Minister of Defence (India): Difference between revisions

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{{short description|Minister of Defence in India}}
{{short description|Minister of Defence in India}}
{{more citations needed|date=February 2019}}
{{EngvarB|date=July 2016}}
{{EngvarB|date=July 2016}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2016}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2016}}
{{Infobox official post
{{Infobox official post
| post = {{big|Minister of Defence}}<br />''Rakshā Mantri''
| post = Minister of Defence
| native_name =
| native_name = {{transliteration|hi|Rakṣhā Mantrī}}
| insignia = Emblem of India.svg
| insignia = Ministry of Defence India.svg
| insigniasize = 50px
| insigniasize = 200
| insigniacaption = [[Emblem of India]]
| insigniacaption = Emblem of the [[Ministry of Defence (India)|Ministry of Defence]]
| flag = Flag of India.svg
| flag =  
| flagsize = 110px
| flagsize =  
| flagborder = yes
| flagborder =  
| flagcaption = [[Flag of India]]
| flagcaption =  
| image = Defence Minister Shri Rajnath Singh in February 2020.jpg
| image = The official portrait of Defence Minister Shri Rajnath Singh.jpg
| imagesize = 220px
| imagesize = 200px
| alt =  
| alt =  
| incumbent = [[Rajnath Singh]]
| incumbent = [[Rajnath Singh]]
| acting =  
| acting =  
| incumbentsince = 31 May 2019
| incumbentsince = 30 May 2019
| department = [[File:Flag of the Ministry of Defence of India.svg|25px|border|Ministry of Defence (India)]] [[Ministry of Defence (India)|Ministry of Defence]]
| department =  
| style = [[The Honourable]]
| style = [[The Honourable]]
| type =  
| type =  
| status =  
| status =  
| abbreviation =  
| abbreviation =  
| member_of = Union Cabinet
| member_of = [[Union Council of Ministers]]
| reports_to = [[Prime Minister of India|Prime Minister]]<br />[[Parliament of India]]
| reports_to = [[President of India]]<br>[[Prime Minister of India]]<br>[[Parliament of India]]
| residence =  
| residence = 17, [[Akbar Road]], [[New Delhi]]
| seat =  
| seat = Room No. 104, [[South Block]], [[New Delhi]]
| nominator =  
| nominator =  
| appointer = [[President of India|President]]
| appointer = [[President of India]]
| appointer_qualified = on the advice of the [[Prime Minister of India|Prime Minister]]
| appointer_qualified = on the advice of the [[Prime Minister of India|Prime Minister]]
| termlength = 5 years
| termlength = 5 years
| termlength_qualified =  
| termlength_qualified =  
| constituting_instrument =  
| constituting_instrument = [[Constitution of India]]
| precursor =  
| precursor =  
| formation = 15 August 1947
| formation = 15 August 1947
| first = [[Baldev Singh]]  
| first = [[Baldev Singh]]
| last =  
| last =  
| abolished =  
| abolished =  
| succession =  
| succession =  
| unofficial_names =  
| unofficial_names =  
| deputy = [[Ajay Bhatt (politician)| Ajay Bhatt]] <br /> {{small|[[Minister of State]]}}
| deputy = [[Sanjay Seth (Jharkhand politician)|Sanjay Seth]], [[Union Minister of State|MoS]]
| salary =
| salary = {{INRconvert|124000}} monthly{{efn|Minister of Defence gets the same salary as a [[Member of Parliament (India)|Member of Parliament]] in India. In addition to the basic pay, there is a constituency allowance of {{INR}}87,000, office allowance of {{INR}}75,000 per month, and other emoluments.}}<ref>{{cite web |title=Notification by the Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs |url=https://mpa.gov.in/sites/default/files/MPA_Notification_for_Salary.pdf |publisher=[[Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs (India)|Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs]] |access-date=25 August 2025}}</ref>
| website = {{url|https://mod.gov.in}}
| website = {{URL|https://mod.gov.in}}
}}
}}
{{Politics of India}}
{{Politics of India}}
The '''Minister of Defence''' ('''''Rakshā Mantri''''') is the head of the [[Ministry of Defence (India)|Ministry of Defence]] and a high ranking minister of the [[Government of India]]. The Defence Minister is one of the most senior offices in the [[Union Council of Ministers]] as well as being a high-level minister in the union cabinet. The defence minister additionally serves as President of the [[Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses]], and as Chancellor of the [[Defence Institute of Advanced Technology]] and of the [[Indian National Defence University|National Defence University]].
The '''Minister of Defence''' or the '''Defence Minister''' ([[ISO 15919|ISO]]: ''Rakṣhā Mantrī''),<ref>{{cite web|url=https://desw.gov.in/about-us/whos-who|title=Who's who|work=[[Ministry of Defence (India)|Ministry of Defence]]|access-date=1 January 2026}}</ref> is the head of the [[Ministry of Defence (India)|Ministry of Defence]] and a high-ranking minister in the [[Union Council of Ministers]] of the [[Government of India]]. The defence minister additionally serves as president of the [[Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses]], and as the chancellor of the [[Defence Institute of Advanced Technology]] and the [[Indian National Defence University|National Defence University]]. The minister is usually a member of the [[Cabinet Committee on Security]], and the [[National Security Council (India)|National Security Council]]. The defence minister is assisted by a [[minister of state]] and, less commonly by a [[deputy minister]].


They are often assisted by a '''Minister of State for Defence''' and less-commonly, the lower-ranked '''Deputy Minister of Defence'''.  
The first defence minister of independent India was [[Baldev Singh]] of the [[Indian National Congress]], who served in the [[First Nehru ministry]] from 1947 to 1952. [[A. K. Antony]] of the Congress has had the longest tenure, serving for seven years and 212 days from 26 October 2006 till 26 May 2014.<ref name="MoD">{{cite web |title=Defence Ministers of India|url=http://mod.gov.in/en/former-defence-ministers |work=[[Ministry of Defence (India)|Ministry of Defence]]|access-date=1 June 2025}}</ref> [[Rajnath Singh]] of the [[Bharatiya Janata Party]] is the incumbent defence minister, serving since 30 May 2019.


The first defence minister of independent India was [[Baldev Singh|Baldev Singh Chokkar]], who served in Prime Minister [[Jawaharlal Nehru]]'s cabinet during 1947–52. [[Rajnath Singh]] is the current defence minister of India.
