How did Prime Minister Narendra Modi handle the Covid-19 pandemic?

How did Prime Minister Narendra Modi handle the Covid-19 pandemic? Is India confident that he can pull the economy back from the brink? Has he given a befitting answer to Chinese aggression on India’s border? Did the lockdown save lives, as claimed by the government or lead to an economic disaster? The answers to these questions concerning national importance are to be found in the latest edition of the India Today magazine's Mood of the Nation poll.

On behalf of the India Today Group, the poll is conducted by Delhi-based market research agency, Karvy Insights in 19 states across the country. This survey is the most comprehensive indicator of the public mood on multiple key issues. A total of 12,021 interviews were conducted—67 per cent rural and 33 per cent urban—across 97 parliamentary constituencies in 194 assembly constituencies.

In its 19th year, the bi-annual India Today Mood of the Nation survey has been the most credible tracker of the public sentiments in the country. The country has been witnessing crisis on multiple fronts and the pertinent question is how the nation has perceived Modi’s performance in these testing times. In the last survey conducted in January 2020, an overwhelming 68 per cent rated his performance as good. Can he better that rating? Or has he slipped in a crisis-hit environment?

In last six months, the world has been afflicted by novel Covid-19 pandemic. India has been no exception, and, in fact, has emerged as one of the worst hit countries, along with the US, Brazil, Russia, and several European nations. Though the fatality rate in India has been one of the lowest in the world, the country currently has been witnessing spike in daily occurrence of infection. Despite several measures taken to control the pandemic by Union government and state governments, the entire country is unfortunately fighting the fatal corona virus, causing huge damage to human lives, livelihood and the economy.

What made the situation more critical for India? Was it due to a border dispute with China or poor health emergency preparedness that was put to ultimate test? So how did the country perform on both accounts? In an economy devasted by a disease, how is the common man seeing his future? In short, how is the general mood of the country? The India Today Mood of Nation poll sought to find answers to these questions.

To find answers to many such questions read India Today magazine’s special edition out on the news-stands on August 8 2020. You can also download the free digital copy on www.indiatoday.in/emag