PM's speech at the DSE Golden Jubilee function

These are some of the interesting parts from PM Manmohan Singh's speech at Delhi School of Economics.

The complete text of the speech can be accessed here.

" India is the world’s most exciting social laboratory for any social scientist to study.We are an ancient civilization but a young nation. A nation of immense possibilities. A nation brimming with a renewed sense of confidence."

"In the 1980s, and more decisively in the early 1990s, we took steps that enabled the quantum jump from what my friend Raj Krishna dubbed as the “Hindu rate of growth”. Once again intellectuals battles erupted. I recall the many criticisms made against the initiatives I had taken in 1991. There were some genuine worriers. There were others with blinkers on. Some concerns were warranted. Many others were ill-informed. We stayed the course. I reached out to many professional economists. I recall asking Jagdish and TN to prepare an independent study on what we had done and see if we were in the right direction. I also listened to my critics. But, in the end, I had the responsibility to take difficult, if momentous, decisions. I took them. The economy responded handsomely...However, given the magnitude of macro-economic imbalances we had to contend with, our options at least in the short run were rather limited."

"India has since the early 1990s been quoted around the world as a model case study on adjustment and stabilization. Barely 15 years ago an external payments crisis pulled the economy into a serious economic crisis. Today, we can say with pride that there is no external constraint on India’s economic growth. Prudent economic management, mixed with some well-advised risk taking, helped."

"Remain committed to excellence, but also remain committed to the Nation. Show the way forward so that we can walk that road."