==Cabinet Ministers ==
 
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
== List of Defence Ministers<ref name="elections-in">{{cite web|title=Ministry of Defence, List of Defence Ministers of India|url=https://elections.in/government/ministry-of-defence.html|access-date=13 February 2019|agency=Elections.in}}</ref> ==
! rowspan="2" | {{Abbr|No.|Number}}
{| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:center;"
! rowspan="2" colspan="2"| Portrait
! rowspan="2" style="width:17em" |Name<br>{{small|(born–died)<br>Constituency}}
! colspan="3" |Term of office
! rowspan="2" style="width:8em" |Political party
! rowspan="2" style="width:6em" | [[List of Indian union ministries|Ministry]]
! rowspan="2" colspan="2"| Prime Minister
|-
! style="width:8em"| Took office
! style="width:8em"| Left office
! style="width:6em"| Time in office
|-
! 1
| bgcolor="{{party color|Indian National Congress}}"|
| [[File:Sardar Baldev Singh Lok Sabha photo.jpg|70px]]
| '''[[Baldev Singh]]'''<br>{{small|(1902{{ndash}}1961)<br>MP for [[Punjab Province (British India)|Punjab]] (Constituent Assembly)}}
| 15 August<br>1947
| 13 May<br>1952
| '''{{ayd|1947|8|15|1952|5|13}}'''
| rowspan="15"| [[Indian National Congress]]
| [[First Nehru ministry|Nehru I]]
| rowspan="9" bgcolor="{{party color|Indian National Congress}}"|
| rowspan="9" style="width:9em"| '''[[Jawaharlal Nehru]]'''
|-
! 2
| bgcolor="{{party color|Indian National Congress}}"|
| [[File:Gopalaswamy Ayyangar.jpg|70px]]
| '''[[N. Gopalaswami Ayyangar]]'''<br>{{small|(1882{{ndash}}1953)<br>Rajya Sabha MP for [[Madras]]}}
| 13 May<br>1952
| 10 February<br>1953<br/>{{small|''(died in office)''}}
| '''{{ayd|1952|5|13|1953|2|10}}'''
| rowspan="4"| [[Second Nehru ministry|Nehru II]]
|-
! 3
| bgcolor="{{party color|Indian National Congress}}"|
| [[File:Jawaharlal Nehru close-up (cropped).jpg|70px]]
| '''[[Jawaharlal Nehru]]'''<br>{{small|(1889{{ndash}}1964)<br>MP for [[Phulpur Lok Sabha constituency|Phulpur]]}}<br>(Prime Minister)
| 10 February<br>1953
| 10 January<br>1955
| '''{{ayd|1953|2|10|1955|1|10}}'''
|-
! 4
| bgcolor="{{party color|Indian National Congress}}"|
| [[File:Kailash Nath Katju.jpg|70px]]
| '''[[Kailash Nath Katju]]'''<br>{{small|(1887{{ndash}}1968)<br>MP for [[Mandsaur Lok Sabha constituency|Mandsaur]]}}
| 10 January<br>1955
| 30 January<br>1957
| '''{{ayd|1955|1|10|1957|1|30}}'''
|-
! (3)
| bgcolor="{{party color|Indian National Congress}}"|
| [[File:Jawaharlal Nehru close-up (cropped).jpg|70px]]
| '''[[Jawaharlal Nehru]]'''<br>{{small|(1889{{ndash}}1964)<br>MP for [[Phulpur Lok Sabha constituency|Phulpur]]}}<br>(Prime Minister)
| 30 January<br>1957
| 17 April<br>1957
| '''{{ayd|1957|1|30|1957|4|17}}'''
|-
|-
! rowspan=2| {{abbr|No.|Number}}
! rowspan="2"| 5
! class="unsortable" rowspan=2| Portrait
| rowspan="2" bgcolor="{{party color|Indian National Congress}}"|
! rowspan=2| Name<br />{{small|(born-died)}}
| rowspan="2"| [[File:Krishna Menon.jpg|70px]]
! colspan=3| Term of office
| rowspan="2"| '''[[V. K. Krishna Menon]]'''<br>{{small|(1896{{ndash}}1974)<br>MP for [[Mumbai North Lok Sabha constituency|Bombay North]]}}
! colspan=2 rowspan=2| Political party<br />{{small|(Alliance)}}
| 17 April<br>1957
! rowspan=2| Ministry
| 2 April<br>1962
| rowspan="2"| '''{{ayd|1957|4|17|1962|10|31}}'''
| [[Third Nehru ministry|Nehru III]]
|-
|-
! Took office
| 2 April<br>1962
! Left office
| 31 October<br>1962
! Time in office
| rowspan="3"| [[Fourth Nehru ministry|Nehru IV]]
|-
|-
| 1
! (3)
| [[File:Sardar Baldev Singh on the Greeneries of Indian Parliament (cropped).jpg|75px]]
| bgcolor="{{party color|Indian National Congress}}"|
| {{sort|1=Singh, Baldev|2=[[Baldev Singh]]}}<br />{{small|(1902–1961)}}
| [[File:Jawaharlal Nehru close-up (cropped).jpg|70px]]
| 15 August 1947
| '''[[Jawaharlal Nehru]]'''<br>{{small|(1889{{ndash}}1964)<br>MP for [[Phulpur Lok Sabha constituency|Phulpur]]}}<br>(Prime Minister)
| 13 May 1952
| 31 October<br>1962
| {{ayd|15 August 1947|13 May 1952}}
| 14 November<br>1962
|width="4px" bgcolor="{{Indian National Congress/meta/color}}" rowspan=13|
| '''{{ayd|1962|10|31|1962|11|14}}'''
| rowspan="13"| [[Indian National Congress]]
| [[First Nehru ministry|Nehru I]]–[[Second Nehru ministry|II]]
|-
|-
| 2
! rowspan="5"| 6
| [[File:Gopalaswamy Ayyangar.jpg|75px]]
| rowspan="5" bgcolor="{{party color|Indian National Congress}}"|
| {{sort|1=Ayyangar, N.|2=[[N. Gopalaswami Ayyangar]]}}<br />{{small|(1882–1953)}}
| rowspan="5"| [[File:Yashwantrao Chavan.jpg|70px]]
| 13 May 1952
| rowspan="5"| '''[[Yashwantrao Chavan]]'''<br>{{small|(1913{{ndash}}1984)<br>MP for [[Nashik Lok Sabha constituency|Nashik]]}}
| 10 February 1953
| 14 November<br>1962
| {{ayd|13 May 1952|10 February 1953}}
| 27 May<br>1964
| [[Second Nehru ministry|Nehru II]]
| rowspan="5"| '''{{ayd|1962|11|14|1966|11|13}}'''
|-
|-
| 3
| 27 May<br>1964
| [[File:Jnehru.jpg|75px]]
| 9 June<br>1964
| {{sort|1=Nehru, Jawaharlal|2=[[Jawaharlal Nehru]]}}<br />{{small|(1889–1964)}}
| [[First Nanda ministry|Nanda I]]
| 10 February 1953
| bgcolor="{{party color|Indian National Congress}}"|
| 10 January 1955
| '''[[Gulzarilal Nanda]]'''
| {{ayd|10 February 1953|10 January 1955}}
| [[Second Nehru ministry|Nehru II]]
|-
|-
| 4
| 9 June<br>1964
| [[File:Kailash Nath Katju.jpg|75px]]
| 11 January<br>1966
| {{sort|1=Katju, Kailash|2=[[Kailash Nath Katju]]}}<br />{{small|(1887–1968)}}
| [[Shastri ministry|Shastri]]
| 10 January 1955
| bgcolor="{{party color|Indian National Congress}}"|
| 30 January 1957
| '''[[Lal Bahadur Shastri]]'''
| {{ayd|10 January 1955|30 January 1957}}
| [[Second Nehru ministry|Nehru II]]
|-
|-
| (3)
| 11 January<br>1966
| [[File:Jnehru.jpg|75px]]
| 24 January<br>1966
| {{sort|1=Nehru, Jawaharlal|2=[[Jawaharlal Nehru]]}}<br />{{small|(1889–1964)}}
| [[Second Nanda ministry|Nanda II]]
| 30 January 1957
| bgcolor="{{party color|Indian National Congress}}"|
| 17 April 1957
| '''[[Gulzarilal Nanda]]'''
| {{ayd|10 January 1955|17 April 1957}}
| [[Second Nehru ministry|Nehru II]]–[[Third Nehru ministry|III]]
|-
|-
| 5
| 24 January<br>1966
| [[File:Krishna Menon.jpg|75px]]
| 13 November<br>1966
| {{sort|1=Menon, V.|2=[[V. K. Krishna Menon]]}}<br />{{small|(1896–1974)}}
| rowspan="2"| [[First Indira Gandhi ministry|Indira I]]
| 17 April 1957
