We want a long-term solution because we care.

' The road to hell is paved with good intentions ' or ' hell is full of good wishes or desires '. There are lots of people with good intentions, who work hard to help others, but are they really doing any good? To question, or doubt, the efficacy of their work will invite instant scorn and accusations of being selfish and heartless. A long article tries to make a case for diversifying policies for the poor. " A staggering 75% of rural households have monthly income of less than Rs 5,000 and around 38% of rural households are landless and dependent on manual casual labour as their main source of income," says the article. As per the last census 833 million people live in rural areas, so 75% of that is a staggering 633 million people, that is more than half the population of the whole of the African continent, or 27 countries combined. " The figures show that the multiple social protection programmes implemented by successive governments, such as the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Guarantee Act and National Rural Livelihoods Mission, have been unable to reach the extreme poor." So, stop these useless waste of money? Good heavens, no. Instead the authors recommend " a productive asset such as livestock or supplies for petty trade, technical skills training, savings support, temporary cash or in-kind support to tide over immediate consumption needs and regular mentoring and coaching over 18-24 months..." A long list at a huge cost. A lot of people will be required to identify such people, give them training, supervise the distribution of "temporary cash", mentoring and coaching and all these mentors and coaches will presumably get nice fat salaries. We get the picture. Apparently, " the ministry of rural development has recently incorporated this evidence into the design of a newly proposed scheme, tentatively named the Grameen Swarozgar Yojana." Of course, they have. Politicians have to win elections and 633 million make a huge vote bank. Besides it does not cost the politicians anything because they are throwing taxpayer money. Inflation is an ever-present danger in India, as the figures for June show. Increased fiscal spending by the government will raise inflation, current account deficit will rise and the rupee will fall, as happened in 2013. We are not immune to the suffering of the poor but we have a right to know why 6 decades of handouts have not reduced their misery. When is India going to become a wealthy nation so that unproductive handouts come to an end? We are moved by tear-jerker articles but would politely like to know why people who have no food nevertheless have so many children. What is the economic benefit? Do they get greater subsidies depending on the number of children or do they use them as collateral to borrow money from local lenders? Unless we have proper answers there can be no remedy. Sadly, there is too much money to be made from altruism so there is little interest in long-term solutions. Truth.