French President Nicolas Sarkozy and Carla Bruni may have wowed India, but Dilli is readying to host Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao, where substance is expected to override style
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Given that Jiabao is bringing along perhaps the biggest ever Chinese trade delegation, the focus clearly will be on improving trade relations than the obvious contentious issues. The buzz in the build-up to the premier's visit refers to being partners than competitors, and most observers expect the visit to be conducted along this line.
On its part, China did not overly fuss over India snubbing it and attending the Nobel Peace award ceremony in Oslo for dissident Liu Xiaobo.
All these signs go well for bilateral ties. For Dilli, maintaining a workable relationship with the neighbouring Chinese dragon obviously is more important than billion dollar deals with a friendly but distant France.
Up in smoke
Tobacco companies are happy to have won a reprieve from the government in Dilli, which has delayed a decision on pictorial warnings on cigarette packs. In contrast, an assertive Supreme Court has banned the use of plastic pouches to sell gutka and other chewable tobacco products beginning March next year. Clearly the judiciary seems to be acting faster than the executive!
Though the government has made stringent rules to curb tobacco use, it has also demonstrated that it can be swayed by the industry. The Cabinet's decision to defer implementation of scarier images on cigarette packs stems from a proposal from none other than the Health Ministry!
Apparently, Pranab Mukherjee who heads a Group of Ministers on the issue and Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad couldn't agree on the picture to be used on the packs, so consequently the warnings have gone up in smoke! Fortunately, the judiciary is not bound by such considerations.
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