PM Dr Singh made only marginal changes to his cabinet last week and retained key ministers in core areas. Investors were disappointed that the Government, battling with major corruption scandals and policy paralysis, did not make bold changes to tackle poor governance amid corruption scandals and also speed up economic reforms. The main cabinet changes were:

Mr Jairam Ramesh: now Rural Development Minister, from Environment. Close to Congress President, Mrs Sonia Gandhi and expected to boost rural electorate support ahead of elections next year in Uttar Pradesh (U.P.), India's most populous state. His new ministry implements a rural jobs scheme (cost: $120 bn +) which is criticised for not achieving its objectives but is popular with Congress' rural voters and helped the party back to power. An influential maverick and blunt policy maker Mr Ramesh in his previous post in Environment differed with PM Dr Singh on several policy decisions, including clearance for South Korea's Posco's $12 billion steel plant. He also reaffirmed India's commitment to nuclear plants despite Japan's nuclear disaster and kept anti-nuclear protesters at bay.

Ms Jayanthi Natarajan: Environment Minister. Loyalist of Mrs Sonia Gandhi. Last a minister 13 years ago. Not expected to differ on policy issues with PM Dr Singh. Investor hopes have risen of a more measured style to give clearances for coal mining, power plants and factories.

Mr Salman Khurshid: Law and Justice Minister, from Corporate Affairs. Wants to reform the Supreme Court. Trained as a lawyer and from U.P. Close to Mrs Gandhi and seen as a key campaign member to rebuild votes in U.P. to reduce reliance on coalition partners. Congress has been a minor player for over two decades in that state which is controlled by Ms Mayawati. She is the leader of the former untouchable castes, and often holds the balance of power in Parliament.

Mr Veerappa Moily: Corporate Affairs Minister, from Law and Justice. Senior Congress member. A reformist, his impact in influencing economic reforms will be closely watched.

David Fuller's view These may be small steps but I assume that India's increasingly outspoken middleclass and press will continue their vocal campaign against corruption, and so they should.

Governance is everything.