| rowspan="3" bgcolor="{{party color|Indian National Congress}}"|
| 31 October 1962
| rowspan="8"| '''[[Indira Gandhi]]'''
| {{ayd|17 April 1957|31 October 1962}}
| [[Third Nehru ministry|Nehru III]]–[[Fourth Nehru ministry|IV]]
|-
|-
| (3)
! rowspan="2"| 7
| [[File:Jnehru.jpg|75px]]
| rowspan="2" bgcolor="{{party color|Indian National Congress}}"|
| {{sort|1=Nehru, Jawaharlal|2=[[Jawaharlal Nehru]]}}<br />{{small|(1889–1964)}}
| rowspan="2"| [[File:Swaran Singh Lok Sabha photo.jpg|70px]]
| 31 October 1962
| rowspan="2"| '''[[Swaran Singh]]'''<br>{{small|(1907{{ndash}}1994)<br>MP for [[Jalandhar Lok Sabha constituency|Jullundur]]}}
| 14 November 1962
| 13 November<br>1966
| {{ayd|31 October 1962|14 November 1962}}
| 13 March<br>1967
| [[Fourth Nehru ministry|Nehru IV]]
| rowspan="2"| '''{{ayd|1966|11|13|1970|6|27}}'''
|-
|-
| 6
| 13 March<br>1967
| [[File:Y B Chavan (cropped).jpg|75px]]
| 27 June<br>1970
| {{sort|1=Chavan, Yashwantrao|2=[[Yashwantrao Chavan]]}}<br />{{small|(1913–1984)}}
| rowspan="2"| [[Second Indira Gandhi ministry|Indira II]]
| 14 November 1962
| 13 November 1966
| {{ayd|14 November 1962|13 November 1966}}
| [[Fourth Nehru ministry|Nehru IV]]<br />[[First Nanda ministry|Nanda I]]<br />[[Shastri ministry|Shastri]]<br />[[Second Nanda ministry|Nanda II]]<br />[[First Indira Gandhi ministry|Gandhi I]]
|-
|-
| 7
! rowspan="2"| 8
|
| rowspan="2" bgcolor="{{party color|Indian National Congress (R)}}"|
| {{sort|1=Singh, Swaran|2=[[Swaran Singh]]}}<br />{{small|(1907–1994)}}
| rowspan="2"| [[File:Jagjivan_Ram_stamp_(cropped).jpg|70px]]
| 13 November 1966
| rowspan="2"| '''[[Jagjivan Ram]]'''<br>{{small|(1908{{ndash}}1986)<br>MP for [[Sasaram Lok Sabha constituency|Sasaram]]}}
| 27 June 1970
| 27 June<br>1970
| {{ayd|13 November 1966|27 June 1970}}
| 18 March<br>1971
| [[First Indira Gandhi ministry|I. Gandhi I]]
| rowspan="2"| '''{{ayd|1970|6|27|1974|10|10}}'''
| rowspan="5"| [[Indian National Congress (R)]]
| rowspan="5" bgcolor="{{party color|Indian National Congress (R)}}"|
|-
|-
| 8
| 18 March<br>1971
| [[File:Jagjivan Ram stamp (cropped).jpg|75px]]
| 10 October<br>1974
| {{sort|1=Ram, Jagjivan|2=[[Jagjivan Ram]]}}<br />{{small|(1908–1986)}}
| rowspan="4"| [[Third Indira Gandhi ministry|Indira III]]
| 27 June 1970
| 10 October 1974
| {{ayd|27 June 1970|10 October 1974}}
| [[First Indira Gandhi ministry|I. Gandhi I]]–[[Second Indira Gandhi ministry|II]]
|-
|-
| (7)
! (7)
|  
| bgcolor="{{party color|Indian National Congress (R)}}"|
| {{sort|1=Singh, Swaran|2=[[Swaran Singh]]}}<br />{{small|(1907–1994)}}
| [[File:Swaran Singh Lok Sabha photo.jpg|70px]]
| 10 October 1974
| '''[[Swaran Singh]]'''<br>{{small|(1907{{ndash}}1994)<br>MP for [[Jalandhar Lok Sabha constituency|Jullundur]]}}
| 1 December 1975
| 10 October<br>1974
| {{ayd|10 October 1974|1 December 1975}}
| 1 December<br>1975
| [[Second Indira Gandhi ministry|I. Gandhi II]]
| '''{{ayd|1974|10|10|1975|12|1}}'''
|-
|-
| 9
! 9
| [[File:Indira Gandhi 1977.jpg|75px]]
| bgcolor="{{party color|Indian National Congress (R)}}"|
| {{sort|1=Gandhi, Indira|2=[[Indira Gandhi]]}}<br />{{small|(1917–1984)}}
| [[File:Indira Gandhi official portrait.png|70px]]
| 1 December 1975
| '''[[Indira Gandhi]]'''<br>{{small|(1917{{ndash}}1984)<br>MP for [[Rae Bareli Lok Sabha constituency|Rae Bareli]]}}<br>(Prime Minister)
| 20 December 1975
| 1 December<br>1975
| {{ayd|1 December 1975|20 December 1975}}
| 20 December<br>1975
| [[Second Indira Gandhi ministry|I. Gandhi II]]
| '''{{ayd|1975|12|1|1975|12|20}}'''
|-
|-
| 10
! 10
|  
| bgcolor="{{party color|Indian National Congress (R)}}"|
| {{sort|1=Lal, Bansi|2=[[Bansi Lal]]}}<br />{{small|(1927–2006)}}
| [[File:Bansi Lal (cropped).jpg|70px]]
| 21 December 1975
| '''[[Bansi Lal]]'''<br>{{small|(1927{{ndash}}2006)<br>Rajya Sabha MP for [[Punjab, India|Punjab]]}}
| 24 March 1977
| 21 December<br>1975
| {{ayd|20 December 1975|24 March 1977}}
| 24 March<br>1977
| [[Second Indira Gandhi ministry|I. Gandhi II]]
| '''{{ayd|1975|12|21|1977|3|24}}'''
|-
|-
| (8)
! (8)
| [[File:Jagjivan Ram stamp (cropped).jpg|75px]]
| bgcolor="{{party color|Janata Party}}"|
| {{sort|1=Ram, Jagjivan|2=[[Jagjivan Ram]]}}<br />{{small|(1908–1986)}}
| [[File:Jagjivan_Ram_stamp_(cropped).jpg|70px]]
| 24 March 1977
| '''[[Jagjivan Ram]]'''<br>{{small|(1908{{ndash}}1986)<br>MP for [[Sasaram Lok Sabha constituency|Sasaram]]}}<br>(Deputy Prime Minister<br>from 24 January 1979)
| 28 July 1979
| 24 March<br>1977
| {{ayd|24 March 1977|28 July 1979}}
| 28 July<br>1979
| width="4px" bgcolor="{{Janata Party/meta/color}}"|
| '''{{ayd|1977|3|24|1979|7|28}}'''
| [[Janata Party]]
| [[Janata Party]]
| [[Premiership of Morarji Desai|Desai]]
| [[Morarji Desai ministry|Desai]]
| bgcolor="{{party color|Janata Party}}"|
| '''[[Morarji Desai]]'''
|-
|-
| 11
! 11
| [[File:Chidambaram Subramaniam.jpg|75px]]
| bgcolor="{{party color|Indian National Congress (Urs)}}"|
| {{sort|1=Subramaniam, Chidambaram|2=[[Chidambaram Subramaniam]]}}<br />{{small|(1910–2000)}}
| [[File:Chidambaram Subramaniam Lok Sabha photo.jpg|70px]]
| 28 July 1979
| '''[[Chidambaram Subramaniam]]'''<br>{{small|(1910{{ndash}}2000)<br>MP for [[Palani Lok Sabha constituency|Palani]]}}
| 14 January 1980
| 28 July<br>1979
| {{ayd|28 July 1979|14 January 1980}}
| 14 January<br>1980
| width="4px" bgcolor="{{Indian National Congress (Urs)/meta/color}}"|
| '''{{ayd|1979|7|28|1980|1|14}}'''
| [[Indian National Congress (Urs)]]
| [[Indian National Congress (Urs)]]
| [[Charan Singh ministry|C. Singh]]
| [[Charan Singh ministry|Charan]]
| bgcolor="{{party color|Janata Party (Secular)}}"|
| '''[[Charan Singh]]'''
|-
|-
| (9)
! (9)
| [[File:Indira Gandhi 1977.jpg|75px]]
| bgcolor="{{party color|Indian National Congress (I)}}"|
| {{sort|1=Gandhi, Indira|2=[[Indira Gandhi]]}}<br />{{small|(1917–1984)}}
| [[File:Indira Gandhi 1977.jpg|70px]]
| 14 January 1980
| '''[[Indira Gandhi]]'''<br>{{small|(1917{{ndash}}1984)<br>MP for [[Medak Lok Sabha constituency|Medak]]}}<br>(Prime Minister)
| 15 January 1982
| 14 January<br>1980
| {{ayd|14 January 1980|15 January 1982}}
| 15 January<br>1982
| width="4px" bgcolor="{{Indian National Congress/meta/color}}" rowspan=7|
| '''{{ayd|1980|1|14|1982|1|15}}'''
| rowspan="7"| [[Indian National Congress]]
