Quotes from Manmohan Singh

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.

One can dismiss the Prime Minister of India most easily. All that is necessary is for Parliament to pass a vote of no-confidence.

Bankers also play politics.

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.

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.

Our vision is not just of economic growth, but also of a growth which would improve the life of the common man.

Life is never free of contradictions

No power on earth can stop an idea whose time has come.

I have always believed India is a country blessed by God with enormous entrepreneurial skills.

Nobody should be allowed to tinker with democracy. We will not discontinue the good works of the past government.

I think whatever I've done, I hope I've earned a footnote in India's long and tortuous history.

I believe a large part of humanity will draw appropriate lessons from what is the wave of the future in the 21st century.

Judiciary must be encouraged to find ways and means to regulate its own affairs - consistent with the spirit of the Constitution.

We are a coalition government, and that limits our options in some ways. Privatization happens to be one such area.

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.

I think the Chinese do have visions of being a great power. And I think it's legitimate. And I don't see that that's a danger to us.

India happens to be a rich country inhabited by very poor people.

We need multiculturalism, respect for diversity, tolerance, respect for diverse faiths.

Those who create wealth should be shown the greatest respect.

I do recognize that India has to be the center, the hub of activity as far as the knowledge economy is concerned.

Our foreign-exchange reserves when I took over were no more than a billion dollars; that is, roughly equal to two weeks' imports.

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.

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.

Every day, the Prime Minister is a 24-hour servant of the people of India.