Did you know….

According to The Times of India:

WASHINGTON: India, with the world’s largest population of poor people living on less than a dollar a day, also paradoxically created millionaires at the fastest pace in the world in 2007 even though the world grew such “high net worth individuals (HNWIs)” at the slowest pace in four years.

Growing them at a blistering pace of 22.7 per cent, India added another 23,000 more millionaires in 2007 to its 2006 tally of 100,000 millionaires measured in dollars, according to an annual Merrill Lynch Cap Gemini report that weighs such financial information for its wealth and asset management purposes

According to OneIndia:

With the explosion of India’s wealthy middle class and air travel growth, there has been a three fold increase in the number of Indian tourists holidaying in Britain over the past ten years.

And the venues, which are responsible for the large turnout, are the Hindu temple in Neasden, Selfridges in Oxford Street and the confectionery section of Fortnum & Mason.

Such is the influx that tourist chiefs now view India as the most important developing market over the next decade ‘ and a strong reason to redefine the shape of British tourism.

Elliott Frisby, a spokesman for VisitBritain, said that the number of Indian visitors had grown by about 170 per cent between 1993 and 2007. ‘In ten years’ time, if the growth rates stay the same, this could be one of our biggest markets,’ Times Online quoted Frisby, as saying.

They’re even so rich that…

India’s taxman is bringing the country’s super-rich down to earth – by seizing their private jets. At least ten luxury aircraft have been impounded by Indian customs officers in the past fortnight and hundreds more are being scrutinised.

Mukesh Ambani, the mogul behind Reliance Industries, India’s largest private company, was among the first to suffer the ignominy of having his wings clipped when officials impounded two of his executive jets.

The brace of seized aircraft included a £30 million Airbus A-319, allegedly bought by Mr Ambani as a birthday present for his wife. Customs officials claim that the jet was imported into India under a scheme that offers tax breaks for aircraft used to ferry ticket-bearing passengers and that Mr Ambani owes import duties of £12 million because it was used exclusively for private trips.

Not forgetting that India gained 19 dollar billionaires last year. It now has 54 – more than Japan for the first time. It has 123,000 dollar millionaires and their ranks are growing faster than anywhere else in the world.

Well, isn’t that great. When you call a helpline, it’s in India. When you buy something, if it hasn’t come from China, it’s probably from India. I’m really happy for them.

Back home, we have crumbling hospitals and economy, sexually transmitted diseases growing at the fastest rate ever; herpes, syphilis, AIDS, chlamydia - it’s all going up, with overworked clinics and no budget for an education campaign. We are taxed to death - and then after death too.

Funding for cancer comes from charitable donations, as do many things.

So where’s the tax going? Well, apart from Iraq and Afghanistan, doesn’t it make you feel all warm and fuzzy to know that…

Gordon Brown has announced a new package of development aid for India, worth £825m over the next three years.

Oh well, at least it won’t be squandered. Yeah, right.

BurningOurMoney has more on this regarding the corrupt CDC:

DfID’s dubious investment quango CDC will be familiar to BOM readers, and now it’s been probed by BBC R4’s File On Four.

Their Aid to Africa post reminds us that

The UK currently spends £1.25bn ANNUALLY in direct aid to Africa, and at least the same again in debt write-offs

And let’s not forget:

very large chunks of the £5bn pa we taxpayers now spend on aid is totally wasted, going mainly to support the international aid industry.

Now, doesn’t that make you feel better next time Gordon starts grubbing around your pocket again?

Categories: Politics