“There needs to be recognition that socialism is not the only ideology that has copyright on welfare. When the economy does not do well and wealth isn’t generated, then social good suffers and so does the welfare state. So, we have now called the bluff that wealth creation is in conflict with welfare.”— Nirmala Sitharaman, Union finance minister, on the Union Budget 2021-22 (The Hindu, February 22)
“The government has no business to be in business. It is the government’s duty to support enterprises and businesses. But it is not essential that it should own and run enterprises.” — Prime minister Narendra Modi on privatisation (indiatoday.in, February 24)
“The regime seems afraid of a new generation finding its relevance and articulation around ecology and environmentalism… Suddenly planetary issues, from climate change to the future of farming or the fate of the tribe — each a critical human rights issue — have been defined as anti-national.” — Shiv Visvanathan, well-known sociologist, on the arrest of young environment activists on charges of sedition by the BJP/NDA government (Telegraph, February 24)
“By various metrics, China is now 10-15 years ahead of India. It reached India’s current per capita income 15 years ago. Similarly, on the Human Development Index, it is 15 years ahead of India. And on the more complex Union Nations Index for Sustainable Development Goals, India is unlikely to get to China’s current index level in another decade.” — T.N. Ninan on the India-China development gap (Business Standard, February 27)
“Our babus have not evolved as fast to fit in with the new economic aspirations of India. In fact, ‘babu’ has now become a mildly derogatory word suggesting someone old-fashioned, who creates red-tape, slows things down and enjoys tormenting others with their power.” — Chetan Bhagat, author and columnist, on reforming the Indian Administrative Service (Times of India, February 28)
