Nobel laureate wants India to cut military spending

[Nishan_101]

Then go and spend buy 200+ Rafaels and remaining Mirage-2000s from France which is really the only thing that PAF cares to take off from Skies....

 

[Omega007]

Then go and spend buy 200+ Rafaels and remaining Mirage-2000s from France which is really the only thing that PAF cares to take off from Skies....

Well I sure hell have never seen such delusional lot like you Pakistanis,I give you that.In the meanwhile,enjoy your wet dreams.

 

[Nishan_101]

French Air Force - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

About 150...Hmmm....

 

[he-man]

lol me too.....
But now I will bash this guy...he has no Idea what he is saying.

Seriously,he needs to be spanked to come back to reality

 

[livingdead]

costa rica is a miracle country.... and we are not. I was reading their history on lonely planet the other day, its quite extraordinary.

 

[Shardul.....the lion]

where i coasta rica...


and yes I also thought it would be Nobel laureate Sen babu

 

[seven7seven]

India spends only around 2% of its GDP on defense.... less than many other countries.

India`s spending on social issues like anti poverty measures are higher than almost every other country in the world (And thats only including the spending of the central government!)

I wish people would stop stating defence expenditure as a percentage of GDP. GDP is the total economic output of a nation but that is totally different to what the Government gets in revenue to spend. Indian GDP might be about $1.8 trillion but Government only gets about $172 billion of that to spend. So spending $37 billion of that every year, on the military, is a huge deal as it is about 21.5% of the public purse, not to mention that India is running over 5% annual deficit and public debt of about 68% of GDP. Oscar Arias Sanchez is absolutely right in saying countries like India need to spend less on military and more in developing its economy. Greater military power comes as an extension of a mightier economy. If your Government doesn't realise this by now, then India development will be greatly hindered, if not regress altogether.

 

[Koovie]

I wish people would stop stating defence expenditure as a percentage of GDP. GDP is the total economic output of a nation but that is totally different to what the Government gets in revenue to spend. Indian GDP might be about $1.8 trillion but Government only gets about $172 billion of that to spend. So spending $37 billion of that every year, on the military, is a huge deal as it is about 21.5% of the public purse, not to mention that India is running over 5% annual deficit and public debt of about 68% of GDP. Oscar Arias Sanchez is absolutely right in saying countries like India need to spend less on military and more in developing its economy. Greater military power comes as an extension of a mightier economy. If your Government doesn't realise this by now, then India development will be greatly hindered, if not regress altogether.

The 2013 Union Budget was at 280 billion USD and that is for the central government alone. The states have great autonomy over issues like education and healthcare. The huge differences in the HDI`s of the Indian states are a testimony to this which range from high levels comparable to industrialized nations to levels fond in Sub Saharan Africa.

Besides, the GOI`s anti poverty measures are the biggest in the world in terms of money and are lifting millions out of poverty each year.... (Does not mean that I am for such socialist nonsense).

Sure, there are still problems, but more money is not going to fix those.... corruption and bureaucracy are preventing that the insane amounts of many reach each and every problem.

And more importantly, there cannot be development if there is no security. India`s coastal areas are vital to our economy (most of the trade is maritime) and need to be protected. The sea is also a weakspot in the security network, as the 26/11 attacks proved.

The Indian military has always done its job in protecting the nation (unlike in many neighboring nations where it sometimes even stole the ruling power from the people) and it is also thanks to the armed forces that all the development could take place!.

So this Nobel Prize winner, whatever his name was, should rather inform himself more about the facts before speaking.... and frankly, most Indians who get to know or care about his statement are on PDF anyways....

 

[seven7seven]

The 2013 Union Budget was at 280 billion USD and that is for the central government alone. The states have great autonomy over issues like education and healthcare. The huge differences in the HDI`s of the Indian states are a testimony to this which range from high levels comparable to industrialized nations to levels fond in Sub Saharan Africa.

Besides, the GOI`s anti poverty measures are the biggest in the world in terms of money and are lifting millions out of poverty each year.... (Does not mean that I am for such socialist nonsense).

Sure, there are still problems, but more money is not going to fix those.... corruption and bureaucracy are preventing that the insane amounts of many reach each and every problem.

And more importantly, there cannot be development if there is no security. India`s coastal areas are vital to our economy (most of the trade is maritime) and need to be protected. The sea is also a weakspot in the security network, as the 26/11 attacks proved.

The Indian military has always done its job in protecting the nation (unlike in many neighboring nations where it sometimes even stole the ruling power from the people) and it is also thanks to the armed forces that all the development could take place!.

So this Nobel Prize winner, whatever his name was, should rather inform himself more about the facts before speaking.... and frankly, most Indians who get to know or care about his statement are on PDF anyways....

