"We must find ways of attracting the best talent as faculty in our premier institutions. We today face difficulty in finding top level professors and lecturers in the newly created IITs, IISERs and other such insti-tutions. This state of affairs cannot be allowed to persist and I urge all of you to work to address these problems of deficiency in the quality of teaching in our schools, in our colleges, and in our universities."
Prime minister Manmohan Singh at the National Education Day celebrations in Delhi (November 11)
"Our experience with large Indian construction companies suggests that workers typically do actual work for only 20 percent of their total time."
Prashant Gupta and Thomas Netzer, authors of a Mckinsey study on infrastructure sector opportunities in Business Today (November 15)
"A year after 26/11, perhaps it is time to reflect on a more serious question. Who speaks for Bombay? Is it the politicians we elect? Is it Thackeray? Is it the rent-a-quote buffoons on TV? Or is it a silent majority that never gets heard? But of course, that question will never get answered."
Well-known journalist and commentator Vir Sanghvi in Mint Lounge (November 21)
"Universities here are in a mess. I don’t want any controversy on our university campuses. There are complaints of harassment and corruption too. Students are committing suicide. I’m determined to put an end to this. I cannot tolerate this."
H.R. Bhardawaj, Karnataka governor and chancellor of all the state’s universities, in Times of India (November 22)
"India’s killer roads account for more deaths than any other single cause, from terrorism to natural disasters. Every hour, 13 people die due to road accidents, the highest in the world."
Mihir Srivastava in a cover story on road accidents in India Today (November 23)
"What was done to the economic policy in 1991 should be done to the education policy now to improve and expand higher education."
G. Vishwanathan, chancellor of Vellore Institute of Technology in The Hindu (November 30)