What’s even more shameful is that the United States government is willing to hand over $98.3 million in aid this year alone.

The Mars Orbiter Mission successfully took off at 09:08 GMT today from the Satish Dhawan Space center on the east coast of India. If it goes into orbit around the red planet, India will become the fourth space agency to have a craft orbiting Mars.

From the BBC:

Some commentators have wondered whether India should be spending $72m (£45m) on a scientific mission when the country has one of the highest rankings for childhood malnutrition in the world.

But those who defend such projects say the MOM is comparatively cheap and that the technological development required to mount this mission could indirectly benefit the country’s other activities.

Nisha Agrawal, chief executive of Oxfam in India, told the BBC: “India is home to poor people, but it’s also an emerging economy, it’s a middle-income country, it’s a member of the G20. What is hard for people to get their head around is that we are home to poverty but also a global power.

“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.”

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