Or, do they know where their offices are?

JAGDISH TYTLER

He's the first minister for non-resident Indians but there is no evidence that this has made any difference to anyone. As a result, Tytler is using all his resources to fight Sheila Dixit in Delhi. He may lose the ministry of NRIs but he knows he has to keep his constituency alive.

MAHABIR PRASAD

A Cabinet minister in charge of small-scale, agro and rural industries, Prasad is supposed to be putting in place mechanisms that will utilise the slew of measures in the Budget for SMEs. But all he's done so far is introduce a bill on SMEs which was drafted by the National Democratic Alliance.

SANTOSH MOHAN DEB

The ministry of heavy industry and public enterprises is ripe for abolition, so why there should be a minister for it is inexplicable. Initially, he was minister of state along with Taslimuddin, and that became a bitter pill to swallow. Then he got independent charge. All he's done since is create the conditions for setting up an auto-testing facility in Silchar.

S S PALANIMANIKKAM

No one knows whether the minister of state for finance faces the same problem that all ministers of state have -- no work -- or whether Palanimanikkam actually does a lot of work in secret.

PANABAKA LAKSHMI

The minister of state for health sometimes has work, but most of the time she has no work. And the absence of her interventions in health policy have frankly not really been felt anywhere -- which is probably why no one notices whether she has a portfolio or not.

Also read: Meet the strategists