NEW DELHI: 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.

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.