Majority Indians support PM Modi's foreign policy, 'Clean India' not rated highly: Survey

Modi government's much-publicised flagship programmes such as 'Clean India' and 'Digital India' were not very highly rated by a majority of Indians surveyed in an online poll.

New Delhi: A majority of Indians believe that the Narendra Modi-led NDA government's international diplomacy is commendable and have given a big thumbs up to various initiatives taken by it to modernise the Indian Railways, according to a latest online survey.

A report published in the 'Hindustan Times' said on Monday that Modi government's much-publicised flagship programmes such as 'Clean India' and 'Digital India' were not very highly rated by a majority of those surveyed in the poll.

PM Modi had last month urged Indians to rate his government’s key initiatives on the government portal mygov.in as it completed two years in office.

The PM had asked the respondents to evaluate 15 key NDA government programmes, with five stars being the highest rating.

“Jan bhagidari (people’s participation) is a cornerstone of the government’s governance efforts. In keeping with this spirit, here is an opportunity to give your feedback on these initiatives. Your responses will help the government in further improving these programs, serving you better and making India great,” PM Modi had said in a message posted on the my government portal.

During the survey, only 33% of the respondents supported PM Modi’s ambitious 'Clean India' campaign, aimed at modernising sanitation.

Public support is crucial for 'Clean India' since it aims to make the country free of open defecation by October 2, 2019, the 150th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi, by building toilets in rural areas and schools.

Further, the efforts to bring back black money and naming of big tax defaulters have also failed to impress a large number of Indians surveyed in the poll. The two, in fact, scored the lowest among the initiatives put to survey in a first of its kind move by a government to gauge public perception.

As per the report, the NDA government’s efforts in tackling black money, both at home and abroad, got five stars from only 29.18% respondents. Interestingly, the NDA government has come under attack from the Opposition for not doing enough despite a string of measures taken by it to check the widespread menace of undisclosed wealth.

Over 20,000 people, till Monday afternoon, had participated in the survey, which is expected to run for at least a couple of weeks.