India launches spacecraft to Mars ... UK gives India £200m foreign aid

[Bold Seagull]

Does anybody think for one moment that India`s spacecraft is going to tell us anything new that the USA & Russia have not already discovered,its just an ego trip to get one up on Packistan.

According the the New Scientist, methane in our atmosphere only exists as a product of life. Previous martian probes picked up traces of methane, but it's not been properly assessed. I think the scientific community is very interested in this mission, as it has instruments to measure the existence of methane in the martian atmosphere. If there is methane, then this could be an indicator that life once existed on Mars.

 

[maltaseagull]

I cannot see how they can justify this when they have so many social issues.

 

[Hamilton]

I cannot see how they can justify this when they have so many social issues.

Are you talking about India, Russia, Europe or the USA?

 

[Hillian1]

Are you talking about India, Russia, Europe or the USA?

NSC I thought.

 

[Creaky]

The truth is when you have a population the size of India's your always going to have poverty. The population gets bigger not smaller which means it's a never ending circle of poverty.
The money we send hardy scratches the surface. If people honestly think that one day poverty will be eradicated you can forget it. There is not enough to go around now, let alone enough in say another 50 years time.

Population is a bit of a red herring - the population of the UK in 1750 was 6.5 million, it's getting on for 10 times that now and there is certainly less real poverty now then there was in the 18th century!

The key is to get more and more people out of agriculture and into work producing goods and services in demand elsewhere in the world and the only way to do this is for countries like India to invest what they can into achieving this aim. In the meantime the general population of these countries will continue to suffer hardship.

 

[BigGully]

Population is a bit of a red herring - the population of the UK in 1750 was 6.5 million, it's getting on for 10 times that now and there is certainly less real poverty now then there was in the 18th century!

The key is to get more and more people out of agriculture and into work producing goods and services in demand elsewhere in the world and the only way to do this is for countries like India to invest what they can into achieving this aim. In the meantime the general population of these countries will continue to suffer hardship.

Not sure anyone has the answer to worldwide poverty, even you Creaky

One thing seems obvious though and that is in some of the emerging economy's there is widespread corruption which leads to non distribution of wealth.

There seems to be a morale blindspot to some super rich within India for instance, how any human can build some of the most conspicuously expensive personal residencies next to such poverty is quite shocking.

In someway our own taxes used within the £200 million we give to them fund those rich, its indefensible.

 

[cunning fergus]

Not sure anyone has the answer to worldwide poverty, even you Creaky

One thing seems obvious though and that is in some of the emerging economy's there is widespread corruption which leads to non distribution of wealth.

There seems to be a morale blindspot to some super rich within India for instance, how any human can build some of the most conspicuously expensive personal residencies next to such poverty is quite shocking.

In someway our own taxes used within the £200 million we give to them fund those rich, its indefensible.

Correction...............I would argue that it is only taxpayers money if we had a surplus national budget or assets, we don't and that is why we are borrowing billions each month.

Accordingly, we are borrowing the money we are giving away...............

 

[Hamilton]

The £200million is not just about helping poor people. It's about promoting brand Britain, and that's not a bad thing in one of the biggest export markets on the horizon.

I'm no fan of the space race, but I can only see technological benefits for India from what they're doing. If that results in them being able to export their technological expertise to other countries and us being able to get involved with that in the form of R&D and manufacturing, then that's great news for jobs in Britain etc.

 

[bomber130]

It's a long way to go for a curry.

 

[Shropshire Seagull]

The truth is when you have a population the size of India's your always going to have poverty. The population gets bigger not smaller which means it's a never ending circle of poverty.
The money we send hardy scratches the surface. If people honestly think that one day poverty will be eradicated you can forget it. There is not enough to go around now, let alone enough in say another 50 years time.

So maybe the £45m spent on the Mars mission could have been better spent on birth control and education?

 

[BigGully]

The £200million is not just about helping poor people. It's about promoting brand Britain, and that's not a bad thing in one of the biggest export markets on the horizon.

I'm no fan of the space race, but I can only see technological benefits for India from what they're doing. If that results in them being able to export their technological expertise to other countries and us being able to get involved with that in the form of R&D and manufacturing, then that's great news for jobs in Britain etc.

Aaah c'mon, I had hoped too that there would be some substance to the giveaway, but I do not think so.

