[comrade_ogilvy]

It is true that the cost may well be less than sending a check to some American farmers to ship over rice, because the monies circulate locally.

But ultimately that money could have built a big dam, or a few beautiful bridges, or a small power plant in a country with lots of power outages.

I personally think it is money well spent, because it heralds the arrival of India to the world of first class satellite launching, by doing something Russia failed at the first few attempts. But that payoff is over the long term.

[jlgreco]

What bridge or power plants programs have been defunded because of the IRSO?

The reason the IRSO is able to accomplish so much is because it is so efficient and damn good at what it does. The reason why other agencies and organizations in India have such a hard time keeping bridges safe or the lights on is because they are massively inefficient in comparison. These other programs, given the IRSOs budget, would have accomplished approximately "fuck all" more than they did without it. The IRSO should not be punished for the failings of other aspects of the Indian government.

[dopkew]

It is ISRO: Indian Space Research Organisation

[kamaal]

>>But ultimately that money could have built a big dam, or a few beautiful bridges, or a small power plant in a country with lots of power outages.

Why can't they be in parallel?

And this is some what unfair to the people at ISRO. India spends a great deal of money on infrastructure too, bulk of that money is either stolen brazenly or sunk to corruption.