Industrialisation is necessary. But acquisition is by no means the only avenue through which it can be achieved. The Cochin Airport is a prime example of this. Instead of choosing to acquire the land, the State asked the private parties to negotiate with the landowners directly. The State merely acted as an arbitrator.

India needs to be liberated both from the 'high GDP growth hedgehogs' and the 'conservation at all costs hedgehogs.'

I think toilets are more important than temples. No matter how many temples we go to, we are not going to get salvation. We need to give priority to toilets and cleanliness.

Agitation is all about poetry, governance is all about prose.

If there is a Nobel prize for dirt and filth, India will win it, no doubt.

WTO is not the forum for labour standards. Next, the U.S. will argue the time zone difference is an unfair competitive advantage enjoyed by India that enables our software engineers to work while the Americans sleep.

I think environmentalists do no service to their cause by taking fundamentalist stances. I am not defending corporate India's track record, but for many environmental problems, there are technological solutions.