A five-member Nepali team that includes the prime minister's wife, Arzu Rana, is in London this week to ask donors for over $1 billion in development, rehabilitation and military aid. It is not a pledging conference, but aid agencies want to hear that the government is serious. Donors say they are convinced Nepal needs aid, and are willing to give the money, but have doubts about governance. They are waiting for signs like the trimming down of the 37-member cabinet, launching a serious anti-corruption drive and legal action against top high-profile bank defaulters. These are tough demands on a partyless government facing elections, but it really doesn't have a choice.