Overseas aid - is it worth it?

The UK sends £500 million a year in aid - enough to employ over 16000 nurses in the UK - to India each year, reports Harris & Co Accountants Northampton. India has the tenth largest economy in the world. Apart from humanitarian issues, one of the "benefits" to the UK of this aid is supposed to be more trade. However, just ahead of David Cameron"s trade mission to India this week, new figures show that India buys more goods and services from Belgium than it does from the UK!