India's External Affairs Minister S.M. Krishna has resigned ahead of a Cabinet reshuffle that is expected by Sunday.
Indian officials say Krishna sent his resignation to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Friday.
The reshuffle is seen as a bid by Singh to improve the image of his ruling Congress Party, which has been hit by a series of high-profile corruption scandals.
According to Agence France Presse, 80-year-old Krishna
said his resignation will allow younger politicians to establish themselves in the Congress Party, in which he would continue to have a role.
A veteran Indian politician whose career spans nearly 50 years, he has served as external affairs minister since 2009.
Rahul Gandhi, the son of slain prime minister Rajiv Gandhi, is expected to win a seat in the reshuffled Cabinet.
One of the scandals in India involved the sale in 2010 of mobile phone licenses at below-market prices, which is said to have cost the government up to $40 billion. There were also allegations of widespread graft during the 2010 Commonwealth Games, which were hosted by India.
Some information for this report was provided by AP, AFP, and Reuters.