Manmohan Singh Quotes.
Our foreign-exchange reserves when I took over were no more than a billion dollars; that is, roughly equal to two weeks’ imports.
Economic policy and decision making do not function in a political vacuum.
A victory for the Taliban in Afghanistan would have catastrophic consequences for the world – particularly for South Asia, for Central Asia, and for the Middle East.
If al-Qaeda had not had a home in Afghanistan, maybe 9/11 would never have taken place. God forbid if al-Qaeda gets another strong foothold in Afghanistan.
Nepal is our closest neighbour, and we must make every effort to ensure that, as a small neighbour, we attend to their perceptions. Even when they are wrong, we have an obligation to create an environment in which the common people in Nepal feel that in India they have a great friend.
I have dealt with politicians ever since I came into the government in 1971. I have seen many prime ministers, many finance ministers.
No power on earth can stop an idea whose time has come.
The premature migration of very large numbers of people from rural areas to urban areas can give rise to a lot of strains to the urban infrastructure, which can also create problems of crime – law-and-order problems.
One can dismiss the Prime Minister of India most easily. All that is necessary is for Parliament to pass a vote of no-confidence.
Nobody should be allowed to tinker with democracy. We will not discontinue the good works of the past government.
Meaningful solutions to the problems of mass poverty that prevails in India I believe can only be found in the framework of an expanding economy.
President Karzai’s regime is not perfect. There are problems of improving governance. But you cannot transform Afghanistan overnight. It is going to be a long-term affair.
Whatever your views on Pakistan, our effort was that we have to engage Pakistan. They are our neighbours. We can choose our friends, but we cannot choose our neighbours.
Yes, I think India’s economy always has been a mixed economy, and by Western standards we are much more of a market economy than a public sector-driven economy.
I do believe that the future of civilization belongs to those who would lay emphasis on working together instead of talking about clash of civilizations.
We need multiculturalism, respect for diversity, tolerance, respect for diverse faiths.
India is this great experiment of a billion people of such great diverse persuasions working together, seeking their salvation in the framework of a democracy. I believe it will have some lessons for all the multicultural societies.
We are a coalition government, and that limits our options in some ways. Privatization happens to be one such area.
Certainly, I cannot say that my government’s relationship with Pakistan was free of problems. I think the control of terror is our primary concern. And Pakistan made promises it didn’t keep.
We all know the epicentre of terrorism in the world today is Pakistan. The world community has to come to grips with this harsh reality.
The National Stock Exchange was strongly opposed by Bombay stockbrokers and captains of industry. I thought some competition is good. The exchange has given a very good account of itself.
We are a mixed economy. We will remain a mixed economy. The public and private sector will continue to play a very important role. The private sector in our country has very ample scope and I am confident that India’s entrepreneurs have the capacity, and the will to rise to the occasion.
I’m a small person put in this big chair.
Bankers also play politics.
Capitalism historically has been a very dynamic force, and behind that force is technical progress, innovation, new ideas, new products, new technologies, and new methods of managing teams.
When Indian economy was growing at the rate of 8 to 9 percent, I think everybody was quite happy. Even when there were defects in our policies, they were overlooked, and when the economy slows down, people try to find fault and excuses.
Life is never free of contradictions.
I have always regarded nonalignment as a statement that India’s policies – foreign policy – will be guided by what I describe as ‘enlightened national interest.’ That means we will make judgments on an independent basis with the sole concern being what is enlightened India’s national interest.
The Chinese have certain advantages. The fact that it’s a single party government. But I do believe in the long run the fact that India is a functioning democracy committed to the rule of law. Our system is slow to move but I’m confident that once decisions are taken they are going to be far more durable.
India happens to be a rich country inhabited by very poor people.
Cutting the fiscal deficit is not popular. That is the experience of all governments in all countries. Expenditure cuts hurt certain vested interests, and they don’t like it.
We – what we need is a dialogue among civilizations. And we need multiculturalism, respect for diversity, tolerance, respect for diverse faiths.
No nation, no society, no community can hold its head high and claim to be part of the civilized world if it condones the practice of discriminating against one half of humanity represented by women.
We got government off the backs of the people of India, particularly off the backs of India’s entrepreneurs. We introduced more competition, both internal competition and external competition. We simplified and rationalized the tax system. We made risk-taking much more attractive.
In matters of state, one has to be full of sentiments, but one can never be sentimental.
We removed wealth tax in the 1991 budget. That is one way in which the children of those who had wealth could put money honestly into their enterprises.
Judiciary must be encouraged to find ways and means to regulate its own affairs – consistent with the spirit of the Constitution.
As far as Afghanistan is concerned, I’m not sure whether the United States and Pakistan have the same objectives. Pakistan would like Afghanistan to be under its control.
When I was the finance minister, I got on well with the RBI Governor.
The first and foremost priority is to finish the unfinished task which the founding fathers of India set out for us at the time of our independence: to get rid of chronic poverty, ignorance, and disease, which have afflicted millions and millions of our people.
With the revolution in information technology, with the revolution in transport technologies, I think just geography has lost its all significance.
Protectionism is a very real danger. It is understandable that in times of a severe downturn protectionist pressures mount but the lessons of history are clear. If we give in to protectionist pressures, we will only send the world into a downward spiral.
My top most priority is to deal with India’s massive social and economic problems, so that chronic poverty, ignorance and disease can be conquered in a reasonably short period of time.
Ethical and responsible behavior needs to become the cornerstone of corporate behavior
Life is never free of contradictions
Protectionism has to be avoided. Protectionism is not only on goods but also in the area of services. Financial protectionism is also bad and should be avoided.
