The Finance Minister, P. Chidambaram, is known for limiting his media interactions to the issue at hand. One reason for this is that so many questions could be asked of the FM that the interaction could become open-ended unless restrained. While that may be so, senior Ministry officials have now started emulating the Minister. Recently, the Central Board of Direct Taxes Chairperson called in the press at short notice just to announce that there would be a conference of tax officials the next day.

As that was hardly big news, the journalists raised some other queries connected with the Department, but to no avail. The official insisted that the press conference was just to announce the next day's meeting. The scribes came away dissatisfied, as a handout would have sufficed.