'They wanted the city to be a great business hub. They didn't like the fact that taxes collected in Bombay would go outside the city.'
'The UPA's claim of growth at 9.5 percent was absolute nonsense and a fraudulent claim because the country did not grow; it was only statistical growth.' 'I do believe that when there is a determined leader who wants to bring a desired change, the system will begin acting. Today, people think there is policy paralysis, but there is functional paralysis also.' 'When things start moving, people will invest. Many companies are holding cash, many people are not investing. Nobody is making any move. Everybody is waiting for the elections to get over.' Economist and Swadeshi Jagran Manch convenor Swaminathan Gurumurthy in conversation with Shobha Warrier/Rediff.com
Excerpts from an address by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh at the roundtable sponsored by The Economist on March 13.
Former External Affairs Minister K Natwar Singh passed away on Saturday night after a prolonged illness, family sources said. He was 93.
Dr Manmohan Singh's government has 47 crorepati ministers in it. Nationalist Congress Party leader Praful Patel is the richest of the lot with assets worth Rs 89.9 crore.
As a leader, he was ambitious, not for himself but for India and its people. His was not the short-term election cycle calculation of individual political gain. His was a practical vision of how to better the lives of his fellow citizens, asserts Ambassador Shivshankar Menon, who served as foreign secretary and national security advisor when Dr Singh was prime minister.
'All governments are scared of a negative image.' 'Somehow, this government has a tendency to create a narrative that things are improving.' 'When the real data gives a different picture, they are upset.'
As CAG found Reliance Industries was being favoured in gas exploration deal to the government's detriment, former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh told the then top auditor Vinod Rai that audit should not hurt the private sector and RIL was one of the biggest and most respected.
The revelation may have come late in the century but the Congress disclosed on Thursday, May 29, 2025, that the Indian Army conducted six surgical strikes against Pakistan during UPA-2, the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance government's second term in power.
'If the period between 1991 and 2014 was about laying the foundations and building the runway, the period from 2014 to 2024 has been about the aircraft taking off.'
False and acrimonious debates such as Modi versus Manmohan might allow for victories that are political and partisan. But the real loser is the nation, India and Bharat, notes Arvind Subramanian, former chief economic advisor to the Modi government in its first term.
The Supreme Court on Wednesday stayed the summons to former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and 5 others by a trial court over the coal scam.
While Narendra Modi spent fewer days abroad than his predecessor -- 275 days versus Dr Singh's 306 - he has travelled more widely than any other Indian PM.
Dr Manmohan Singh first embossed himself on the national consciousness when as India's finance minister he flagged off economic reforms which changed this nation forever.
Sources close to the top BJP leadership tell me that Tharoor has already had secret meetings with the BJP's top brass and is waiting patiently to make his next move, reports Ramesh Menon.
This is the fourth in a series of daily political memes. Do mail us your memes or meme ideas at: citizen.reporter@rediffmail.com
In what was perhaps the most critical meeting before full-scale war broke out, Shastri defined India's immediate war objectives to his defence minister, army, and air force chiefs: 'To defend against Pakistan's attempts to grab Kashmir by force and to make it abundantly clear that Pakistan would never be allowed to wrest Kashmir from India; To destroy the offensive power of Pakistan's armed forces...' A fascinating excerpt from Shiv Kunal Verma's must-read 1965: A Western Sunrise India's War With Pakistan.
'During his stint as prime minister, he got 270 million people out of poverty.' 'This, according to the World Bank, is the fastest compression of poverty anywhere in the world.' Arvind Mayaram, the former finance secretary, recalls his encounters with Dr Manmohan Singh.
Ex TRAI chief says Manmohan Singh warned him of harm on 2G issue
He won two terms in office, which was a stunning feat for a leader who used his silence as the most vocal weapon to change the economy and the lives of a billion people, asserts Tarun Vijay, former BJP MP and former Chief Editor, Panchjanya, the RSS weekly.
