They said it

"We want to put a cradle (palna) in every district headquarters. What we are saying to the people is have your children, don’t kill them. And if you don’t want a girl child, leave her to us." -- Renuka Chowdhury, women and child development minister (February 19)

"Public education spending in India has been only around half the minimum required amount. Countries with a lower per capita income than India in the 1950s are better placed today, both in terms of adult literacy and per capita income." -- Jasvir Singh in Times of India (February 26)

"In India the number of youths between 15 and 29 years of age is estimated at nearly 26 crores. Of these, the number of persons trained in any of the formal or non-formal ways is estimated at 3 crores." -- Subodh Varma in Times of India (February 26)

"Judicial interventions in vital issues of child survival, growth and health clearly imply that if the basic food and health needs of infants and children are not met by the state, it is tantamount to a violation of their fundamental human rights." -- Nirmala Lakshman in The Hindu (February 26)

"Science is at a crossroads in India. We may aspire to be a leader in science and have made investments in the direction but there appears to be a waning interest among the young generation. We have neglected students in rural India — that is perhaps where the real potential is." -- Well-known scientist C.N.R. Rao on the occasion of National Science Day in Bangalore (February 27)

"Up to some age to be determined, it’s very appropriate for a parent to get a sense of what they’re seeing out there and be able to have conversations about it. My son said, ‘Am I going to have limits like this my whole life?’ and I said. ‘No, when you move away you can set your own screen limits’." -- Microsoft chairman Bill Gates admitting that he monitors his kids’ PC and internet time (February 22)