricity and broadband connectivity). 64% of people agreed to focus on reducing poverty and social inequality.
A majority of citizens believe that in times of job scarcity, employers should prioritize hiring locals over immigrants. In 2025, 62% of citizens support this view, although this sentiment has decreased by 15% since 2023. With the government implementing stricter policies to curb immigration, public concern over immigrants 'taking away' jobs has also declined.
When it comes to the elite, public opinion is divided. About 52% of Indians see elites as a tightly knit group sharing similar perspectives on key issues, while 48% view them as a diverse set of individuals with varying interests. Additionally, 44% of citizens believe elites genuinely think their decisions are for the greater good, even if that may not be true. Meanwhile, 21%, roughly one in five, feel that elites make decisions primarily for their own benefit, disregarding the interests of ordinary people.