India's economic confidence has got a major boost due to recent big-bang economic reforms like the hike in Diesel prices and cap on number of subsidized LPG cylinder; FDI in Retail, Aviation and Broadcasting; disinvestment in 4 PSUs; and cut in CRR by RBI, according to a report by global research firm Ipsos.

According to the "Ipsos Economic Pulse of the World" survey, India's economic confidence shot up by 8 points to 68 percent in the month of August compared to the previous month, making it the fourth most economically confident country in the world after Saudi Arabia, Sweden, and Germany.

Mick Gordon, CEO of Ipsos in India said, "Union Government of India unleashed a burst of economic policy reforms that included steep rise in heavily subsidized diesel price, limit on cooking gas subsidy for consumers and foreign investments into critical sectors such as aviation and retail, raising the hope that expected fiscal breach will now be lower and investments will pick up."

"Borrowers could see better days ahead as banks are expected to cut lending rates following the Reserve Bank of India's decision to unlock Rs. 17,000 crore by slashing cash reserve ratio (CRR) by 25 basis points. The liquidity infusion would ensure adequate flow of credit to productive sectors of the economy," added Gordon.

Slightly less than a half of Indian Citizens (48%) believe their local economy which impacts their personal finance is good, a marginal rise of 2 points and an optimistic 53 percent people expect that the economy in their local area will be stronger in next six months.

The online Ipsos Economic Pulse of the World survey was conducted in August 2012 among 20,915 people in 24 countries.

The Global Picture

The average global economic assessment of national economies remains static from last month as 38% of global citizens rate their national economies to be 'good'.

World-leader Saudi Arabia (84%) is just off a point from last month's poll as it leads the nations surveyed with Sweden (81%) up a full 10 points in second place followed by Germany (69% +1) followed by India (68% +8), Canada (65% +2) and Australia (59% +1). 

The biggest change among the leaders has been that of China - taking a dramatic fall from 67% last month to 53% in this survey (down 14 points) which is the lowest level it has been at since November, 2008. China watchers will note that while there was a spike (+7) of positive sentiment in July, there has been a steady downward trend since February, 2012 (79%) which is a drastic 26 point drop over six months.

At the bottom of the countries surveyed is Spain (4% +1) followed by Italy (5% +1) Hungary (5% +2), France (9% +1) and Japan (11% +4).
One quarter (23%) people globally believe their local economy which impacts their personal finance will be stronger six months from now, consistent with last month survey.

Countries with the strongest proportion of citizens expecting their local economies to be 'stronger' six months from now include Brazil (65%) followed by India (53%), Saudi Arabia (47%), Mexico (41%), Argentina (40%) and China (38%).

About Ipsos Global @dvisor: The Economic Pulse of the World Survey:
The Ipsos Global @dvisor: The Economic Pulse of the World survey was conducted between August 7th and August 21st, 2012. The survey instrument is conducted monthly in 24 countries around the world via the Ipsos Online Panel system. The countries reporting herein are Argentina, Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, Great Britain, Hungary, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Poland, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Turkey and the United States of America.

For the results of the survey an international sample of 20,915 adults aged 18-64 in the US and Canada, and age 16-64 in all other countries were interviewed. Approximately 1000+ individuals participated on a country by country basis via the Ipsos Online Panel with the exception of Argentina, Belgium, Indonesia, Mexico, Poland, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, South Korea, Sweden and Turkey, where each have a sample approximately 500+. In China, India and South Africa the samples are slightly more educated compared to the average citizen. In this wave (G@36), 500+ individuals from Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia and Colombia are also participated in the survey.

Weighting was then employed to balance demographics and ensure that the sample's composition reflects that of the adult population according to the most recent country Census data, and to provide results intended to approximate the sample universe. A survey with an unweighted probability sample of this size and a 100% response rate would have an estimated margin of error of +/-3.1 percentage points for a sample of 1,000 and an estimated margin of error of +/- 4.5 percentage points 19 times out of 20 per country of what the results would have been had the entire population of adults in that country had been polled. All sample surveys and polls may be subject to other sources of error, including, but not limited to coverage error, and measurement error.

About Ipsos

Ipsos is an independent market research company controlled and managed by research professionals. Founded in France in 1975, Ipsos has grown into a worldwide research group with a strong presence in all key markets. In October 2011 Ipsos completed the acquisition of Synovate. The combination forms the world's third largest market research company.
With offices in 84 countries, Ipsos delivers insightful expertise across six research specializations: advertising, customer loyalty, marketing, media, public affairs research, and survey management.
Ipsos researchers assess market potential and interpret market trends. They develop and build brands. They help clients build long-term relationships with their customers. They test advertising and study audience responses to various media and they measure public opinion around the globe.
Ipsos has been listed on the Paris Stock Exchange since 1999 and generated global revenues of €1.363 billion (US$1.897 billion) in 2011.

Visit www.ipsos.com to learn more about Ipsos' offerings and capabilities.