Let the corporations market the UK and fly over a few top ranking politicians for sure, but to flippantly offer £200m under the heading of aid is just an indication of how feckless they are with our finances.

It has already been mentioned that it hasn't seemed to deliver any of the massive government contracts anyway, so lets all big up brand Britain, but whilst we are there lets ask their government to start looking after their own peoples before they go and explore Mars.

 

[Creaky]

Not sure anyone has the answer to worldwide poverty, even you Creaky

One thing seems obvious though and that is in some of the emerging economy's there is widespread corruption which leads to non distribution of wealth.

There seems to be a morale blindspot to some super rich within India for instance, how any human can build some of the most conspicuously expensive personal residencies next to such poverty is quite shocking.

In someway our own taxes used within the £200 million we give to them fund those rich, its indefensible.

I certainly don't have the answer

As countries like India and China grow economically then countries like the UK and the US will decline - we've seen this happen already with industries like shipping and textiles - currently they have been mainly involved with 'old' industries, the more they get into modern high-tech projects then the less demand there will be for those from the West.

You highlight the difference between the mega-rich and the desperately poor but this is just a microcosm of the world situation between countries - poor individuals can become rich and vice versa - the same can occur with countries. It's wise for those on the way down to remain on good terms with those on the way up.

 

[Hamilton]

Aaah c'mon, I had hoped too that there would be some substance to the giveaway, but I do not think so.

Let the corporations market the UK and fly over a few top ranking politicians for sure, but to flippantly offer £200m under the heading of aid is just an indication of how feckless they are with our finances.

It has already been mentioned that it hasn't seemed to deliver any of the massive government contracts anyway, so lets all big up brand Britain, but whilst we are there lets ask their government to start looking after their own peoples before they go and explore Mars.

I suggest you investigate the Department for International Development then. I think they are doing some fantastic work. One example is their funding of the BBC World Service which has a huge impact on the reputation of Britain abroad.

 

[BigGully]

I suggest you investigate the Department for International Development then. I think they are doing some fantastic work. One example is their funding of the BBC World Service which has a huge impact on the reputation of Britain abroad.

What part of the £200 million aid by the Department for International Development couldn't have been paid by Indians themselves, bearing in mind their current Space Project (£73 million) and a New Aircraft Carrier (£3 Billion) with their annual defence budget of £22 billion.

I fear the impact on our reputation In India might be MUGS.

 

[Nibble]

I genuinely don't see the benefit to mankind in going into space.

 

[Hamilton]

What part of the £200 million aid by the Department for International Development couldn't have been paid by Indians themselves, bearing in mind their current Space Project (£73 million) and a New Aircraft Carrier (£3 Billion) with their annual defence budget of £22 billion.

I fear the impact on our reputation In India might be MUGS.

It should be pointed out that Indian government officials have gone on record as saying they don't want the aid.

However, I think you'll find that the £200million inward investment we put into India is to our benefit, which is why we persist in doing it.

I only wish we had the fire power of the Chinese who appear to be rebuilding parts of Africa and cleaning up on various contracts.

I tend to think we simplify these stories down to the level where we just allow our prejudices to paint only part of the story. In this case it has been aid = something India should be focusing on rather than going to space.

I think an emerging market that we can trade with going to space is good news for jobs here as long as our country's reputation there is strong.

 

[Guinness Boy]

I genuinely don't see the benefit to mankind in going into space.

It depends who's on the rocket. And if they're allowed back again.

 

[Bold Seagull]

I genuinely don't see the benefit to mankind in going into space.

I think you're great great great great.......great grandad said the same thing to Christopher Columbus. "Saluti Chris, si benne...you'll sail right over the edge you know!...".

 

[Nibble]

I think you're great great great great.......great grandad said the same thing to Christopher Columbus. "Saluti Chris, si benne...you'll sail right over the edge you know!...".

i've just never heard a convincing enough argument. If someone were to furnish me with one I'd happily consider it. All seem slike one big pissing contest to me.

 

[turienzo's lovechild]

i've just never heard a convincing enough argument. If someone were to furnish me with one I'd happily consider it. All seem slike one big pissing contest to me.

agreed...it costs an absolute fortune and how does it really benefit us? Let's sort out our own planet first

pissing contest is a good explanation