Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh was sworn in on Friday for a second five-year term with a host of old-guard ministers at a time of economic downturn and fraught ties with Pakistan. Even as DMK decided to stay out of the government for now, its Parliamentary Party leader T R Baalu on Friday said its MPs would attend the swearing-in of Manmohan Singh as Prime Minister. Asked about the formula for sharing ministerial berths, Baalu told reporters on his arrival in Chennai from New Delhi that he had nothing to add to what he had stated on Thursday. Singh's Congress party-led coalition has a stronger parliamentary majority than his first administration, although a southern ally said it would not join the government because of differences over ministerial positions. Unfettered by its former leftist allies, Congress is likely to push reforms such as raising the foreign investment limit in insurance and opening up the pension sector. However, it will face pressure to spread the benefits of growth in a country where around 30 percent earn just a dollar a day. President Pratibha Patil administered the oath of office to Singh, 76, at the red sandstone presidential palace, watched by relatives and leaders of his party and its allies. Nineteen other members of his cabinet, including Congress stalwart Pranab Mukherjee, who is tipped to be the new finance minister, were sworn in. Portfolios of the ministers have not been allocated. Junior ministers will be named over the next few days, the prime minister's office said, after 24 hours of wrangling over these positions among coalition allies of the Congress. Rahul Gandhi, the fourth generation member of the Gandhi-Nehru dynasty, was not among the ministers sworn in, despite reports that the heir apparent, seen as the architect of the party's resurgence, could be given a ministerial job. The Indian stockmarket surged earlier this week as investors welcomed Singh's strong mandate. – AgenciesTHE COUNCIL OF MINISTERS1. AK Antony 2. Ambika Soni 3. Anand Sharma 4. BK Handique 5. CP Joshi 6. Ghulam Nabi Azad 7. Jaipal Reddy 8. Kamal Nath 9. Kapil Sibal 10. Mamata Banerjee 11. Meira Kumar 12. Murli Deora 13. Veerappamoily 14. P Chidambaram 15. Pranab Mukherjee 16. Sharad Pawar 17. SM Krishna 18. Sushil Kumar Shinde 19. Vayalar Ravi __