| rowspan="8"| [[Indian National Congress (I)]]
| rowspan="2"| [[Third Indira Gandhi ministry|I. Gandhi III]]
| rowspan="3"| [[Fourth Indira Gandhi ministry|Indira IV]]
| rowspan="3" bgcolor="{{party color|Indian National Congress (I)}}"|
| rowspan="3"| '''[[Indira Gandhi]]'''
|-
! 12
| bgcolor="{{party color|Indian National Congress (I)}}"|
| [[File:R Venkataraman.jpg|70px]]
| '''[[Ramaswamy Venkataraman]]'''<br>{{small|(1910{{ndash}}2009)<br>MP for [[Chennai South Lok Sabha constituency|Chennai South]]}}
| 15 January<br>1982
| 2 August<br>1984
| '''{{ayd|1982|1|15|1984|8|2}}'''
|-
|-
| 12
! rowspan="2"| 13
| [[File:R Venkataraman.jpg|75px]]
| rowspan="2" bgcolor="{{party color|Indian National Congress (I)}}"|
| {{sort|1=Venkataraman, Ramaswamy|2=[[Ramaswamy Venkataraman]]}}<br />{{small|(1910–2009)}}
| rowspan="2"| [[File:Shankarrao Chavan 2007 stamp of India (cropped).jpg|70px]]
| 15 January 1982
| rowspan="2"| '''[[Shankarrao Chavan]]'''<br>{{small|(1920{{ndash}}2004)<br>MP for [[Nanded Lok Sabha constituency|Nanded]]}}
| 2 August 1984
| 2 August<br>1984
| {{ayd|15 January 1982|2 August 1984}}
| 31 October<br>1984
| rowspan="2"| '''{{ayd|1984|8|2|1984|12|31}}'''
|-
|-
| 13
| 31 October<br>1984
| [[File:Shankarrao Chavan 2007 stamp of India (cropped).jpg|75px]]
| 31 December<br>1984
| {{sort|1=Chavan, Shankarrao|2=[[Shankarrao Chavan]]}}<br />{{small|(1920–2004)}}
| [[First Rajiv Gandhi ministry|Rajiv I]]
| 2 August 1984
| rowspan="5" bgcolor="{{party color|Indian National Congress (I)}}"|
| 31 December 1984
| rowspan="5"| '''[[Rajiv Gandhi]]'''
| {{ayd|2 August 1984|31 December 1984}}
| [[Third Indira Gandhi ministry|I. Gandhi III]]<br />[[Rajiv Gandhi ministry|R. Gandhi]]
|-
|-
| 14
! 14
| [[File:P. V. Narasimha Rao.JPG|83x83px]]
| bgcolor="{{party color|Indian National Congress (I)}}"|
| {{sort|1=Rao, P.|2=[[P. V. Narasimha Rao]]}}<br />{{small|(1921–2004)}}
| [[File:Visit of Narasimha Rao, Indian Minister for Foreign Affairs, to the CEC (cropped)(2).jpg|70px]]
| 1 January 1985
| '''[[P. V. Narasimha Rao]]'''<br>{{small|(1921{{ndash}}2004)<br>MP for [[Ramtek Lok Sabha constituency|Ramtek]]}}
| 25 September 1985
| 31 December<br>1984
| {{ayd|1 January 1985|25 September 1985}}
| 25 September<br>1985
| rowspan="4" | [[Rajiv Gandhi ministry|R. Gandhi]]
| '''{{ayd|1984|12|31|1985|9|25}}'''
| rowspan="4"| [[Second Rajiv Gandhi ministry|Rajiv II]]
|-
|-
| 15
! 15
| [[File:Rajiv Gandhi (1987).jpg|75px]]
| bgcolor="{{party color|Indian National Congress (I)}}"|
| {{sort|1=Gandhi, Rajiv|2=[[Rajiv Gandhi]]}}<br />{{small|(1944–1991)}}
| [[File:RajivGandhi.jpg|70px]]
| 25 September 1985
| '''[[Rajiv Gandhi]]'''<br>{{small|(1944{{ndash}}1991)<br>MP for [[Amethi Lok Sabha constituency|Amethi]]}}<br>(Prime Minister)
| 24 January 1987
| 25 September<br>1985
| {{ayd|30 December 1984|25 September 1985}}
| 24 January<br>1987
| '''{{ayd|1985|9|25|1987|1|24}}'''
|-
|-
| 16
! 16
| [[File:V. P. Singh (cropped).jpg|75px]]
| bgcolor="{{party color|Indian National Congress (I)}}"|
| {{sort|1=Singh, Vishwanath|2=[[Vishwanath Pratap Singh]]}}<br />{{small|(1930–2008)}}
| [[File:V. P. Singh (cropped).jpg|70px]]
| 24 January 1987
| '''[[V. P. Singh]]'''<br>{{small|(1931{{ndash}}2008)<br>Rajya Sabha MP for [[Uttar Pradesh]]}}
| 12 April 1987
| 24 January<br>1987
| {{ayd|24 January 1987|12 April 1987}}
| 12 April<br>1987
| '''{{ayd|1987|1|24|1987|4|12}}'''
|-
|-
| 17
! 17
| [[File:Shri K.C Pant (cropped).jpg|75px]]
| bgcolor="{{party color|Indian National Congress (I)}}"|
| {{sort|1=Pant, K.|2=[[K. C. Pant]]}}<br />{{small|(1931–2012)}}
| [[File:Shri K.C Pant (cropped).jpg|70px]]
| 13 April 1987
| '''[[K. C. Pant]]'''<br>{{small|(1931{{ndash}}2012)<br>MP for [[New Delhi Lok Sabha constituency|New Delhi]]}}
| 1 December 1989
| 12 April<br>1987
| {{ayd|13 April 1987|1 December 1989}}
| 2 December<br>1989
| '''{{ayd|1987|4|12|1989|12|2}}'''
|-
|-
| (16)
! (16)
| [[File:V. P. Singh (cropped).jpg|75px]]
| bgcolor="{{party color|Janata Dal}}"|
| {{sort|1=Singh, Vishwanath|2=[[Vishwanath Pratap Singh]]}}<br />{{small|(1930–2008)}}
| [[File:V. P. Singh (cropped).jpg|70px]]
| 2 December 1989
| '''[[V. P. Singh|Vishwanath Pratap Singh]]'''<br>{{small|(1931{{ndash}}2008)<br>MP for [[Fatehpur Lok Sabha constituency|Fatehpur]]}}<br>(Prime Minister)
| 10 November 1990
| 2 December<br>1989
| {{ayd|2 December 1989|10 November 1990}}
| 10 November<br>1990
| width="4px" bgcolor="{{Janata Dal/meta/color}}"|
| '''{{ayd|1989|12|2|1990|11|10}}'''
| [[Janata Dal]]<br />{{small|([[National Front (India)|National Front]])}}
| [[Janata Dal]]
| [[Vishwanath Pratap Singh ministry|V. Singh]]
| [[V. P. Singh ministry|Vishwanath]]
| bgcolor="{{party color|Janata Dal}}"|
| '''[[V. P. Singh|Vishwanath Pratap Singh]]'''
|-
|-
| 18
! 18
| [[File:Chandra Shekhar Singh.jpg|75px]]
| bgcolor="{{party color|Samajwadi Janata Party (Rashtriya)}}"|
| {{sort|1=Shekhar, Chandra|2=[[Chandra Shekhar]]}}<br />{{small|(1927–2007)}}
| [[File:Chandra Shekhar Singh.jpg|70px]]
| 10 November 1990
| '''[[Chandra Shekhar]]'''<br>{{small|(1927{{ndash}}2007)<br>MP for [[Ballia Lok Sabha constituency|Ballia]]}}<br>(Prime Minister)
| 21 June 1991
| 10 November<br>1990
| {{ayd|10 November 1990|21 June 1991}}
| 21 June<br>1991
| width="4px" bgcolor="{{Samajwadi Janata Party (Rashtriya)/meta/color}}"|
| '''{{ayd|1990|11|10|1991|6|21}}'''
| [[Samajwadi Janata Party (Rashtriya)|Samajwadi Janata Party]]
| [[Samajwadi Janata Party (Rashtriya)]]
| [[Chandra Shekhar ministry|Shekhar]]
| [[Chandra Shekhar ministry|Chandra Shekhar]]
| bgcolor="{{party color|Samajwadi Janata Party (Rashtriya)}}"|
| '''[[Chandra Shekhar]]'''
|-
|-
| (14)
! (14)
| [[File:P. V. Narasimha Rao.JPG|83x83px]]
| bgcolor="{{party color|Indian National Congress (I)}}"|
| {{sort|1=Rao, P.|2=[[P. V. Narasimha Rao]]}}<br />{{small|(1921–2004)}}
| [[File:Visit of Narasimha Rao, Indian Minister for Foreign Affairs, to the CEC (cropped)(2).jpg|70px]]
| 21 June 1991
| '''[[P. V. Narasimha Rao]]'''<br>{{small|(1921{{ndash}}2004)<br>''Unelected''}}<br>(Prime Minister)
| 26 June 1991
| 21 June<br>1991
| {{ayd|21 June 1991|26 June 1991}}
| 26 June<br>1991
| width="4px" bgcolor="{{Indian National Congress/meta/color}}" rowspan=3|
| '''{{ayd|1991|6|21|1991|6|26}}'''
| rowspan="3"| [[Indian National Congress]]
