The Opposition has slammed the Modi government for allegedly attempting to manipulate figures to show inflation as being under control

Ahead of the annual budget day, a survey showed that more and more Indians are losing hope about the quality of life under the government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi as the cost of living and inflation rise.

According to a survey released by polling agency C-voter on Wednesday, over 37 percent of respondents expect the overall quality of life to deteriorate over the next year, the highest such percentage since 2013. Modi has been the prime minister of the country since 2014.

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Based on a survey conducted with 5,269 people across India, nearly two-thirds of respondents said that inflation had remained unchecked with prices only going up since Modi took up the prime ministerial post. More than half stated that the rising inflation had “adversely” affected their quality of life.

Almost half of the respondents said their personal income had remained the same over the course of last year while expenses kept rising. Around two-thirds of respondents said that rising expenses had become difficult to manage for them.

India forecast annual growth of 6.4 percent in the year ending in March, the slowest in four years and below the lower end of the government’s initial projection, due to a weaker manufacturing sector and slower corporate investments, according to a Reuters report.

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The forecast by the National Statistics Office (NSO) follows several disappointing economic indicators in the second half of 2024, including low growth, high inflation, low capital flows, and a record trade gap that cast doubt on the robustness of the country’s growth.

The opposition has slammed the Modi government for allegedly attempting to manipulate the Consumer Price Index (CPI) and Wholesale Price Index (WPI) figures to show inflation as being under control. But the ground reality is that the pockets of the common man are constantly increasing as they have been facing a non-stop price surge, said Congress’ Jairam Ramesh.

In the last budget session, the country had spent over five years on several schemes to create jobs, but those programs are yet to be implemented.