Triumph or trouble with a mission to mars?

India's Mars orbiter was launched on the 5th

November 2013

MANGALYAAN - MARS ORBITER

The 10 countries that spend the most on space exploration (2013) 1. U.S.A. – $18 billion2. Russia – $5.6 billion

3. European Space Agency – $5.3 billion

4. France – $2.8 billion5. Japan – $ 2.5 billion6. Germany – $2 billion7. India – $1.3 billion8. China – $1.3 billion

9. Italy– $2.8 billion

10. Iran – $500 million

Mangalyaan’s mission to Mars cost India seventy-three million dollars.

The Mangalyaan launch has revived a well-worn debate that has long

surrounded India’s space program: Should a country that struggles to

adequately feed so many of its people be spending money on missions to

Mars?

Mangalyaan’s seventy-three-million-dollar budget is insignificant

compared to the twenty billion dollars that India will spend this year to

provide subsidized food to two out of every three of its citizens, or the $5.3

billion that will be spent this year on a rural employment plan.

0.09% of GDP on space spending

1.2% on public health

India's spending in % of GDP is comparable with that of more

developed countries, however it's spending on population welfare is

much lower

India shining?A third of the world’s poorest people live

in India

India is spending $72m (£45m) on a scientific mission when the country has

one of the highest rankings for childhood malnutrition in the world.

Since 2007 India has been the world's largest recipient of recorded remittances from abroad. In 2010 these inflows were

worth $54bn (£35bn).

UN data shows that a third of malnourished children worldwide are

found In India.

The project is unlikely to provide any immediate benefits to the nation. It is more likely to be a showcase of India's

might and pride, if it succeeds to fulfil its objective.

Mangalyaan on its way to Mars

OR Flight of fancy?India is not the only emerging

economy with space ambitions.

Foreign aid from all sources amounted to only 0.4 per cent of

India’s gross domestic product. From its own resources, the Indian

government has more than doubled spending on health and education

since 2003.

Development partnerships are now about trade not aid.

Technology used in the space program has resulted in economic

spinoffs in other areas of the country.

Space exploration represents a very small fraction of the country’s GDP as

is the case for developed nations

Onlookers at the launch

"We are not really one country but two in one. And we need to do both things: contribute to global knowledge as well as take care of poor people at home."- CEO Oxfam in India, Nisha Agrawal

“remarkable indifference to the dignity of the poor.”- Social activist, Harsh Mander

"Even a poor person, when he learns that my country is sending a mission to another planet, he will feel a sense of pride for his country, and he will want to make it a better place." -Raghu Kalra of the Amateur Astronomers Association Delhi.

Roti or rocket?

"seems to be part of the Indian elite's delusional quest for superpowerstatus" - economist-activist, Jean Dreze

"Going to space might have some scientific benefits but it alone will not help the condition of India's poor." - welfare activist, Bindeshwar Pathak

"Capturing and igniting the young minds of India and across the globe will be the major return from this mission." - mission director, P. Kunhikrishnan

WHAT INDIA GAINS FROM SPACE?

Innovation towards greater

prosperity

Direct returns from the sale of data, and future

investment

Meteorology, telecommunications,

disaster management

Should poverty be an excuse to

postpone achievements?

Global Advancement

Growth Technological Benefits

Achievement and pride

Fosters communication and investment

Social cohesion Display of Strength

A low cost mission

India's place on the world stage

Foreign direct Investment

National pride in a project

Part of India's competition with

China

Compared to other countries, India's is ingeniously low

price

Enhances India's global

image