Manmohan Singh Moving Quotations

I have to create in India a macroeconomic environment where the employment in aggregate can go up at a handsome rate. Once that happens, people losing jobs in one sector will not mean that they will become perpetually unemployed. From one sector, they can move on to other sectors.

If certain facilities, local facilities have to be arranged, the local authorities have to come. And that makes the Indian system slow moving, Indian administrative system slow moving.

There may be a difference of the pace at which India moves, but there should be no doubt whatsoever about the direction in which India is going to move in years to come.

I think, overall, India is today on the move. The economic reforms that our salvation lies in - operating an open society, political system, an open economy, economic system - this has widespread support.

I do believe that India needs a lot more foreign direct investment than we've got, and we should have the ambition to move in the same league many other countries in our neighborhood are moving. We may not be able to reach where the Chinese are today, but there is no reason why we should not think big about the role of foreign direct investment, particularly in the areas relating to infrastructure, where our needs for investment are very large. We need new initiatives, management skills, and I do believe that direct foreign investment can play a very important role.

We have to walk on two legs. We have to create conditions in which manufacturing and services - the economy outside agriculture - move and move fast enough. And at the same time the working force that is available must have skills which will fit the kind of jobs which will be in demand.

Agribusiness and food processing are important parts of modernizing our economy, of modernizing our agriculture and moving into a phase where a more modernized agriculture helps not only farmers but also helps consumers.

The salvation of the world ultimately lies in moving towards universal nuclear disarmament, but that's a long distance away.