India: Where life and death come cheap

 I read that 15,000 people die each year just crossing railway tracks (1). As the article says, its a bloody massacre out there, and not much seems to be done about it.

I compared it to a few countries, it turns out that India loses 5 times more people crossing railway tracks than all cause mortality in the entire country of Qatar.

How difficult can it be to make sure this number decreases? How much should the Government do?

Now, 15000 people dead every year doesn't seem a big number for the Government. Though human life is invaluable, I thought let's put a dollar value on it, so that it looks like a bigger deal to the government.

I did the following calculations:

Median age of India: 26.2 years
Life expectancy of India: 67.14 years

Now assuming each person follows the mean:
We're losing 6,14,100 life - years every year (with 15,000 deaths)

Using current data for per person productivity, this translates to:
Average per capita income (PPP): $3,700 per year

Total productivity loss: $2,272,170,000
That is Rs.113,608,500,000 PER YEAR. 

This is considering only productivity loss, but human life has more value than just the amount it is expected to generate every year. This number is substantially low as working population travels around most, and if one incorporates this, the number will be even higher. But I didn't have that data.

So dear Government, we lose more people crossing railway tracks than due to wars and terrorism, and the value of this loss is at least Rs.113.6 billion per year. A good enough reason to do something?

Hum aapke ghulam.

So the Government plans making MBBS 6 and a 1/2 years.

I don't blame them for their incompetence. I blame myself. And I blame you.

WE elected someone who thinks homosexuality is a disease, and the best way to bring down the birth rate is by bringing in TVs in rural India. And better still, WE made him health minister.

So now when he messes with our lives, WE are to blame.

Thank you Ghulam Nabi Azad. Please do remember next time, your policies should bring DOWN the doctor - patient ratio. Just like we should bring down your government in the next elections. And elect who instead? BJP? Ah - crap!