Didnt Modi say “it was a great day for humanity”?
Yes, he’s a bastard.
It’s simply a crime against his people, whilst the UK (and others) give aid and they build a space programme.
Let’s face it: we live in a sick world where greed is king.
Have you see poverty in India first hand? The naked children living in makeshift tents beside the railway lines? Modi should address the caste system and the endemic poverty before he struts upon the World stage IMO.
I was just chatting with my wife about that today. The sixties and seventies weren’t the same, When I started work I wasn’t that bothered about “making money”. I wanted to “get on” and be fairly paid but it wasn’t my raison d’etre. I guess Thatcher and the greed is good era changed all that. Luckily neither my daughter nor her husband are fixated with money. They have good jobs and are comfortably off but not as acquisitive as I’ve seen some of the younger folk in organisations to be. Peer pressure and social media play a part I guess.
This is sickening. I have seen the poverty in India myself and it’s heartbreaking. I took a train from Delhi to Agra and I will never forget the desperate people begging at those stations. I think that was the worst 
I know exactly what you mean.
For me it was watching the poorest clambering over landfills for scraps. Same in Africa.
What is achieved by putting a lump of metal on the dark side of the moon, other than prop up a few egos of those in a a closed and useless clique.
I was a regular visitor to the Indian sub- continent in the 70s in the MN. I’ve no idea if things have changed much but it was a desperate thing to see such poverty. No consolation but Bangladesh and Burma were even worse than India.
I think it’s obscene money is being invested in the Indian space project when such poverty is the norm for the majority of the 1.4 billion Indians.
India is trying to tech it’s way out of poverty, and to an extent is succeeding. That doesn’t mean that they don’t have some dreadful situations there now, of course, and this doesn’t make that OK.
Lets not forget one of the reasons for giving aid is to promote trade deals.
Cynical ?
I’ve never really understood why the UK gives aid to countries with a layer of worldbeating wealth in that country that’s not shared with the layers in that country that have nothing.
These days having seen what Tata is getting away with in the UK, and having worked some time in energy/natural resources I suspect ‘aid’ is where some of the FCO’s budget is booked and that payments and contracts booked as ‘aid’
‘faciitate’ all sorts of ‘access’
Quite correct Andy.
Sweeteners = Business
Makes me so cross with the poverty and the middle ages way of doing things when all that money could have been spent on those people to bring their standard of living into the 21st century. On a lighter note, just got sent a photo of a typical indian corner shop as you would see in the UK, surrounded outside by stands of fruit and veg and open all hours, sited on the moon with the earth in the distance!
An Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office spokesperson said: “Since 2015 the UK has given no financial aid to the government of India. Most of our funding now is focused on business investments which help create new markets and jobs for the UK, as well as India. UK investments are also helping tackle shared challenges such as climate change.”
We decided a few years ago that we would never visit India again - the main reason being the way all the better off people (incl. politicians) treat the poor very badly - from casual insults, discrimination at work, outright corruption, and of course that caste system is beyond belief. Modhi and the BJP party have just made the whole thing worse and are on track to make India a non-secular state (for hindus, of course) and undemocratic. The tech led riches do not filter down to the ones that need it most.
It’s all a bit sad…
Yes, the Indian corporate (including MNCs there) modus operandi seems to be kick the arse of those reporting to you and lick the arse of those you report to. In response, I’ve kicked s few Brahmin arses in my time. They make Tories look caring 