India premier inducts younger ministers in Cabinet

India's Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has reshuffled his Cabinet in a bid to overhaul his government's image ahead of state and national elections over the next 18 months.

Several new ministers took the oath of office Sunday at a brief ceremony to mark the changes aimed at bringing in younger faces into the Cabinet.

The long-awaited Cabinet changes gained urgency after the Congress Party-led coalition government was hit by a wave of corruption scandals. The revamp also filled several vacancies after a key ally opposed to recent economic reforms.

However, Rahul Gandhi, seen as a prime minister-in-waiting, was not part of the new Cabinet. Congress party leaders said he would concentrate on reviving the fortunes of the party before national elections in 2014.