For people who cannot think beyond money, food, Bollywood movies, cricket and shopping, for them it might probably be a waste of money. educated people who indulge in all the above are mainly the ones who keep talking about poor our country is but when they have to a bunch of coriander for mere rs. 10, they will drive a hard bargain to get it for rs. 8. But when they visit a sleek and jazzy mall or multiplex religiously each weekend, they do not hesitate to shell out minimum rs. 300 per head (snakes and coke included) for a disgustingly made Hindi movie! But when you tell the poor people you meet such as the vegetable sellers or the woman who comes to in your house about the rockets out country sent in space, I have seen their eyes lit up with pride. It is not missions such as these that need to be stopped to eradicate poverty but put a stop somewhere to the Bollywood madness or if not that, then at least throw all corrupt politicians and bureaucrats in the dungeons.! Mars mission and more such are needed for our country, not just to put us on the world map, but also for everyone of us to see that, that is the future we must head towards and leave behind all the religious lunacy that is currently going on!
I think the spending on our space research is worth it. I would simply refer to a report in the press today which is of utmost importance to all especially those who love to wear blinkers!!! All you know how China reacted to the launch of Mars Mission. In fact it ridiculed our honorable scientists efforts citing India's poverty - the same line of argument of some native critics out of sheer jealousy as her own Mars space program went haywire within a matter of a few hours. Today I find the same country expressing the desire to have cooperation with India in this field!! And what about the timing of it, after our brilliant space scientists successfully performed the most critical act of sending the spacecraft on its way to the Martian orbit!!! Not before that!!
And about the concrete benefits which I alluded to in my earlier post, let us consider the tremendous progress which could not have been made possible without our space program. Right from the lives of our fishermen to ATM users!! ISRO's contribution to the nation has been truly phenomenal. You talk about any field, defense, industry and our day to day lives, you would find their inconspicuous presence. Some naysayers might yet argue what was the use of undertaking this Mission, I would just say that it would help us in testing our technological capabilities and in India's case it is all the more creditable as we have made it to a substantial degree with indigenous soft and hardware, giving quite a good number of private industries to achieve technical and technological standards. In future ISRO might be not only financially self-supporting, it would contribute substantially to the exchequer by partnering with other countries.