: Quotes from 22 speeches by the prime minister follow. (1) “They were no crony capitalists, they were no fixers and lobbyists, they were no petitioners and permit-seekers, they did not seek subsidies or quotas, they did not worry too much about the hurdles ahead, for they were determined to triumph and to overcome them,” November 23, 2004, release of a commemorative postage stamp honouring Seth Walchand Hirachand. (2) “What this means is that whatever subsidies we offer to consumers must be offered transparently and be justified on stated economic, social and political grounds. Today we are offering subsidies to a wide range of users without a proper analysis of their economic and social rationale,” the National Energy Conservation Awards, December 14, 2004. (3) “Even when governments offer subsidies to certain categories of users and there is scope for that, they must understand the relevance of this subsidy and have respect for the asset being provided to them,” April 4, 2005, launch of Rajiv Gandhi Gramin Vidyutikaran Yojana. (4) “We must reduce wasteful subsidies and divert these resources into investment and employment generation,” May 16, 2005, Congress Working Committee Meeting. (5) “We must reduce wasteful subsidies and divert these resources into needed social sector expenditure, investment and employment generation,” May 22, 2005, release of report on one year of the UPA.
(6) “A proper targeting of subsidies is of vital concern in this (electricity) context,” August 6, 2005, first meeting of Energy Coordination Committee. (7) “We must reduce subsidies for the rich and divert these resources into investment and employment generation,” October 8, 2005, Conference of Congress CMs. (8) “We need to put a check on wasteful subsidies while targeting these to the genuinely needy and disadvantaged,” November 15, 2005, HT Leadership Summit. (9) “Our past policies of offering a range of subsidies have benefited only a few.... If we really want to help the poor, we must shift the emphasis away from subsidies, to encouraging new investment and extending social security,” January 12, 2006, investing in rural India. (10) We must examine the relevance of the entire gamut of taxes and subsidies on various energy forms and energy using devices,” July 26, 2006, Energy Conclave. (11) “Specifically, our ability to increase gross budgetary support to 2.5 percentage points of GDP in the 11th Plan will depend upon containment of open and hidden subsidies, revenue buoyancy, pruning ongoing programmes...
