'Shirtfronting' joke
"I am the third head of government you are listening to this week...I don't know how you are doing this. Maybe, this is Prime Minister Abbott's way of shirtfronting you. But, I am truly honoured and humbled by this opportunity to speak to you."
- Speech at the Australian Parliament on Nov 18, 2014. Mr Modi drew on Mr Tony Abbott's threat to "shirtfront" Russian President Vladimir Putin over the MH17 plane attack, using a football and rugby term that means to aggressively grab an opponent or knock him to the ground.
Mars Orbiter mission
"A one-kilometre auto rickshaw ride in Ahmedabad takes seven rupees and India reached Mars at 10 rupees per kilometre which is really amazing."
- Speech at Madison Square, New York, on Sept 29, 2014
Need for efficiency
"If the world is planning an innovation for 2020, can India finish it by 2018?"
- Speech to India's armed forces and scientists responsible for developing military technology, on Aug 20, 2014, in which he stressed the need to complete projects in a timely manner.
Taking India forward
"I am an outsider in New Delhi. I have stayed away from the elite in this city. In the two months I have been here, I now have an insider view. I was astonished. I saw many governments functioning within a government. One department is fighting the other. So, we are trying to break this wall; we want to have one mission and target: Take the nation forward."
- Maiden Independence Day address at the historic Red Fort on Aug 15, 2014
Rape cases in India
"I want to ask parents: When daughters turn 11 or 14, they keep tab on their movements. Have these parents ever asked their sons where they have been going, who they have been meeting? Rapists are somebody's sons as well! Parents must take the responsibility to ensure that their sons don't go the wrong direction."
- Maiden Independence Day address at the historic Red Fort on Aug 15, 2014
Pledge to serve the nation
"I did not get an opportunity to die for the country, but I have got an opportunity to live for the country."
- Election victory speech on May 16, 2014
