Brown announces India aid package

Gordon Brown has announced a new package of development aid for India, worth £825m over the next three years.

BBC


Why exactly are we spending this much money on aid to India when it is one of the fastest growing economies in that region? given the way in which their economy is growing can't they stand on their own feet by now? and given that our own economy is bordering on recession wouldn't this money be better off spent at home?

it's probably bribing them to spend money over here and letting us invest in India.

But unlike China, poverty is extremely high in India. Believe it or not, India is the highest receiver of British foreign aid.

To be fair, we kinda do need that £825 million.

[edit on 20-1-2008 by infinite]

reply to post by solidshot


great news

I mean its not like 825+ Million isnt needed in the UK
screw putting more money into the NHS, Schools and public sectors.
as long as we are cosey with the future super powers its all good.

fudging brown

The UK Government will get this back (and more) through taxes of British companies which invest in India, I imagine. The Indian economy is growing, and now is the time to get a stake in it before it doesn't need this sort of aid. A long term, more cynical approach is required!

reply to post by Ste2652


Yep I'm with Ste on this one...

Short term pain for long term pain.

Or words to that effect.

And that 825Mil is just the council tax from Bradford anyway, Indians paying for Indains.

Seems like a nice deal... for India that is.

MonKey

Bardford is predominantly Pakistani not Indian. This is most likely a "scrach your and mine" situation.

reply to post by Pendu


Exactly. We already know Brown was interested in cementing economic ties with China... he'll be doing the same with India so Britain can play both sides of the game and with either way (since India and China are rivals already... as their power grows, their rivalry will also increase). The deal was sweetened with the £825million but I expect that British companies will be looked upon favourably when they come to invest in India in the future. That's probably why the entourage of prominent business owners went along with him (including Richard Branson, the owner of Virgin, and Peter Jones of Dragon's Den fame).

Besides which, we could do with a few more allies around the world too

[edit on 21/1/08 by Ste2652]

infinite point is very valid. Many people in India live on or below the accepted bread line.

And lets not forget that India was a key element of the British empire for many years so in some repects we still have obligation.

I do hear the point about the power of the Indian economy, and remember that British Steel is now owned by Tata, and maybe in the future they will own Jaguar and LandRover. And just how many jobs have been exported to India?

In balance, as some posted have mentioned, this is a short term pain and the benefits longer could be many times what we invest in India.

How much help does India really need ? Abovetopsecret.com member MikeSingh has posted a topic talking about India being the number one defencive power. That topic can be found here. So my question is, how can you get to that level of power and still be getting aid ? Should they not prioritize there money instead of putting alot into military and still accept aid.

Dorian Gray

reply to post by Dorian Gray


It's a show of force... an illusion, quite possibly. Usually nations that put on these huge marches have a number of weaknesses and use these events to make it appear as if they're stronger than they actually are - they know full well that both their own citizens and the rest of the world will see images and videos of the event, so it's a kind of a propaganda victory. It deters others from attacking. I suspect this was directed primarily against China. The Indian military itself, although large, is not especially powerful compared to the US, Britain or France for example.

The real test comes not when proving that you can march in a straight line but whether your military can do what you want it to do (primarily defend your nation and, in some cases, invade others too).

Interesting points, though - a lot of these developing nations would be far better off if they slashed defence budgets and invested in developing their healthcare, education and economy.

So does that mean that Leeds and Bradford are about to receive a huge stimulus package?

If so, bravo says I.