Priorities?
Surely clean water and sanitation for the millions who lack it now should be a priority, not participation in this international willy-waving contest.
India has announced its bid to the fourth nation to put a man in space, and says it'll put a pair of astronauts into a seven-day low-Earth orbit in 2016. According to the International Business Times, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) is firming up just what "infrastructure and facilities" the $2.76bn project will …
It's an incentive for Indian companies to develop high technologies which can be exported and lift even more people out of poverty. China has become the most successful country in history at uplift, not by rural aid, but by industrialisation.
Just as Victorian Britain had the slums of the East End which were every bit as unpleasant as those of Mumbai, it was also capable of scientific and engineering accomplishments such as the Beagle voyage and the Crystal Palace.
Looking forward to all the "surely you should feed the starving first" comments....
Money well spent I think, with the improvements this could ultimately lead to in terms of use of satellites to monitor and improve agriculture, motivate young engineers, and generally help lift the country's moral by believing great things can be achieved.
And how do you think the countless thousands/millions living in Indian slums are going to find out about their shiny new space programme?
Besides, (and I don't mean for this to sound Daily Mail-esque) I think the millions that the UK Government give to India each year would be better spent on medicine and shelter than rocket fuel.
Stop crying about the millions you are giving to indian government. It is nothing when compared to what you have looted from us over the last century. when british india took over in 1857, india used to account for over 20% of world's GDP, by 1947, it accounted for less than 1%. You got rich while we got poorer. Now you are concerned about few millions you are giving to us. Also technological advances are very important for any country. And India is spending less than 1% of GDP on space explorations, while over 20% for infrastructure and rural employment programs. So please stop worrying about our poor, we know how to help them. In 50 years from now, I'm sure you'll be asking money from us, we'll be critical about how you spent it. Then we'll see wat you have say.
So, they'll be launching satellites to locate exploitative landlords, indentured workers and areas without access to clean water?
Or maybe those inspired young engineers will go and create relevant products: 'iPoo, locates functioning toilet facilities using superior satellite technology'.
The UK gives about £1bn in aid to India, to help the poverty stricken millions in what is a 'developing' nation. A country with a bigger economy, and more millionaires, than the UK, and a nation that can fritter away $2bn on putting a man on a firework.
I'm sure the child workers earning £1 a month stitching Nike shirts are over joyed at their nations 'progress'
Joke alert because they're avin a larf
Do they actually *have* the money or are they just talking about how they'd spend a couple of billion if they actually had it? Don't forget folks, India is a democracy and if that's how they want to spend their money then it's none of our business. And nor is it as if Russia, China, and even the US are without poverty problems of their own.
How many people here know that the Indian Space Research Organization does commercial satellite launches and satellite manufacturing for other countries among other ventures. It has earned more than $200 million in revenue in FY 2008-09 and expects a 25% jump in revenue in FY 2009-10. So as it develops better technology it is also putting that to use.
A country needs to make progress on all fronts and that is Not limited to healthcare, sanitation and infrastructure. Progress in basic science, research, space science, technology etc. must not be held hostage to other issues. A vibrant growing economy can only be achieved by a holistic progress.
IMHO the biggest problems that India faces are that of population growth and corruption. It is the rampant corruption from the lowest to the highest levels in society that is screwing up equitable development througout the country, creating highly skewed wealth distribution and driving up cost of living. A lot of the poverty and related problems are due to that.
I have seen beggars in San Francisco for eg. and even given food to a person. Would you hold NASA responsible for that ?
Theyv'e done so since 1970, when they cancelled Black Arrow. Mostly because it was felt that this "Space business" would never make any real money and besides, those nice Americans could always be relied upon to sort them out. Special relationship and all that.