Manmohan Singh, India’s prime minister, on Tuesday night stepped down from his second job as foreign minister, giving up a caretaker role he assumed last year after the country’s top diplomat became embroiled in the United Nation’s fraud-struck oil-for-food programme.

Pranab Mukherjee, defence minister and confidant of Sonia Gandhi, the Congress Party leader, will take charge of the external affairs portfolio for the second time.