Read this and tell me if India is a poor country!

A Financial Times report:

New Delhi considers an $11bn deal to buy 126 multi-role combat fighter jets to rearm India’s out-of-date air force and boost defence capabilities against Pakistan and China.
Lockheed Martin and Boeing are among six foreign companies competing for the sale.
India is one of the world’s largest arms bazaars with a military budget of Rs1,420bn ($32bn). Mr Obama’s visit will be followed this year by those of Nicolas Sarkozy, France’s president, and Demetri Medvedev, Russia’s prime minister. Both would like to supply India.

 Hey, that is a lot of rupees to throw around, right?  So, rich country or poor country?

Warmaking is an industry with no recession, and knows no poor country, eh :(

The global military industrial complex

The Daily Chart section at the Economist has become one of my favorites. I have blogged some of them before: like this one on maternity leave, or on organic farming being bad for the poor.

The one on arms exports is a nasty reminder that the world spends billions on a horrible wasteful item. And, "JUST five countries supplied 80% of global arms exports between 2003 and 2007". Of course, the US leads the pack :-(