The Minister said ASI ``needs professional management. It needs research and development and training of personnel. It needs resources''. After a ``longish'' meeting with his staff, the minister said he had requested Home Minister Advani to take an inter-ministerial meeting during the winter session of Parliament of I&B, Finance, Tourism and Urban Development so that a ``comprehensive action plan can be put in place''. He said there was no question of the ASI not working in tandem with Department of Culture.

He said savingIndia's ``world class'' heritage would require tax and civic reforms. He also admitted that the ASI's packaging of proposals for an addition to its World Heritage list (as reported in The Indian Express last week) was less than perfect but that he would impress upon UNESCO that ``content is more important than presentation''.

He outlined several proposals to raise financing for ASI which have been pending for several years. These include: raising the entry fees to the 168 protected monuments; charging in dollar rates from foreigners; pricing museums at protected sites separately; developing infrastructural facilities around monuments; and kicking off a national campaign to energise contributions to the National Culture Fund.