The Hindu Business Line : ‘Economic progress has not led to better quality of life’

Mumbai, Aug 15 Patriotism amongst Indians is soaring with 89 per cent of the respondents wishing to be reborn as an Indian if they were given a choice. As the country celebrates its 60th year of Independence, The Nielsen Company conducted an online survey to find out what Indians think of their homeland and its future.

The key areas, which the respondents think India has improved over the years are business and commerce (57%), science and technology (43%), and education (19%). Interestingly, while India is perceived to have made significant progress as a country, Indians feel that it is not translating into better quality of life with only 15 per cent feeling that their quality of life has improved.

Least progressed fields

India’s progress is balanced out by the areas which need to progress in order for overall development of the country. Amongst the list of “least progressed” fields over the past decades of independence, politics makes it to the top (39%).

Eighty-two per cent of respondents feel that corruption needs to be eradicated to improve politics and about half the respondents feel that uneducated politicians are the main reason for the dismal condition of Indian politics. Poverty eradication programme and law and order follow politics as the least progressed areas.

Another area where the country’s poor performance is reflected is in the field of sports, with a paltry 1 per cent of the respondents feeling that India has made progress in sports. More than 50 per cent of the respondents feel that political interference and inadequate sports infrastructure is the reason for the poor performance of India in sports.

Impact of globalisation

“Globalisation will lead to greater exposure to other cultures, their customs and their ways of living. In an age of such wide reach of media, leading to higher levels of awareness of other cultures, it is a great task to prevent oneself from adopting new habits and customs if they are more appealing and suitable to one’s living,” said Mr N.S. Muthukumaran, Director, Measurement Science and Technical Training, The Nielsen Company, India.

Though patriotism is strong, 60 per cent of the respondents feel that Indians today are less patriotic than they were 10 years ago. It is interesting to note that the minority 11 per cent, who do not wish to be reborn as Indians, comprises mainly of youth aged between 15 to 24 years. “Young people today are more informed, curious about everything and are aggressive. It is not surprising that some would aspire to something new and different if they had a choice,” added Mr Muthukumaran.

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