The population of India is 1,129,866,154, The population of China is 1,321,851,888.    According an article on MSNBC, more than half of 2.6 million people do not have access to a proper toilet.   This means that over half of the people in India are living without access to a key requirement for a healthy and sanitary existence.   There is evidence of this everywhere you go in India.   The beaches away from the cities will have feces buried in the sand.   Men urinating in public is a constant, daily sight in the city.   In rural villages and parts of the city a field or vacant lot is the communal toilet ground.   Raw sewage flows in streams through the walkways of small villages.  It is difficult to plan an excursion away from home or the hotels of the city because of a lack of toilet facilities.      A summit to discuss this is unlikely to help the situation.    Sanitation requires the diligence of local government and  the backing of the central government.  Judging by press reports, both are too busy trying to stay in power to take the effort to fix this problem.   The woefully inadequate power system is the next problem and the government is similarly unable to make progress.

This is all unfortunate.   There is so much potential in this country, but so much wasted by inefficiency and a lack of infrastructure.   Perhaps the better way to look at the situation is to recognize the amazing amount of accomplishment despite the lack of basic infrastructure.