Gujarat Government  is to buy an Rs 100 crore jet for CM Anandiben. Government of India is also to give 4500 Crore for Bhutan development. sr Shouldn't the 4500 crore be spent elsewhere?

Well I'm not sure about the 100 cr. on a plane but i'm sure there must be some sound math behind it and they would break even at some point . The OP would be the same person to complain if she traveled by car and stopped traffic to let her convoy pass. if she can't take a plane and she can't use the road do you want her to magically appear to her destination ? About Bhutan , Bhutan along with Russia is the only ally we have that has stuck with us through thick and thin and who has never turned its back on us India is opening a hydro plant in Bhutan which will be beneficial to Bhutan Nearly 95% of all Bhutan trade is with India This is aid not a freebie we will be repaid in cash/kind We sponsor Afghanistan too This is purely for development purposes Do you think we are beggars? its 4500 Cr. if we can't afford that much aid i don't think we should even dream of being in the top 10 let alone a super power I would encourage giving aids to more such countries at it helps in India's growth story , foreign relations ,goodwill ,power and development

1. It seems the aircraft they were using was facing technical issues, was decades old and was not used in favour of renting private jets which was costing the taxpayer in crores annually. To buy a new aircraft is the next step. Also no money had been spent yet and these are state funds, not national. 2. We are also heavily investing in Afghanistan infrastructure and development. Why? Because diplomatically this is the best thing to do. Bhutan acts as a buffer between us and China and developing Bhutan makes us a happy neighbor and gives a strong middle ground for our forces to be stationed. A similar operation is going on in Afghanistan where making allies of them means Pakistan is boxed in and their terrorists don't start breeding there too. People are way too butthurt about the price hike. The railways, despite being the largest network in the world, is the lossiest government project. Losses have to compensated somehow. Be happy the freight hike is only 6%. Some hard steps have to be taken and the last government was too gutless to take any such moves.

India also gives billions of US$ to Afghanistan. India is big enough a regional power and a player of importance to be able to walk, talk and chew gum at the same time. It is childish to think we should stop eating food because we have school fees to pay. As long as the focus is on development and getting the economy moving, I don't care where money gets spent if it results in even marginally better efficiencies, as long as the big focus is in moving forward. This austerity mentality can only take us so far.  We cannot save our way to becoming a wealthy country.  We have to spend, build, develop, grow, in all aspects. The Indian Railways is not on life support because of giving 4500 Crore rupees to Bhutan.  It is in bad shape because it was not run properly, efficiently, or profitably. Just cutting out freebies will save the government thousands of crores.  Putting people to work is the most important thing.  Modi doesn't think of the world as a scarce place.  He doesn't skimp on important things, even if is a matter of image.  I like this attitude, because India's infrastructure and assets of geo political influence are not yet in place.  Over the next few years, we should be spending a whole lot more on the things that will stand the test of time. We should really not scoff at a mentality of abundance.  Modi is no fool.  He will get value for whatever he oversees spending on. PS: Purely as for the cost of the plane, it's much cheaper than the helicopters that were meant for VVIPs!  Cost of each helicopter in that case - well over 300 Cr. rupees! http://backwardindia.blogspot.in/2012/10/may-all-these-vvip-helicopters-crash.html EDIT: From some responses, it appears like many Indians are still living under the illusion that planes are a luxury, and absolutely wasteful. To move a VIP (like the Chief Minister of a state) from one place to another on the ground is an incredibly expensive affair, given the arrangements that have to be made in terms of security apparatus, traffic management, and all this takes enormous human resources.  To move a hundred police jeeps can be hugely more expensive than a small jet taking to the air. We have also seen when VIPs want to use commercial airlines, there are very often a coterie of assistants and others that need to travel, and very often they clog up the system with requested delays and what not, in case they have time based emergencies.  Any day I'd be happy to release our VIPs from ever having to cross paths with the average citizen, and all the damn delays on the roads due to blocks etc., that have cost us dearly for many years.  Each citizen of India is productive and that should also be accounted for. Let's speed up and free up the movement of all citizens, including VIPs so that we get more productive, and much more efficient.  The faster options are almost always the more economical when dealing with VIPs.