The census will be carried out with a reference date of October 1, 2026 in snow-bound areas like Ladakh and March 1, 2027 in the rest of the country, the notification said.
Bureaucrats's memoirs are usually insipid versions of events and steer clear of controversy. Former Union home secretary C G Somiah, who retired as India's Comptroller and Auditor General, has chosen to take a refreshingly frank route in his autobiography The Honest Always Stand Alone (Niyogi Books).
The BJP has launched a fresh attack on Rahul Gandhi, questioning his frequent visits to Vietnam. The party's leaders have accused him of spending more time in the Southeast Asian country than his constituency and have demanded an explanation for his "extraordinary fondness" for Vietnam. Gandhi's foreign trips have been a target of the BJP's criticism in the past, with the party portraying him as unserious and unfit for domestic politics.
No rich parents, no influential uncles. No wealth, no inheritance. A brilliant student, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh stood first in class throughout his life.
Tensions between the Congress and its leader Shashi Tharoor escalated on Thursday with the party saying he was very much part of their family but had erred in claiming that surgical strikes against Pakistan were held for the first time in 2016.
He did not believe in any fiscal puritanism. In 2012, when it was almost certain that the government will breach the 2012-13 fiscal deficit target, he wrote that in abnormal times, abnormal measures are required to get back to normalcy.
RS Chairman Dhankhar called Kharge making the claim a "very sad moment" and asked him to withdraw his statement, the Leader of Opposition insisted the government give the correct figures and continued with his speech.
Tharoor said his remarks were preceded by a reference to the several attacks that have taken place in recent years alone, during which previous Indian responses were both restrained and constrained by India's responsible respect for the LoC and the IB.
Gursharan Kaur and daughter Daman Singh pay their respects to Dr Singh's mortal remains at the AICC HQ in New Delhi.
What Indians think of the political crisis in New Delhi.
'Even if I had the backing of a big corporate house, which I don't, in today's market, I wouldn't want the responsibility of making a Rs 300 crore-Rs 400 crore film.'
Manmohan Singh's reign as prime minister has been severely criticised by his former ministerial colleague Natwar Singh, who says he leaves no legacy after being in power for 10 years.
As the Centre announced the inclusion of caste enumeration in the next census on Wednesday, opposition parties said it is a victory for their long-standing demand and sought time-bound implementation.
Sharmistha Mukherjee, daughter of former President Pranab Mukherjee, has alleged a "rot" within the Congress party and called for serious introspection. She criticized the party's lack of ideology and its treatment of non-dynastic leaders, citing the case of former Prime Minister P.V. Narasimha Rao. She also questioned the party's failure to convene a Congress Working Committee meeting after her father's death, highlighting a perceived loss of institutional memory. Mukherjee, who has since left politics, also advocated for a memorial to former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and a posthumous Bharat Ratna award for him.
In a significant move, the United States on Wednesday removed restrictions on three Indian nuclear entities, over a week after National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan announced that Washington was finalising steps to 'remove' hurdles for civil nuclear partnership between Indian and American firms.
In an interview to CNN-IBN, Shourie said the country needs a decisive leader and Narendra Modi is a decisive leader.
Here are some facts related to the Budget presentation in independent India.
Census exercise with caste enumeration will be carried out with the reference date of October 1, 2026, in snow-bound areas like Ladakh and of March 1, 2027, in the rest of the country, the Home Ministry announced on Wednesday.
Renu Mittal reports on how the United Progressive Alliance government is walking the tight-rope over the Sri Lankan Tamils issue.
The Communist Party of India (Marxist) is set to elect its next general secretary, with speculation rife over who will lead the party. Leading contenders include M A Baby, backed by the party's Kerala unit, and Ashok Dhawale, who enjoys support from the West Bengal lobby. Other potential candidates include Mohammed Salim, B V Raghavulu, and Brinda Karat. The election will take place at the 24th CPI(M) congress in Madurai, Tamil Nadu.
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