From correspondents in Delhi, India, 11:00 PM IST

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh will chair a cabinet meeting here Friday to review the functioning of various ministries, his media advisor Deepak Sandhu said.

The meeting will take place against the backdrop of several ministers, including Sharad Pawar (agriculture), Lalu Prasad (railways) and Ram Vilas Paswan (Steel) seemingly distancing themselves from the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government.

Manmohan Singh had chaired a meeting of the Planning Commission Wednesday to examine how the government's flagship programmes were faring.

(Staff Writer, © IANS)