Infographics 2016

The rich support Modi Govt more than the poor

MINT-ICE360

The poor use India’s massive public distribution system (PDS) for foodgrains much more than the rich, and rate the quality of grains more favourably than richer income classes, a large-scale nationally representative survey conducted this year shows. The ‘Household Survey on India’s Citizen Environment & Consumer Economy’ (ICE 360° survey 2016) shows that 73% of households belonging to the bottom quintile avail grains from the PDS. The proportion of households belonging to the top percentile that avails PDS grains is less than half that figure at 35%.

Among the poor, disapproval of the central government seems to be higher, with 10% of the bottom quintile rating the performance to be low, and 31% rating it high. A much higher proportion of the top percentile rated the central government highly and a lower proportion rated its performance as low, indicating greater support for the Narendra Modi-led government among the super-rich. The survey does not tell us whether these preferences have shifted after the government scrapped high-value banknotes on 8 November.