That $280 billion Union Budget is expenditure and not revenue, which is about $172 billion, so no wonder India is running a huge public debt of about 68% of GDP. And $280 billion is for the whole of India, hence why it's called the Union Budget. Any which way you want to put it, India spends a lot on the military compared to what it actually earns. When you have countless infrastructure projects stall because your Government has ran out of money, then cutting a bit off the huge military budget is a reasonable ask. Nobody is saying that India should completely forsake defence, but India needs to take more farsighted measures to hasten its development. New jets and ships might make people feel safer but in reality, India is in no imminent danger of being invaded or being wiped off the face of the Earth by anybody, even by China. Instead of antagonising your big neighbour, learn from how they developed and invest, at all costs, in infrastructure.

 

[Koovie]

That $280 billion Union Budget is expenditure and not revenue, which is about $172 billion, so no wonder India is running a huge public debt of about 68% of GDP. And $280 billion is for the whole of India, hence why it's called the Union Budget. Any which way you want to put it, India spends a lot on the military compared to what it actually earns. When you have countless infrastructure projects stall because your Government has ran out of money, then cutting a bit off the huge military budget is a reasonable ask. Nobody is saying that India should completely forsake defence, but India needs to take more farsighted measures to hasten its development. New jets and ships might make people feel safer but in reality, India is in no imminent danger of being invaded or being wiped off the face of the Earth by anybody, even by China. Instead of antagonising your big neighbour, learn from how they developed and invest, at all costs, in infrastructure.

I agree, that spending on infrastructure needs to be increased, but at the cost of security? No. Saying that India (which lies in one of the most dangerous geographical areas in the world) has no immediate threat is either crazy or completely arrogant. Mishaps like 26/11 and countless other incursions from outside could have been prevented with more surveillance. And as I said earlier, safe borders and especially safe sea routes are absolutely vital for India`s economy and development.
India`s land and sea borders are huge, very huge and the potential dangers from state and non state actors are real as the past has shown it.... and at the expense of many lives of innocent people and as well as our men in uniform.
And besides, I personally prefer that the men and women who are responsible to defend my homeland are equipped with the best they can have to do their job, which they have been doing well for over six decades now.

Yes, we need even more investments into infrastructure, but hurting the defense preparedness is not an answer.... instead the GOI needs to create a more business friendly environment and needs to stop wasting money on socials BS like the recent food security acts.... Those 20 billion UDS alone could have been used much more efficiently in the infrastructure sector as a long term investment.

 

[Hashshāshīn]

But Costa Rica is blessed with good neighbours and dont know about terrorism.Oscar Arias Sanchez is a good man .But he dont know about the sheer complexity of problems India facing now form external threats

Costa Rica blessed with good neighbours? hahaha shows how much you know. Costa Rica is one of the biggest drug trade corridors in the world.

 

[SrNair]

Costa Rica blessed with good neighbours? hahaha shows how much you know. Costa Rica is one of the biggest drug trade corridors in the world.

Thank God .They dont need to worry about cross border infiltration and terrorism.

 

[Hashshāshīn]

Thank God .They dont need to worry about cross border infiltration and terrorism.

Drug cartels are 10x worse than terrorists you deal with.

Mexican drug cartel leaves 10 severed heads in the street as warning to rivals a week before Pope's visit | Mail Online Just one example.

"In 2010, 26-year-old Hugo Hernandez was kidnapped from Sonora. His corpse was found in the city of Los Mochis about a week later. It had been chopped to pieces, but in a turn suited to Freddy Krueger’s playbook, Hernandez’s face had actually been skinned off and stitched onto a soccer ball. There was a note with the body that read “Happy New Years, because this will be your last.”"

 

[SrNair]

Drug cartels are 10x worse than terrorists you deal with.

Mexican drug cartel leaves 10 severed heads in the street as warning to rivals a week before Pope's visit | Mail Online Just one example.

Drug Cartels do their dirty job for money not for sectarian conflict.And only thing govt needed is shoot at sight wherever they appears .It is all about money .But terrorists that cross in to India is a grave threat to our national security and social fabrics and society.Drug cartels dont care about religion and society( core part of a nation stability).

 

[Hashshāshīn]

Drug Cartels do their dirty job for money not for sectarian conflict.And only thing govt needed is shoot at sight wherever they appears .It is all about money .But terrorists that cross in to India is a grave threat to our national security and social fabrics and society.Drug cartels dont care about religion and society( core part of a nation stability).

The people who get killed, do they give a shit about what the motive was? no they're dead. Because they don't care about religion, makes it ok to kill people?

Fact is, drug cartels do the worst kind of painful torture and make it last days to make victims suffer. The terrorists over your area blow you up, a quick death you won't even know. Which one would you take?