| rowspan="3"| [[Indian National Congress (I)]]
| rowspan="3"| [[Rao ministry|Rao]]
| rowspan="3"| [[Rao ministry|Rao]]
| rowspan="3" bgcolor="{{party color|Indian National Congress (I)}}"|
| rowspan="3"| '''[[P. V. Narasimha Rao]]'''
|-
|-
| 19
! 19
| [[File:Sharad Pawar, Minister of AgricultureCrop.jpg|75px]]
| bgcolor="{{party color|Indian National Congress (I)}}"|
| {{sort|1=Pawar, Sharad|2=[[Sharad Pawar]]}}<br />{{small|(born 1940)}}
| [[File:The Union Minister for Agriculture and Food Processing Industries, Shri Sharad Pawar addressing at the launch of the Sahana Group’s New Marathi Channel “Jai Maharashtra”, in Mumbai on April 27, 2013 (cropped).jpg|70px]]
| 26 June 1991
| '''[[Sharad Pawar]]'''<br>{{small|(born 1940)<br>MP for [[Baramati Lok Sabha constituency|Baramati]]}}
| 6 March 1993
| 26 June<br>1991
| {{ayd|26 June 1991|6 March 1993}}
| 6 March<br>1993
| '''{{ayd|1991|6|26|1993|3|6}}'''
|-
|-
| (14)
! (14)
| [[File:P. V. Narasimha Rao.JPG|83x83px]]
| bgcolor="{{party color|Indian National Congress (I)}}"|
| {{sort|1=Rao, P.|2=[[P. V. Narasimha Rao]]}}<br />{{small|(1921–2004)}}
| [[File:Visit of Narasimha Rao, Indian Minister for Foreign Affairs, to the CEC (cropped)(2).jpg|70px]]
| 6 March 1993
| '''[[P. V. Narasimha Rao]]'''<br>{{small|(1921{{ndash}}2004)<br>MP for [[Nandyal Lok Sabha constituency|Nandyal]]}}<br>(Prime Minister)
| 16 May 1996
| 6 March<br>1993
| {{ayd|6 March 1993|16 May 1996}}
| 16 May<br>1996
| '''{{ayd|1993|3|6|1996|5|16}}'''
|-
|-
| 20
! 20
|  
| bgcolor="{{party color|Bharatiya Janata Party}}"|
| {{sort|1=Mahajan, Pramod|2=[[Pramod Mahajan]]}}<br />{{small|(1949–2006)}}
| [[File:Pramod jee.jpg|70px]]
| 16 May 1996
| '''[[Pramod Mahajan]]'''<br>{{small|(1949{{ndash}}2006)<br>MP for [[Mumbai North East Lok Sabha constituency|Mumbai North East]]}}
| 1 June 1996
| 16 May<br>1996
| {{ayd|16 May 1996|1 June 1996}}
| 1 June<br>1996
| width="4px" bgcolor="{{Bharatiya Janata Party/meta/color}}"|
| '''{{ayd|1996|5|16|1996|6|1}}'''
| [[Bharatiya Janata Party]]
| [[Bharatiya Janata Party]]
| [[First Vajpayee ministry|Vajpayee I]]
| [[First Vajpayee ministry|Vajpayee I]]
| bgcolor="{{party color|Bharatiya Janata Party}}"|
| '''[[Atal Bihari Vajpayee]]'''
|-
! rowspan="2"| 21
| rowspan="2" bgcolor="{{party color|Samajwadi Party}}"|
| rowspan="2"| [[File:Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Shri.Mulayam Singh Yadav, addressing at the National Development Council, New Delhi on December 9, 2006 (cropped).jpg|70px]]
| rowspan="2"| '''[[Mulayam Singh Yadav]]'''<br>{{small|(1939{{ndash}}2022)<br>MP for [[Mainpuri Lok Sabha constituency|Mainpuri]]}}
| 1 June<br>1996
| 21 April<br>1997
| rowspan="2"| '''{{ayd|1996|6|1|1998|3|18}}'''
| rowspan="2"| [[Samajwadi Party]]
| [[Deve Gowda ministry|Deve Gowda]]
| bgcolor="{{party color|Janata Dal}}"|
| '''[[H. D. Deve Gowda]]'''
|-
|-
| 21
| 21 April<br>1997
| [[File:Mulayam Singh Yadav (28993165375).jpg|75px]]
| 18 March<br>1998
| {{sort|1=Yadav, Mulayam |2=[[Mulayam Singh Yadav]]}}<br />{{small|(born 1939)}}
| [[Gujral ministry|Gujral]]
| 1 June 1996
| bgcolor="{{party color|Janata Dal}}"|
| 19 March 1998
| '''[[Inder Kumar Gujral]]'''
| {{ayd|1 June 1996|19 March 1998}}
| width="4px" bgcolor="{{Samajwadi Party/meta/color}}"|
| [[Samajwadi Party]]
| [[Deve Gowda ministry|Gowda]]<br />[[Gujral ministry|Gujral]]
|-
|-
| 22
! rowspan="2"| 22
| [[File:George Fernandes (cropped).jpg|75px]]
| rowspan="2" bgcolor="{{party color|Samata Party}}"|
| {{sort|1=Fernandes, George|2=[[George Fernandes]]}}<br />{{small|(1930–2019)}}
| rowspan="2"| [[File:George Fernandes (cropped).jpg|70px]]
| 19 March 1998
| rowspan="2"| '''[[George Fernandes]]'''<br>{{small|(1930{{ndash}}2019)<br>MP for [[Nalanda Lok Sabha constituency|Nalanda]]}}
| 16 March 2001
| 19 March<br>1998
| {{ayd|19 March 1998|16 March 2001}}
| 13 October<br>1999
| width="4px" bgcolor="{{Samata Party/meta/color}}"|
| rowspan="2"| '''{{ayd|1998|12|5|2001|3|16}}'''
| [[Samata Party]]
| rowspan="2"| [[Samata Party]]
| [[Second Vajpayee ministry|Vajpayee II]]–[[Third Vajpayee ministry|III]]
| [[Second Vajpayee ministry|Vajpayee II]]
| rowspan="4" bgcolor="{{party color|Bharatiya Janata Party}}"|
| rowspan="4"| '''[[Atal Bihari Vajpayee]]'''
|-
|-
| 23
| 13 October<br>1999
| [[File:Jaswant Singh.jpg|75px]]
| 16 March<br>2001
| {{sort|1=Singh, Jaswant|2=[[Jaswant Singh]]}}<br />{{small|(1938–2020)}}
| rowspan="3"| [[Third Vajpayee ministry|Vajpayee III]]
| 16 March 2001
|-
| 21 October 2001
! 23
| {{ayd|16 March 2001|21 October 2001}}
| bgcolor="{{party color|Bharatiya Janata Party}}"|
| width="4px" bgcolor="{{Bharatiya Janata Party/meta/color}}"|
| [[File:Jaswant Singh in 2001.jpg|70px]]
| '''[[Jaswant Singh]]'''<br>{{small|(1938{{ndash}}2020)<br>Rajya Sabha MP for [[Rajasthan]]}}
| 16 March<br>2001
| 21 October<br>2001
| '''{{ayd|2001|3|16|2001|10|21}}'''
| [[Bharatiya Janata Party]]
| [[Bharatiya Janata Party]]
| rowspan="2"| [[Third Vajpayee ministry|Vajpayee III]]
|-
|-
| (22)
! (22)
| [[File:George Fernandes (cropped).jpg|75px]]
| bgcolor="{{party color|Janata Dal (United)}}"|
| {{sort|1=Fernandes, George|2=[[George Fernandes]]}}<br />{{small|(1930–2019)}}
| [[File:George Fernandes (cropped).jpg|70px]]
| 21 October 2001
| '''[[George Fernandes]]'''<br>{{small|(1930{{ndash}}2019)<br>MP for [[Nalanda Lok Sabha constituency|Nalanda]]}}
| 22 May 2004
| 21 October<br>2001
| {{ayd|21 October 2001|22 May 2004}}
| 22 May<br>2004
| width="4px" bgcolor="{{Janata Dal (United)/meta/color}}"|
| '''{{ayd|2001|10|21|2004|5|22}}'''
| [[Janata Dal (United)]]
| [[Janata Dal (United)]]
|-
|-
| 24
! 24
| [[File:Pranab Mukherjee-World Economic Forum Annual Meeting Davos 2009 crop(2).jpg|75px]]
| bgcolor="{{party color|Indian National Congress}}"|
| {{sort|1=Mukherjee, Pranab|2=[[Pranab Mukherjee]]}}<br />{{small|(1935–2020)}}
| [[File:Pranab Mukherjee Portrait (cropped).jpg|70px]]
| 22 May 2004
| '''[[Pranab Mukherjee]]'''<br>{{small|(1935{{ndash}}2020)<br>MP for [[Jangipur Lok Sabha constituency|Jangipur]]}}
| 26 October 2006
| 23 May<br>2004<ref>{{cite press release| title=Pranab Mukherjee takes over as Defence Minister |url=https://www.pib.gov.in/newsite/PrintRelease.aspx?relid=1772 |work=[[Press Information Bureau]] |date=24 October 2006 |access-date=1 June 2025 }}</ref>
