MAM
India continues to be the second most economically confident nation: study
MUMBAI: India continues to be the second most economically confident nation globally on the back of improved performance by industry and services sector, according to a report by global research firm Ipsos.
According to the ‘Ipsos Economic Pulse of the World’ study, Saudi Arabia (94 per cent) solidified its position at the top of the national economic assessment in February 2015, followed by India (80 per cent), Germany (76 per cent), Sweden (73 per cent), China (71 per cent), and Egypt (61 per cent).
The lowest average global economic assessment this month is in Italy (eight per cent). Close behind are France (10 per cent), Brazil (12 per cent), Spain (12 per cent), South Korea (13 per cent) and Hungary (16 per cent).
One in two (50 per cent) Indians believe that the local economy, which impacts their personal finance is good, a sharp drop of five points.
Indians are very hopeful that the Narendra Modi-led NDA government will continue making progress on its domestic reforms agenda and encourage investments that will trigger economic growth and create more jobs; with more than six in ten (64 per cent) people expecting that the economy in their local area will be stronger in next six months, a rise of two points making India the most optimistic country globally.
“The Indian economy is reviving, aided by positive policy actions by the government that has improved investors’ confidence and lower global oil prices. However, India needs to revitalize the investment cycle and fast-track structural reforms to speed up growth further,” said Ipsos managing director – India Amit Adarkar.
“India – Asia’s third-largest economy is expected to grow faster than China in the next few years backed by strong GDP growth, low inflation and stable development focused government at the center,” added Adarkar.
The online Ipsos Economic Pulse of the World survey was conducted in February 2015 among 18,235 people in 24 countries.
Starting the New Year on a positive note, the average global economic assessment of national economies surveyed in 24 countries is down one point as 40 per cent of global citizen’s rate their national economies to be ‘good’.
Countries with the greatest improvements in this wave: Saudi Arabia (94 per cent, +7 pts.), Belgium (39 per cent, +6 pts.), Japan (26 per cent, +3 pts.), Argentina (24 per cent, +3 pts.), Mexico (22 per cent, +3 pts.), France (10 per cent, +3 pts.), Russia (28 per cent, +2 pts.), Sweden (73 per cent, +1 pts.), South Africa (27 per cent, +1 pts.) and Spain (12 per cent, +1 pts.).
Countries with the greatest declines: China (71 per cent, -9 pts.), Egypt (61 per cent, -6 pts.), Germany (76 per cent, -5 pts.), Brazil (12 per cent, -5 pts.), Canada (59 per cent, -4 pts), the United States (47 per cent, -4 pts.), Australia (56 per cent, -2 pts.), Great Britain (44 per cent, -2 pts), Turkey (43 per cent, -2 pts), and Poland (25 per cent, -1 pts.).
Saudi Arabia (68 per cent) regains the top position in the local economic assessment, which impacts their personal finance. Sweden (59 per cent) is in the distant second, followed by China (53 per cent), Germany (53 per cent), Israel (51 per cent), India (50 per cent) and Canada (40 per cent). Small minority assess their local economy as ‘good’ in Italy (11 per cent) followed by Hungary (12 per cent), South Korea (13 per cent), Spain (13 per cent), France (15 per cent), Japan (15 per cent) and Mexico (15 per cent).
India (64 per cent) remains in the lead of the future outlook assessment, followed by Saudi Arabia (60 per cent), Brazil (51 per cent), China (44 per cent), Egypt (44 per cent), Mexico (38 per cent) and Argentina (32 per cent). Once again, only a fistful in France (five per cent) expect their local economy to be strong six months from now, followed by Israel (eight per cent), Belgium (10 per cent), Sweden (10 per cent), Hungary (11 per cent), South Korea (11 per cent), Italy (12 per cent), Poland (12 per cent) and Japan (14 per cent).
MUMBAI: In India’s fast-moving payments race, Visa has just swiped in a new leader. The company has named Suresh Sethi as its India country head, marking a key leadership shift as it sharpens its focus on digital payments growth in the market. Sethi steps into the role following his recent exit from Protean eGov Technologies, where he served as chief executive officer. He succeeds Sandeep Ghosh, who has moved on after more than four years at Visa to pursue an external opportunity.
The appointment comes at a time when Visa is doubling down on its expansion strategy across India and the wider region, deepening partnerships and accelerating adoption in an increasingly competitive digital payments ecosystem.
Sethi brings with him a broad, cross-market perspective shaped by decades of experience across corporate banking, retail financial services, mobile money and large-scale government technology initiatives. He began his career at Citigroup, where he spent 14 years working across India, Africa, South America and the United States, focusing on transaction banking services within the corporate bank.
His appointment signals a blend of institutional experience and market familiarity qualities that could prove critical as Visa navigates a landscape where fintech innovation, regulatory evolution and consumer adoption are all accelerating at once.
As digital payments in India continue to scale rapidly, the leadership change underscores a simple reality, in a market where every tap, scan and swipe counts, who leads the charge can matter just as much as the technology itself.
