All the newspapers, TV news channels and web are filled with the news of India’s successful launch of the unmanned spacecraft to moon.Chandrayaan as it is popularly called, is India’s first moon mission. Great. I applaud for our intelligent Indian scientists who have worked very hard for this mission. But I have some other views on this achievement. Do you know that about $80 mn have been invested in this project. And i frankly did not understand the need for such a mission. On one side, our government is facing the problem of poverty and on the other end they are spending millions for some sort of an experiment. And why? Just to register in a selected international club including the United States, Russia, the European Space Agency, Japan and China. Even this mission will give no direct benefits, only intangible benefits; that too, after over 2 years. If all goes well then the spacecraft will enter the moon’s orbit in 15 days, and spend the next two years studying the moon’s surface for evidence of water and precious metals. Why do we need to care for that? There are other countries who can do it.
I feel instead of spending so much money on such experiments, it would be better if the government could help those who were caught in the Bihar floods, or the bomb blasts all over the country. My advise to the government is please invest money in some direct benefiting plans as they are the need of the hour. If we do it, we will progress and then there would be other people/countries who would like to fund such experiments for India. And still if the government feels the need to experiment, then please do it in such an area which nobody has explored so far. That would have far reaching effects and establish our brand. I bet we have enough talent in this country; we just need to be innovative, patient and most importantly LET US STOP COPYING THE WEST.
3 comments:
Infrastructure (bijli-sadak-pani) for society comes from industrialization, not from sitting around on the haunches waiting for a govt handout. It is the hostility to industry by anti-business politicians and activists which has left uneducated Indians deprived of employment and opportunities for self-betterment. Even if the govt's coffers were ten times larger than they are, they would not be able to overcome the obstructionism of the political left.
Therefore, in these circumstances, I am in favour of seeing survival-of-the-fittest. Those who have the good sense to embrace pro-business policies will naturally benefit from their stance in the form of the employment and prosperity generated for them. And those who are too stupid to overcome their paranoia against industrialization can reap the bitter fruits of their folly. Ultimately, the pain of deprivation will force them to look in the mirror and realize error of their ways.
Hopefully, Mamta will suffer a resounding political defeat in the next elections, which can serve as a stark warning to other reckless politicians like her. And if she doesn't suffer defeat, then let the districts which keep her in power then suffer the pain of self-inflicted deprivation. Ultimately, that pain will wisen them up, and force them to mend their ways.
While it is true that we need to work on poverty, infrastructure etc., we also need to work on scientific projects. Remember, without any scientific improvement, the human race cannot survive/move forward. The internet that we use to communicate our views is a result of science.
Remember that the $80 million spent on this project was not billed to the tax payers, it was earned from launching satellites for other countries.
Moreover, Indian goverment has already allocated lot of money (including free electricity, subsidized food etc) for people below poverty line. But it doesn't reach them because of corruption. I think any improvement should start first with eradicating corruption. But if wait until that happens to start working on our science projects, we'll not be able to achieve anything.
Thanks,
Wood Head
www.vaandun.blogspot.com
Furthermore, the total cost of this lunar mission was $79M USD, which is about 1/3 the price of a 747 jumbo jet, so many of which take off and land at Indian airports everyday - and have been doing so for decades now. Why are people waking up just to crib and whine over this now, if they've not been disturbed by the more costly airliners flying over their heads for decades? And even then this total mission cost has been spread out over 10 years - so $8M per year. That's less than the annual salary of one of these bollywood bigwigs. Come on now, don't tell me you have to raid the coffers of science organizations, because you don't know where to find money for the poor. How about making one less bollywood film per year, out of the countless junk films that get made, and instead giving that money to the poor?
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