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The assertions by some on here that the foreign aid that we have historically sent to India was not used to partly fund its space programme are either naive or being deliberately disingenuous. For many decades the U.K. was one of India's most generous donors and has pumped billions into its economy and if anyone thinks that none of this money was used to fund space exploration they are either deluded, or stupid. Which I am sure none of them are ...I believe the U.K.has now greatly reduced the amount financial aid and has diverted funding into projects that benefit the population directly, which is far better than throwing money at a government that consistently fails to look after its poor.This BBC report from 2015 may be old but it is still relevant:For many years India was the biggest recipient of British overseas aid.  Not any more.  Britain will be ending bilateral aid to India by the end of this year.  The official line is that India's "rapid growth and development progress in the last decade" has made British aid unnecessary, although some "technical assistance" will continue.The focus now, says the Department for International Development (Dfid) a trifle glibly, is trade, not aid. More billionaires than Britain.The decision to end aid is a triumph for a group of largely Conservative MPs who have been arguing for some time that giving money to India can't be justified when spending at home is being cut so dramatically.Why should British taxpayers be paying for poverty relief in a country which has just sent a mission to Mars, which boasts more billionaires than Britain and itself hands out hundreds of millions of pounds a year to needy nations?https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-india-34398449

Sue Hammond ● 50d