What they said

“There are iron ore blocks taken by people in Orissa and they have not used it at all. And the reason is if they sit on it, it appreciates. You have a friendly minister. So, they think let me sit on natural resource, which is not going to disappear underground. The value will always be there whenever you evacuate it.”

HDFC Chairman Deepak Parekh

“When CRR is not applicable to insurance companies, non-banking finance companies and mutual funds that also mobilise funds from the public, it is an unfair imposition on banks.”

State Bank of India Chairman Pratip Chaudhuri

“If the SBI Chairman is not able to do business in this regulatory environment, he has to find out some other place.”

The RBI Deputy Governor, K. C. Chakrabarty

“It has been my general practice not to respond to motivated criticism directed personally at me. My general attitude has been “Hazaaron Jawabon Se Acchi Hai Meri Khamoshi, Na Jaane Kitne Sawaalon Ki Aabru Rakhe”. But this is one occasion where I do want and I ardently wish that I should be given the opportunity to speak to the Parliament and also the public at large, take them into confidence.”

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, addressing the press outside Parliament on the coal allocation issue.

“There are 47 players in the cement industry. No cartelisation is possible with such a level of disintegration. No hard evidence is available to show that the industry has indulged. The case will not stand without hard evidence.”

Kumar Mangalam Birla, Chairman, UltraTech Cement

“The provisions for imposing civil and criminal liability and refund of the amount with interest would indicate that, of late, economic offences in India like the one committed by the Saharas must be treated with an iron hand, or else we may land in another security market pandemonium.”

Supreme Court

“I am not going to disappear. You will continue to see my face. I will be around, whether you like it or not.”

Ratan Tata to Tata Motors shareholders

“Some sacrifice of growth is inevitable, a necessary price we have to pay to bring down inflation. But that sacrifice of growth is only in the short term. In the medium term, a low and stable inflation is a necessary precondition for securing India's growth prospects.”

RBI Governor D. Subbarao

“The medium-term growth prospects remain strong and sound. We are recovering from a slightly lower growth level, but I believe that the current fiscal year would be better than last year. The following year should see further improvement. Therefore, in the next 5 years, we should be able to get a growth rate of 8 per cent. We may get back to the high growth path in the next 2 years, but for this year, we can expect the growth rate only to be better than last year.”

PMEAC Chairman C. Rangarajan