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print versionOn the occasion of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s recent state visit to France (GDP per capita, $42,000) it was announced that India (GDP per capita, $6,000) would purchase 36 “ready to fly†Rafale fighter jets from French aerospace behemoth Dassault Aviation. Great news for France! This brings in revenue and creates lots of jobs. This is especially so as there have been difficulties getting customers; so far, until PM Modi’s proposed purchase, the only sale had been to Egyptian military dictator Abdel Fattah al-Sisi.
The implications for India, however, are depressing: one more vivid illustration of misguided policies at the expense of the poor. 960 million Indians live on less than $2 a day. Reading the data is one thing; seeing the consequences, as I did recently driving through the slums on the outskirts of Jaipur, is heart-wrenching. Their plight could not be worse. Rafale jet fighters are about the last thing they need!
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