Yesterday the UK aid minister said that we must continue sending aid to India as it had more people in poverty than is sub-Saharan Africa. He pointed out that in some areas, women were giving birth on dirt floors in what were supposed to be maternity clinics and that some of our aid money went to alleviate this. The interviewer conveniently forgot to ask the minister why this is not then the responsibility of the Indian gov't which sees little wrong in financing a space programme costing almost £1 billion. There are also a large number of millionaires in India and I see that Rolls Royce are doing a roaring trade selling their latest models over there. Charity certainly does begin at home and I think it's about time that the great and the good of India realised this. I suspect that the Dept for Overseas Development don't want to pull out of India because they can still fly out there at taxpayers expense (usually business class) to attend the odd junket and dispense largesse rather than sit on their arses getting bored in Whitehall.