| {{ayd|22 May 2004|26 October 2006}}
| 26 October<br>2006
| width="4px" bgcolor="{{Indian National Congress/meta/color}}" rowspan=2|
| '''{{ayd|2004|5|23|2006|10|26}}'''
| rowspan="2"| [[Indian National Congress]]
| rowspan="3"| [[Indian National Congress]]
| [[First Manmohan Singh ministry|M. Singh I]]
| rowspan="2"| [[First Manmohan Singh ministry|Manmohan I]]
| rowspan="3" bgcolor="{{party color|Indian National Congress}}"|
| rowspan="3"| '''[[Manmohan Singh]]'''
|-
! rowspan="2"| 25
| rowspan="2" bgcolor="{{party color|Indian National Congress}}"|
| rowspan="2"| [[File:AK Antony at Ponnani.jpg|70px]]
| rowspan="2"| '''[[A. K. Antony]]'''<br>{{small|(born 1940)<br>Rajya Sabha MP for [[Kerala]]}}
| 26 October<br>2006
| 22 May<br>2009
| rowspan="2"| '''{{ayd|2006|10|26|2014|5|26}}'''
|-
|-
| 25
| 23 May<br>2009
| [[File:A. K. Antony.jpg|75px]]
| 26 May<br>2014
| {{sort|1=Antony, A.|2=[[A. K. Antony]]}}<br />{{small|(born 1940)}}
| [[Second Manmohan Singh ministry|Manmohan II]]
| 26 October 2006
| 26 May 2014
| {{ayd|26 October 2006|26 May 2014}}
| [[First Manmohan Singh ministry|M. Singh I]]–[[Second Manmohan Singh ministry|II]]
|-
|-
| 26
! 26
| [[File:The official photograph of the Defence Minister, Shri Arun Jaitley.jpg|75px]]
| bgcolor="{{party color|Bharatiya Janata Party}}"|
| {{sort|1=Jaitley, Arun|2=[[Arun Jaitley]]}}<br />{{small|(1952–2019)}}
| [[File:The official photograph of the Defence Minister, Shri Arun Jaitley (cropped).jpg|70px]]
| 26 May 2014
| '''[[Arun Jaitley]]'''<br>{{small|(1952{{ndash}}2019)<br>Rajya Sabha MP for [[Gujarat]]}}
| 9 November 2014
| 26 May<br>2014<ref>{{cite press release |title=Arun Jaitley takes over as Defence Minister |url=https://www.pib.gov.in/newsite/PrintRelease.aspx?relid=105217 |work=[[Press Information Bureau]] |date=14 March 2017 |access-date=1 June 2025 }}</ref>
| {{ayd|26 May 2014|9 November 2014}}
| 9 November<br>2014
| width="4px" bgcolor="{{Bharatiya Janata Party/meta/color}}" rowspan=5|
| '''{{ayd|2014|5|27|2014|11|9}}'''
| rowspan="5"| [[Bharatiya Janata Party]]
| rowspan="6"| [[Bharatiya Janata Party]]
| rowspan="4"| [[First Modi ministry|Modi I]]
| rowspan="4"| [[First Modi ministry|Modi I]]
| rowspan="6" bgcolor="{{party color|Bharatiya Janata Party}}"|
| rowspan="6"| '''[[Narendra Modi]]'''
|-
|-
| 27
! 27
| [[File:The official photograph of the Union Minister for Defence, Shri Manohar Parrikar.jpg|75px]]
| bgcolor="{{party color|Bharatiya Janata Party}}"|
| {{sort|1=Parrikar, Manohar|2=[[Manohar Parrikar]]}}<br />{{small|(1955–2019)}}
| [[File:The official photograph of the Union Minister for Defence, Shri Manohar Parrikar.jpg|70px]]
| 9 November 2014
| '''[[Manohar Parrikar]]'''<br>{{small|(1955{{ndash}}2019)<br>Rajya Sabha MP for [[Uttar Pradesh]]}}
| 13 March 2017
| 9 November<br>2014<ref>{{cite news |title=Manohar Parrikar takes charge as Defence Minister |url=https://www.business-standard.com/multimedia/video-gallery/general/manohar-parrikar-takes-charge-as-defence-minister-13578.htm |work=[[Business Standard]] |date=10 November 2014 |access-date=1 June 2025 }}</ref>
| {{ayd|9 November 2014|13 March 2017}}
| 13 March<br>2017
| '''{{ayd|2014|11|9|2017|3|13}}'''
|-
|-
| (26)
! (26)
| [[File:The official photograph of the Defence Minister, Shri Arun Jaitley.jpg|75px]]
| bgcolor="{{party color|Bharatiya Janata Party}}"|
| {{sort|1=Jaitley, Arun|2=[[Arun Jaitley]]}}<br />{{small|(1952–2019)}}
| [[File:The official photograph of the Defence Minister, Shri Arun Jaitley (cropped).jpg|70px]]
| 13 March 2017
| '''[[Arun Jaitley]]'''<br>{{small|(1952{{ndash}}2019)<br>Rajya Sabha MP for [[Gujarat]]}}
| 3 September 2017
| 13 March<br>2017<ref>{{cite news |title=Jaitley takes charge as Defence Minister |url=https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/jaitley-takes-charge-as-defence-minister/article17460823.ece |work=[[The Hindu]] |date=14 March 2017 |access-date=1 June 2025 }}</ref>
| {{ayd|13 March 2017|3 September 2017}}
| 3 September<br>2017
| '''{{ayd|2017|3|13|2017|9|3}}'''
|-
|-
| 28
! 28
| [[File:Nirmala Sitharaman addressing at the inauguration of the 2nd Edition of the Global Exhibition on Services-2016 (GES), at India Expo Centre & Mart, Greater Noida, Uttar Pradesh (cropped).jpg|75px]]
| bgcolor="{{party color|Bharatiya Janata Party}}"|
| {{sort|1=Sitharaman, Nirmala|2=[[Nirmala Sitharaman]]}}<br />{{small|(born 1959)}}
| [[File:Am 11. April 2025 empfing Außenministerin Beate Meinl-Reisinger die indische Finanzministerin Nirmala Sitharaman in Wien (54445397025) (cropped).jpg|70px]]
| 3 September 2017
| '''[[Nirmala Sitharaman]]'''<br>{{small|(born 1959)<br>Rajya Sabha MP for [[Karnataka]]}}
| 30 May 2019
| 3 September<br>2017<ref>{{cite press release |title=Nirmala Sitharaman takes over as Defence Minister |url=https://www.pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=1502172 |work=[[Press Information Bureau]] |date=7 September 2017 |access-date=1 June 2025 }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Nirmala Sitharaman takes charge as Defence Minister |url=https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/nirmala-sitharaman-takes-charge-as-defence-minister/story-fLxs2uvz6JUtxhLgvO5EQI.html |work=[[The Hindustan Times]] |date=7 September 2017 |access-date=1 June 2025 }}</ref>
| {{ayd|3 September 2017|30 May 2019}}
| 30 May<br>2019
| '''{{ayd|2017|9|3|2019|5|30}}'''
|-
|-
| 29
! rowspan =2|29
| [[File:Defence Minister Shri Rajnath Singh in February 2020.jpg|75px]]
|rowspan="2"bgcolor="{{party color|Bharatiya Janata Party}}"|
| {{sort|1=Singh, Rajnath|2=[[Rajnath Singh]]}}<br />{{small|(born 1951)}}
| rowspan=2|[[File:2025 Rajnath Singh (cropped).jpg|70px]]
| 30 May 2019
| rowspan=2|'''[[Rajnath Singh]]'''<br>{{small|(born 1951)<br>MP for [[Lucknow Lok Sabha constituency|Lucknow]]}}
| ''Incumbent''
| 30 May<br>2019<ref>{{cite news |title=Rajnath Singh to be the new Defence Minister of India |url=https://m.economictimes.com/news/defence/rajnath-singh-to-be-the-new-defence-minister-of-india/articleshow/69593474.cms |work=[[The Economic Times]] |date=31 May 2019 |access-date=1 June 2025 }}</ref>
| {{ayd|30 May 2019}}
| 9 June<br>2024
| rowspan=2|'''{{ayd|2019|5|31}}'''
| [[Second Modi ministry|Modi II]]
