We sift through some of the top interviews that were published on Moneycontrol.com through the week and bring you a collection of the best quotes from market-men, business people and policymakers.
"He has done some good work but he has to be reasonable with business."Infosys Chairman Narayana Murthy indicates he may not be too comfortable with the economic policies of the newest political entrant, Aam Aadmi Party's Arvind Kejriwal.
"I do believe that when a society such as ours transitions from decades of tardily-provided urban utilities like electricity and water to privately-produced market-priced power, there is a vulnerable section of society that requires transition management. The one that consumes four buckets of water a day or less than 400 units a month. There can be fiscal models that can provide targeted subsidies."While being critical of governments' handling of the power sector, Feedback Infra's Vinayak Chatterjee says it is too early to entirely move to a free market regime on issues such as power and water.
"They (telecom companies) have burnt their fingers badly in the tariff war. That is a lesson they will not forget. So, this race to the bottom that allowed voice calls at 30 paise a minute will not take place again."There may be bad news for mobile phone customers in India, which enjoys one of the lowest call rates in the world, if this interview with Telecom Regulatory Authority of India Chairman Rahul Khullar is anything to go by.
"There is a market there. People are moving around. They are buying bags. We need to convince people to buy a quality bag that lasts for a little bit more."Samsonite's Global CEO Tim Parker is clear about his firm's strategy in the Indian market.
Billions of packages are criss-crossing the country from Kashmir to Kanyakumari."Raamdeo Agrawal, Joint MD, Motilal Oswal, tells Ramesh Damani he is bullish on the Indian logistics sector, thanks to the e-commerce boom.
"We are very happy with the way the spectrum auction is moving forward. We hope that we will get enough revenue to make sure that the finance minister has a big smile on his face."Telecom Minister Kapil Sibal hopes the government's successful fund-raising drive will help ease the country's strained fiscal situation.
"It is not a failure of the PPP model. There is a need to explain this model more [to the public]. If the project financials are explained transparently -- electronic displays have been put up at all toll projects in Maharashtra -- I don’t think there will be a problem."VD Mhaiskar, chairman of IRB Infra, whose toll gates were restarted last week after an incident of vandalism in Kolhapur district, says the public-private-partnership model of infrastructure development is here to stay.
"The Argentinean peso has collapsed over the last 12 months. The country's economy is small but even Thailand and Greece, which kick-started the Asian and Euro crises, were small."Religare Capital Markets' Gautam Trivedi believes the peso could trigger a crisis in emerging market currencies.
"He was asked tough questions, he kept his cool. He articulated what his priorities were and this is the beginning of a certain public Mr. Gandhi."Rural development minister Jairam Ramesh says Rahul Gandhi's interview with a news channel recently was his "baptism by fire as far as media exposure is concerned" and suggests more such interviews may be in the offing.
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