Remarks upon departure from Hyderabad Airport

The Chief Minister and I have discussed earlier how if one approaches this issue creatively, we, in the third world, can leapfrog some of the painful and difficult development processes others had to go through. And I think you are doing it here and I had the chance to see six thousand women who are taking charge of their lives, who are engaged in micro-credit, illiteracy programmes and running their own businesses and it gave me hope that women in this state, at least would, in time, become full partners and bring their ingenuity and energy to bear on the development efforts in this society.

In fact, as I drove away I had a feeling that if I came back in 20-25 years, I shouldn't be surprised if the chief minister is a woman. Thank you very much.

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