| [[Second Modi ministry|Modi II]]
|-
| 9 June<br>2024<ref>{{cite press release |title=Rajnath Singh assumes charge as Minister of Defence (Raksha Mantri) for the second consecutive term |url=https://www.pib.gov.in/PressReleaseIframePage.aspx?PRID=2025004 |work=[[Press Information Bureau]] |date=13 June 2024 |access-date=1 June 2025 }}</ref>
|'''Incumbent'''
| [[Third Modi ministry|Modi III]]
|-
|}
==Ministers of State ==
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
! rowspan="2" | {{Abbr|No.|Number}}
! rowspan="2" colspan="2"| Portrait
! rowspan="2" style="width:17em" |Minister<br>{{small|(Birth-Death)<br>Constituency}}
! colspan="3" |Term of office
! rowspan="2" style="width:8em" |Political party
! rowspan="2" style="width:6em" | Ministry
! rowspan="2" colspan="2"| Prime Minister
|-
! style="width:8em"| From
! style="width:8em"| To
! style="width:6em"| Period
|-
! 1
| bgcolor="{{party color|Indian National Congress}}"|
| [[File:Mahavir Tyagi Lok Sabha photo.jpg|70px]]
| '''[[Mahavir Tyagi]]'''<br>{{small|(1899{{ndash}}1980)<br>MP for [[Dehradun Lok Sabha constituency|Dehradun]]}}<br>''Minister of Defence Organisation''
| 16 March<br>1953
| 17 April<br>1957
| '''{{ayd|16 Mar 1953|17 Apr 1957}}'''
| [[Indian National Congress]]
| [[Second Nehru ministry|Nehru II]]
| rowspan="3" bgcolor="{{party color|Indian National Congress}}"|
| rowspan="3" style="width:9em"| '''[[Jawaharlal Nehru]]'''
|-
! colspan="9"|
|-
! rowspan="2"| 2
| rowspan="2" bgcolor="{{party color|Indian National Congress}}"|
| rowspan="2"| [[File:Kotha Raghuramaiah.png|70px]]
| rowspan="2"| '''[[Kotha Raghuramaiah]]'''<br>{{small|(1912{{ndash}}1979)<br>MP for [[Guntur Lok Sabha constituency|Guntur]]}}<br>''Minister of Defence Production,<br>since 14 November 1962''
| 16 April<br>1962
| 27 May<br>1964
| rowspan="2"| '''{{ayd|16 Apr 1962|9 Jun 1964}}'''
| rowspan="10"| [[Indian National Congress]]
| [[Fourth Nehru ministry|Nehru IV]]
|-
| 27 May<br>1964
| 9 June<br>1964
| [[First Nanda ministry|Nanda I]]
| bgcolor="{{party color|Indian National Congress}}"|
| '''[[Gulzarilal Nanda]]'''
|-
! 3
| bgcolor="{{party color|Indian National Congress}}"|
| [[File:Alungai Mattai Thomas Lok Sabha portrait.gif|70px]]
| '''[[A. M. Thomas|Alungal Mathai Thomas]]'''<br>{{small|(1912{{ndash}}1981)<br>MP for [[Ernakulam Lok Sabha constituency|Ernakulam]]}}<br>(Defence Production)
| 13 June<br>1964
| 11 January<br>1966
| '''{{ayd|13 Jun 1964|11 Jan 1966}}'''
| rowspan="2"| [[Shastri ministry|Shastri]]
| rowspan="2" bgcolor="{{party color|Indian National Congress}}"|
| rowspan="2"| '''[[Lal Bahadur Shastri]]'''
|-
! 4
| bgcolor="{{party color|Indian National Congress}}"|
|  [[File:Jaisukh lal Hathi.png|70px]]
| '''[[Jaisukhlal Hathi]]'''<br>{{small|(1909{{ndash}}1982)<br>Rajya Sabha MP for [[Gujarat]]}}
| 29 October<br>1965
| 11 January<br>1966
| '''{{ayd|29 Oct 1965|11 Jan 1966}}'''
|-
! (3)
| bgcolor="{{party color|Indian National Congress}}"|
| [[File:Alungai Mattai Thomas Lok Sabha portrait.gif|70px]]
| '''[[A. M. Thomas|Alungal Mathai Thomas]]'''<br>{{small|(1912{{ndash}}1981)<br>MP for [[Ernakulam Lok Sabha constituency|Ernakulam]]}}<br>(Defence Production)
| rowspan="2"| 11 January<br>1966
| rowspan="2"| 24 January<br>1966
| rowspan="2"| '''{{ayd|11 Jan 1966|24 Jan 1966}}'''
| rowspan="2"| [[Second Nanda ministry|Nanda II]]
| rowspan="2" bgcolor="{{party color|Indian National Congress}}"|
| rowspan="2"| '''[[Gulzarilal Nanda]]'''
|-
! (4)
| bgcolor="{{party color|Indian National Congress}}"|
| [[File:Jaisukh lal Hathi.png|70px]]
| '''[[Jaisukhlal Hathi]]'''<br>{{small|(1909{{ndash}}1982)<br>Rajya Sabha MP for [[Gujarat]]}}
|-
! (3)
| bgcolor="{{party color|Indian National Congress}}"|
| [[File:Alungai Mattai Thomas Lok Sabha portrait.gif|70px]]
| '''[[A. M. Thomas|Alungal Mathai Thomas]]'''<br>{{small|(1912{{ndash}}1981)<br>MP for [[Ernakulam Lok Sabha constituency|Ernakulam]]}}<br>(Defence Production<br>since 31 January 1966)
| rowspan="2"| 24 January<br>1966
| rowspan="2"| 13 March<br>1967
| rowspan="2"| '''{{ayd|24 Jan 1966|13 Mar 1967}}'''
| rowspan="2"| [[First Indira Gandhi ministry|Indira I]]
| rowspan="4" bgcolor="{{party color|Indian National Congress}}"|
| rowspan="11"| '''[[Indira Gandhi]]'''
|-
! (4)
| bgcolor="{{party color|Indian National Congress}}"|
| [[File:Jaisukh lal Hathi.png|70px]]
| '''[[Jaisukhlal Hathi]]'''<br>{{small|(1909{{ndash}}1982)<br>Rajya Sabha MP for [[Gujarat]]}}<br>''Minister of Defence Supplies,<br>until 13 November 1966''
|-
! 5
| bgcolor="{{party color|Indian National Congress}}"|
| [[File:Bali Ram Bhagat portrait.gif|70px]]
| '''[[Bali Ram Bhagat]]'''<br>{{small|(1922{{ndash}}2011)<br>MP for [[Arrah Lok Sabha constituency|Arrah]]}}
| 13 March<br>1967
| 14 November<br>1967
| '''{{ayd|13 Mar 1967|14 Nov 1967}}'''
| rowspan="4"| [[Second Indira Gandhi ministry|Indira II]]
|-
! 6
| bgcolor="{{party color|Indian National Congress}}"|
| [[File:Lalit_Narayan_Mishra_1976_stamp_of_India_(cropped).jpg|70px]]
| '''[[Lalit Narayan Mishra]]'''<br />{{small|(1923{{ndash}}1975)<br />Rajya Sabha MP for [[Bihar]]}}<br>(Defence Production)
| 14 November<br>1967
| 27 June<br>1970
| '''{{ayd|14 Nov 1967|27 Jun 1970}}'''
|-
! 7
| bgcolor="{{party color|Indian National Congress (R)}}"|
| [[File:Narendrasinghji Mahida Lok Sabha photo.jpg|70px]]
| '''Narendrasinghji Mahida'''<br>{{small|MP for [[Anand Lok Sabha constituency|Anand]]}}
| 27 June<br>1970
| 18 March<br>1971
| '''{{ayd|27 Jun 1970|18 Mar 1971}}'''
| rowspan="7"| [[Indian National Congress (R)]]
| rowspan="7" bgcolor="{{party color|Indian National Congress (R)}}"|
|-
! rowspan="2"| 8
| rowspan="2" bgcolor="{{party color|Indian National Congress (R)}}"|
| rowspan="2"| [[File:Prakash Chandra Sethi Lok Sabha photo.jpg|70px]]
| rowspan="2"| '''[[Prakash Chandra Sethi]]'''<br>{{small|(1919{{ndash}}1996)<br>MP for [[Indore Lok Sabha constituency|Indore]]}}<br>(Defence Production)
| 27 June<br>1970
| 18 March<br>1971
| rowspan="2"| '''{{ayd|27 Jun 1970|2 May 1971}}'''
|-
| 18 March<br>1971
| 2 May<br>1971
| rowspan="5"| [[Third Indira Gandhi ministry|Indira III]]
|-
! 9
| bgcolor="{{party color|Indian National Congress (R)}}"|
| [[File:Vidya Charan Shukla (cropped).jpg|70px]]
