India Among Those Where Trust in Govt is High: Report

NEW DELHI: In a welcome statistic for the Modi government in an election year, India has again bucked the global trend of rising distrust in institutions and emerged as a country where trust in government and optimism about the future remains high, according to a well regarded international survey.

The Edelman trust barometer global report, released in Davos annually, for 2019 said trust in institutions in India rose by four points to 72 (a 60-100 score indicates trust), placing it at third spot with Indonesia and China ahead of it.

Trust in government in India rose four points to 74, a couple of points over its average national score, and was ranked fourth behind Indonesia, UAE and China.

On the ‘mass population’ count, India’s score dipped to 66 at the fifth rank, behind UAE, Saudi Arabia, Indonesia and China. Trust in media remained low, despite an increase by three points to 63, a result that pulled down the overall score that includes government, business and NGOs.

The overall public mood in India seemed upbeat though with optimism running high among respondents that lives of their families would be better off in the next five years.

The Edelman index has tracked opinion in an ‘informed public’ category, based on criteria like education and income, and India was second behind China with a score of 83.

While the developed world remains pessimistic about the future, trust is shifting from governments to employers. The Edelman report highlighted this change, saying even the less privileged tended to repose faith in ‘my employer’. Even in India, a large number of people feel that companies can improve society.

Trust in NGOs remained high in India with the score rising four points to 72, behind Mexico and China. Despitescandals in sectors like real estate and controversies surrounding businessmen like Vijay Mal lya and Nirav Modi, trust in business rose by three points to 77 with a third rank.

Source: ToI

Image Courtesy: The Asian Age