Fact Checking PM Modi’s Claim Of 90% Support To Demonetisation

PM Modi Claims over 90% support to Demonetisation

‘I want your first-hand view on the decision taken regarding currency notes. Take part in the survey on the NM App.’ He put forward a survey of 10 questions on his move of demonetisation. The survey result was tweeted 23^rd November with over 90 percent respondents hailing the move -

I thank people for the historic participation in the survey. Its satisfying to read the insightful views & comments. https://t.co/xf14LEiQHT pic.twitter.com/cGSBPlCnE5

— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) November 23, 2016

The survey result shows that Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s audacious move passed with flying colours. But, is that the voice of the nation? What is the percentage of population he has reached out to?

The idea of creating a mobile app to get the nation's feedback on demonetisation is of course creative and novel. But are Indians equipped to register their voices through this app? Was it even representative of the Indian population?

Let’s see how many people he could have possibly reached.

According to the Internet and Mobile Association of India (IMAI), in December 2015, 306 million users had access to mobile internet out of which 72 % (219 million) belonged to urban areas while only 28 % (87 million) were from rural areas. On the other hand, as per Census 2011, 70% of Indians live in rural areas against 30% in urban areas. This not only shows the urban-rural digital divide, but also puts into context the reach of NM App.

IMAI had projected the number of mobile internet users to reach 371 million by June 2016. This means only these many users can possibly access the mobile app if they feel encouraged to do so. If that’s the case, only 30% of 1.25 billion Indians could have possibly taken part in the survey.

To break it down further, Twitter, where NM App was publicised, has a user base of 28.4 million in India and Narendra Modi’s own Twitter handle has 24.8 million followers (both Indians and other nationals). So, 5 lakh respondents to the survey either shows a lack of interest among the Prime Minister’s own followers or that the survey was closed fearing a huge load on the servers.

So to break it down in simple terms, 5 lakh Indians responded to the survey which is 0.13 % of mobile internet users, 0.04 % of total population, 1.8 % of Indian Twitter users and 2% of his own Twitter followers.

That means, what PM Narendra Modi is projecting as 90% support represents only 0.04 % of the 1.25 billion Indian electorate.