ABP-CVoter Pre-Budget Snap Poll: Employment, Inflation, Relief For Middle Class On People's Minds

ABP-CVoter Pre-Budget Snap Poll: ABP and CVoter conducted a poll, before the Union Budget 2023-24, to know what people expect from the upcoming announcements by FM Nirmala Sitharaman on February 1.

According to the ABP-CVoter snap poll, most participants wanted new employment opportunities, followed by a reduction in inflation.

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ABP-CVoter Pre-Budget Snap Poll: As Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman is set to table the Union Budget 2023 on February 1, ABP News and CVoter conducted a poll to gauge the opinions of the people to find out what they want from the allocations this year. The respondents said that the Budget announcements could affect their voting preference in the upcoming elections.

In the survey, ABP and CVoter posed 10 questions to people to ascertain their expectations and which sectors they want increased allocations for. The questions are in the following.

What do people expect from the upcoming Union Budget for a better future?

According to the ABP-CVoter snap poll, most participants wanted new employment opportunities (42.6%), followed by a reduction in inflation (30.3%), an increase in the tax exemption limit (17.8%), and benefit for traders (5.7%).

Is the Union government likely to present a populist budget in view of the assembly elections in 2023 and the 2024 Lok Sabha elections?

A total of 47% of respondents felt that the Modi government could present a populist budget in view of the assembly elections scheduled to be held in 2023 and the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. Nearly 21% disagreed and 32% of respondents were unsure about the same.

Will India's economic condition be strengthened if the government gives relief to the middle class in the upcoming budget?

A clear majority of people (79%) felt that the government introducing relaxations for the middle class in the Union Budget 2023 would improve the country's economic condition, while 12% were unsure about the correlation, and nearly 9% of respondents disagreed with the notion.

Will India's economic condition improve if the government makes special economic announcements for women in the budget?

Here too, a majority of participants (65.4%) in the ABP-Cvoter snap poll felt special economic announcements for women in the budget would have a positive impact on the country's economic condition, 19.1% disagreed, and 15.5% were unsure.

In which area should the government increase its allocations?

Most respondents sought increased allocation in Education (29.3%), followed by Agriculture (25.1%), Defense (18.4%), and Health (10.7%). However, 16.4% of participants did not express any particular preference. 

Will the budget influence people's voting preferences in the upcoming elections?

A majority of people (57%) said the Union Budget 2023 would impact their voting preferences in the upcoming elections. Here, nearly 30% could not say whether or not it will have that impact on them, while nearly 13% said the allocations would not change their preferences.

Will recession in the different parts of the world affect this budget?

Here, 47.5% of participants felt that the recession worldwide would impact the upcoming Union Budget, 30.8% remained unsure and 21.7% said it would not affect the allocations.

Should the government increase taxes on tobacco and alcohol products?

A total of 65% of respondents felt that the Modi government should increase taxes on tobacco and alcohol products, 22.6% disagreed, and 12.4% did not have any particular opinion on this poser.

Where should the revenue generated by increasing taxes on tobacco and liquor products be used?

People want money from increased taxes on tobacco and liquor products to be used for the welfare and upliftment of the poor as nearly 74% of respondents expressed this preference. About 23% sought relief in income tax and 3% of people did not express any particular preference.

Should Rs 2000 currency notes should be banned to curb black money?

When the Centre demonetised the Rs 500 and Rs 1000 currency notes in 2016, concerns were raised that the new Rs 2000 denomination notes will make it easier to hoard black money. Now as people were asked whether the Rs 2000 notes should be demonetised, a majority of people (65.5%) said they should be discontinued to curb black money, nearly 21% disagreed, while about 14% said they were unsure.