Don't trust your man, Indian minister tells women

"Men will not buy a condom when they come staggering home while drunk," she added, evoking laughter and giggles.

This month India launched a $2.8 billion (1.4 billion pound) plan to fight AIDS over five years, a more than fivefold jump in spending over the preceding plan, with a strong focus on condom promotion.

Under the plan, India aims to push usage from 2.1 billion condoms this year to 3.5 billion by 2012.

"We are hypocrites. We have a 1 billion population and don't want to talk about sex," Chowdhury told reporters, referring to the refusal of some state governments to implement sex education ostensibly for going against Indian culture.