Ministers Of Idle State
Appointed by the NDA Government with a view to appease groupings in a mammoth coalition, junior Ministers are only proving a financial drain.

Just Year Say
Ram Jethmalani finds few takers for his allegations that Chief Justice Anand is functioning beyond retirement age.

Fifth Column
by Tavleen Singh
Poverty Politics

Dying Tone

Hedging His Bets
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From The Editor In Chief

In 1962, China took India by surprise when its soldiers crossed the Himalayas, mowing down Indian defences. Our neighbour still believes in surprise and scale. Only the battle is now shifting to the marketplace. From corporate boardrooms to Parliament, from business papers to television chat shows, one topic that has dominated the national agenda this past month is the apparent flood of Chinese-and other east Asian-products. My only recollection of Chinese products in the past has been of pens, balms and crockery. Smuggled across the borders for years, even these products were known for their value for money-they were lower priced and better in quality than their Indian substitutes. But now that import licensing has all but gone and customs duty rates have been slashed, Chinese products are coming through regular trade routes-in a deluge. As an India Today team comprising Associate Editors V. Shankar Aiyar in Mumbai and Rohit Saran in Delhi and Principal Correspondent Arun Ram in Chennai found out, the consumer can now buy everything from a pocket calculator to a VCD player at a third or fourth of the price of the Indian alternative. Just the import of electronic goods from China has shot up almost five times in four years-from $52 million in 1996-97 to $176 million (Rs 810 crore) in 1999-2000.

Reaction from Indian industry and the Government has been a little confused. There are demands for protection in the form of barriers like imposing Indian quality standards on imported goods. At best these will be temporary relief since most east Asian products are anyway of better quality and cost less. China's real competitive strength lies in its efficient, abundant infrastructure and economies of scale. That is what is desperately lacking in India. Says Aiyar: "Opening up of markets should have been an opportunity. Thanks to snail-paced reforms we are instead talking about survival." The strategy for India should be to build stronger trade ties with China which promote mutual prosperity and bonhomie. The 1950s were the years of Hindi-Chini Bhai Bhai. Now it is the era of Hindi-Chini buy buy.

(Aroon Purie)

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MetroScape
Signor Style
At a Benetton store in Delhi's Greater Kailash I market, the billionnaire Italian sportingly donned a bandhini turban for the benefit of the non-stop flashbulbs.
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Looking Glass

Delhi: Restaurants

Mumbai: Cafe

Enron symbolises everything that's wrong with the way reforms were handled by M/s Rao & Manmohan, says INDIA TODAY Associate Editor
V. Shankar Aiyar in
Au ContrAiyar.

That's what the Archeological Survey of India believes the hike in entry fee at key heritage sites will achieve. But the tourism industry is sceptical, writes INDIA TODAY Principal Correspondent Farah Baria in Despatches.