87% Urban Indians Optimistic About 2024: Ipsos Global Predictions
About 87 per cent of urban Indians and 70 per cent of global citizens predict 2024 to be a better year, as indicated by Ipsos Global Predictions for 2024, showing a positive outlook emerging for the year.
And 8 in 10 urban Indians (84 per cent) say they are willing to make personal resolutions and specific changes for themselves in 2024. And 85 per cent Indians are also hopeful of the global economy doing better in 2024.
2023 was a bad year
The local and global verdict on the year 2023 shows a great deal of disappointment, with 65 per cent of urban Indians pronouncing it a bad year for India and 64 per cent calling it a bad year for them and their family. 70 per cent global citizens felt it was a bad year for their country and 1 in 2 global citizens (53 per cent) felt it was a bad year for them and their families.
The markets most unhappy with 2023 were Argentina (88 per cent), Sweden (84 per cent), Turkey (84 per cent), Great Britain (83 per cent), Portugal (82 per cent), South Korea (82 per cent) and Hungary (82 per cent).
The survey captured views of citizens on a host of issues, with their predictions for 2024.
Economy
Most urban Indians expect cost of living to go up, with 71 per cent believing prices in the country will increase faster than people's incomes. 79 per cent global citizens echo similar views.
7 in 10 urban Indians (70 per cent) further believe inflation will be higher in 2024 as compared to 2023. 68 per cent urban Indians expect interest rates to be higher in 2024 as compared to 2023. 66 per cent expect unemployment to be greater in 2024 versus 2023.
Technology
Impact of technology in 2024 is likely to be a mixed bag. 61 per cent urban Indians expect artificial intelligence leading to loss of many new jobs in the country. 56 per cent Indians fear their personal data being leaked on the internet in 2024. 67 per cent urban Indians expect doctors in India to use artificial intelligence regularly, to decide on treatments for their patients. Interestingly, 61 per cent urban Indians believe in 2024, robots will look, think and speak like humans. The biggest upside, 65 per cent urban Indians polled believe artificial intelligence will lead to many new jobs being created in the country. And 57 per cent urban Indians plan to use social media less in 2024.
Environment
Climate change has been wreaking havoc around the globe.
In 2024, 65 per cent urban Indians expect more extreme weather events in the country than seen in 2023. 60 per cent Indians also fear a natural disaster hitting a major city. And 70 per cent urban Indians expect the average global temperature to increase.
At the same time 67 per cent urban Indians polled expect the govt to introduce more demanding targets for reducing carbon emissions quickly, in 2024. While 63 per cent urban Indians expect more restrictions to be introduced to reduce the amount people drive in their cars in the country.
Society
Predictions for 2024 are optimistic. 71 per cent urban Indians expect women to be paid the same as men for the same work. 71 per cent expect India to win more medals in the 2024 Summer Olympics than the last one. 66 per cent Indians believe people in the country will become more tolerant of each other.
69 per cent urban Indians predict office workers spending more time in the office than at home, in 2024. 86 per cent Indonesians held this view, 78 per cent Malaysians and 76 per cent Chinese.
63 per cent Indians expect the level of immigration into the country to increase in 2024. Markets predicting most influx included, Portugal (87 per cent), Turkey (82 per cent), Singapore (82 per cent) and Italy (79 per cent).
And 1 in 2 Indians (53 per cent) expect the total size of the population of the country to fall in 2024. For a country that has become the world's most populous nation.
Amit Adarkar, CEO, Ipsos India said, "Majority of our citizens have a positive outlook for 2024, predicting it to be a better year for them. Though they are bracing themselves up for a tougher year in terms of inflation, rising prices, higher interest rates and higher unemployment. Year 2023 was a bad year is the majority verdict. The year saw many upheavals due to inflation, rise in prices of essential commodities, yo-yo of fuel prices, drought and floods and violence in certain parts of the country. The predictions for 2024 hinge a lot on optimism, of office workers going more often physically to work, govt taking stringent measures to reduce the carbon footprint, pay parity of women with men doing the same work, citizens becoming more tolerant of one another and India bagging more medals in its kitty in the summer Olympics. AI is expected to stave off some jobs and create new ones, so this will put a lot of emphasis on reskilling. Cautious optimism is the approach for 2024, as there is also fear of a new more severe pandemic and natural disasters."
