Scandal-hit India Prime Minister skirts major cabinet changes

Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh tweaked his cabinet line-up on Wednesday, sparking criticism the government was shying away from battling graft scandals and high inflation, and dimming prospects for major economic reforms soon. Major portfolios such as finance, defence, home and foreign affairs and environment were unchanged in the first cabinet reshuffle of Singh's scandal-plagued second term. Singh said a wider reshuffle would take place after the February budget.
The minor changes may fuel a perception that Singh is lost for ideas after failing to push big-ticket economic reforms that include freeing up diesel prices and streamlining taxes, or take measures to contain inflation and clamp down on endemic graft. "I don't think it sends out any strong economic signal suggesting that there is any great urgency on the part of this government to push through reforms in critical sectors of the economy," said Rupa Rege Nitsure, chief economist at the Bank of Baroda.
Most reforms in Asia's third largest economy and one of the world's fastest growing emerging markets are handled by the finance and commerce ministries, whose heads remain unchanged amid calls for the government to open up foreign investment in sectors such as retail, banking and insurance.
No minister was sacked despite accusations of incompetence and graft overshadowing many of them, drawing criticism that ruling Congress party head Sonia Gandhi, the power behind Singh, was simply out of touch with millions of frustrated Indians, a critical issue as India heads to key state elections this year that threaten to weaken the troubled ruling coalition.
"The big picture from this is that there is only a bit of shuffling around here and there but no major expectations have been met - no young blood injected, no corruption-tainted names dropped," said D.H. Pai Panandiker, head of private think-tank RPG Foundation.
Stock markets were closed when the reshuffle was announced while bonds and the rupee currency were unmoved. I ndia's government is bogged down trying to defend itself in a slew of corruption scandals that strained the ruling Congress Party's ties with its increasingly worried allies in the run-up to the elections.