INDIA: The latest report of the Australia-based Institute for Economics and Peace (IEP) shocks the world by its assessment of the cost of violence the world has paid during the previous year. The report “Global Peace Index 2014: Measuring Peace and Assessing Country Risk” was released yesterday. India stands 143rd among 162 countries on the Global Peace Index and heavily squandered its national wealth on the anvil of communal, caste-based and class-based violence.
The study underlines that the cost of violence around the world reached a record $14.3 trillion in 2014, equivalent to the combined economies of Brazil, Canada, France, Germany, Spain and the UK.“The has been largely associated with the increase of deaths in conflict, the ongoing economic consequences of conflicts in the countries where they’re occurring and also the increased cost associated with the displaced people,” IEP founder Steve Killelea said.As expected, Syria has been deemed as the least peaceful country in the 2015 Global Peace Index, whereas Iceland remained the most peaceful nation the world over.
.According to the report, India has lost as much as $ 341.7 billion in 2014 due to surging violence and conflicts, which is equivalent to Rs 2,173,273 crore from the current exchange rate. In fact, each Indian has lost an amount of Rs 15,077.Just compare this amount with some of the large scale schemes of the union budget. The loss is almost equal to non-tax revenue of the country for 2015-16. MNREG has been allocated Rs 34,699 in the current year. The union budget allocates Rs 246,000 core for defense spending, around one tenth of the cost of violence. The government earmarked Rs 33,150 core for health sector. In the current fiscal, Rs 68,960 crore has been set aside for education and mid-day meals.