| '''[[Vidya Charan Shukla]]'''<br>{{small|(1929{{ndash}}2013)<br>MP for [[Raipur Lok Sabha constituency|Raipur]]}}<br>(Defence Production)
| 2 May<br>1971
| 10 October<br>1974
| '''{{ayd|2 May 1971|10 Oct 1974}}'''
|-
! 10
| bgcolor="{{party color|Indian National Congress}}"|
| [[File:Ram Niwas Mirdha (cropped).jpg|70px]]
| '''[[Ram Niwas Mirdha]]'''<br>{{small|(1924{{ndash}}2010)<br>Rajya Sabha MP for [[Rajasthan]]}}<br>(Defence Production)
| 10 October<br>1974
| 21 December<br>1975
| '''{{ayd|10 Oct 1974|21 Dec 1975}}'''
|-
! 11
| bgcolor="{{party color|Indian National Congress (Indira)}}"|
|
| '''[[Vitthalrao Gadgil]]'''<br>{{small|(1928{{ndash}}2001)<br>MP for [[Pune Lok Sabha constituency|Pune]]}}<br>(Defence Production)
| 25 December<br>1975
| 24 March<br>1977
| '''{{ayd|25 Dec 1975|24 Mar 1977}}'''
|-
! 12
| bgcolor="{{party color|Indian National Congress (I)}}"|
| [[File:Assam Governor Janaki Ballabh Patnaik at Platinum Jubilee of Assam Legislative Assembly (cropped).jpg|70px]]
| '''[[Janaki Ballabh Patnaik]]'''<br>{{small|(1927{{ndash}}2015)<br>MP for [[Cuttack Lok Sabha constituency|Cuttack]]}}
| 23 December<br>1976
| 24 March<br>1977
| '''{{ayd|23 Dec 1976|24 Mar 1977}}'''
|-
! colspan="11"|
|-
! 13
| bgcolor="{{party color|Janata Party}}"|
| [[File:Sher Singh Kadyan Lok Sabha photo.jpg|70px]]
| '''Sher Singh Kadyan'''<br>{{small|(1917{{ndash}}2009)<br>MP for [[Rohtak Lok Sabha constituency|Rohtak]]}}
| 14 August<br>1977
| 28 July<br>1979
| '''{{ayd|14 Aug 1977|28 Jul 1979}}'''
| [[Janata Party]]
| [[Morarji Desai ministry|Desai]]
| bgcolor="{{party color|Janata Party}}"|
| '''[[Morarji Desai]]'''
|-
! 14
| bgcolor="{{party color|Janata Party (Secular)}}"|
| 
| '''Jagbir Singh'''<br>{{small|Rajya Sabha MP for [[Uttar Pradesh]]}}
| 30 July<br>1979
| 14 January<br>1980
| '''{{ayd|30 Jul 1979|14 Jan 1980}}'''
| [[Janata Party (Secular)]]
| [[Charan Singh ministry|Charan]]
| bgcolor="{{party color|Janata Party (Secular)}}"|
| '''[[Charan Singh]]'''
|-
! colspan="11"|
|-
! 15
| bgcolor="{{party color|Indian National Congress (I)}}"|
| 
| '''C. P. N. Singh'''<br>{{small|MP for [[Padrauna Lok Sabha constituency|Padrauna]]}}
| 3 March<br>1980
| 19 October<br>1980
| '''{{ayd|3 Mar 1980|19 Oct 1980}}'''
| rowspan="10"| [[Indian National Congress (I)]]
| rowspan="4"| [[Fourth Indira Gandhi ministry|Indira IV]]
| rowspan="4" bgcolor="{{party color|Indian National Congress (I)}}"|
| rowspan="4"| '''[[Indira Gandhi]]'''
|-
! 16
| bgcolor="{{party color|Indian National Congress (I)}}"|
| [[File:Shivraj Patil in pensive mood at the inauguration of the one day Seminar on “The Role of Media in Bringing Parliament Closer to the People”.jpg|70px]]
| '''[[Shivraj Patil]]'''<br>{{small|(born 1935)<br>MP for [[Latur Lok Sabha constituency|Latur]]}}
| 19 October<br>1980
| 15 January<br>1982
| '''{{ayd|19 Oct 1980|15 Jan 1982}}'''
|-
! colspan="7"|
|-
! rowspan="2"| 17
| rowspan="2" bgcolor="{{party color|Indian National Congress (I)}}"|
| rowspan="2"| [[File:2025 Rajnath Singh (cropped).jpg|70px]]
| rowspan="2"| {{small|Brigadier}}<br>'''[[Kamakhya Prasad Singh Deo]]''' {{post-nominals|country=IND|AVSM}}<br>{{small|(born 1941)<br>MP for [[Dhenkanal Lok Sabha constituency|Dhenkanal]]}}
| 29 January<br>1983
| 31 October<br>1984
| rowspan="2"| '''{{ayd|29 Jan 1983|26 Dec 1984}}'''
|-
| 4 November<br>1984
| 31 December<br>1984
| [[First Rajiv Gandhi ministry|Rajiv I]]
| rowspan="7" bgcolor="{{party color|Indian National Congress (I)}}"|
| rowspan="7"| '''[[Rajiv Gandhi]]'''
|-
! colspan="9"|
|-
! 18
| bgcolor="{{party color|Indian National Congress (I)}}"|
|
| '''[[Sukh Ram]]'''<br>{{small|(1927{{ndash}}2022)<br>MP for [[Mandi Lok Sabha constituency|Mandi]]}}<br>(Defence Production and Defence Supplies)
| 25 September<br>1985
| 22 October<br>1986
| '''{{ayd|25 Sep 1985|22 Oct 1986}}'''
| rowspan="5"| [[Second Rajiv Gandhi ministry|Rajiv II]]
|-
! 19
| bgcolor="{{party color|Indian National Congress (I)}}"|
|
| '''[[Arun Singh (politician, born 1944)|Arun Singh]]'''<br>{{small|(born 1944)<br>Rajya Sabha MP for [[Uttar Pradesh]]}}<br>(Defence Research and Development Organisation)
| 25 September<br>1985
| 18 July<br>1987
| '''{{ayd|25 Sep 1985|18 Jul 1987}}'''
|-
! (16)
| bgcolor="{{party color|Indian National Congress (I)}}"|
| [[File:Shivraj Patil in pensive mood at the inauguration of the one day Seminar on “The Role of Media in Bringing Parliament Closer to the People”.jpg|70px]]
| '''[[Shivraj Patil]]'''<br>{{small|(born 1935)<br>MP for [[Latur Lok Sabha constituency|Latur]]}}
| 22 October<br>1986
| 25 June<br>1988
| '''{{ayd|22 Oct 1986|25 Jun 1988}}'''
|-
! 20
| bgcolor="{{party color|Indian National Congress (I)}}"|
|
| '''[[Chintamani Panigrahi]]'''<br>{{small|(1922{{ndash}}2000)<br>MP for [[Bhubaneswar Lok Sabha constituency|Bhubaneswar]]}}<br>(Defence Production and Defence Supplies)
| 25 June<br>1988
| 4 July<br>1989
| '''{{ayd|25 Jun 1988|4 Jul 1989}}'''
|-
! 21
| bgcolor="{{party color|Indian National Congress (I)}}"|
| [[File:Dumar Lal Baitha.jpg|70px]]
| '''[[Dumar Lal Baitha]]'''<br>{{small|(1924{{ndash}}1997)<br>MP for [[Araria Lok Sabha constituency|Araria]]}}<br>(Defence Production and Supplies)
| 4 July<br>1989
| 2 December<br>1989
| '''{{ayd|4 Jul 1989|2 Dec 1989}}'''
|-
! colspan="11"|
|-
! 22
| bgcolor="{{party color|Janata Dal}}"|
|
| '''[[Raja Ramanna]]'''<br>{{small|(1925{{ndash}}2004)<br>''Unelected''}}
| 20 January<br>1990
| 10 November<br>1990
| '''{{ayd|20 Jan 1990|10 Nov 1990}}'''
| [[Janata Dal]]
| [[V. P. Singh ministry|Vishwanath]]
| bgcolor="{{party color|Janata Dal}}"|
| '''[[V. P. Singh|Vishwanath Pratap Singh]]'''
|-
! 23
| bgcolor="{{party color|Samajwadi Janata Party (Rashtriya)}}"|
|
| '''[[Lalit Vijay Singh]]'''<br>{{small|(1931{{ndash}}1998)<br>MP for [[Begusarai Lok Sabha constituency|Begusarai]]}}
| 21 November<br>1990
| 21 June<br>1991
| '''{{ayd|21 Nov 1990|21 Jun 1991}}'''
| [[Samajwadi Janata Party (Rashtriya)]]
| [[Chandra Shekhar ministry|Chandra Shekhar]]
| bgcolor="{{party color|Samajwadi Janata Party (Rashtriya)}}"|
| '''[[Chandra Shekhar]]'''
|-
! 24
| bgcolor="{{party color|Indian National Congress (I)}}"|
|
| '''[[S. Krishna Kumar]]'''<br>{{small|(born 1939)<br>MP for [[Kollam Lok Sabha constituency|Quilon]]}}
| 26 June<br>1991
| 18 January<br>1993
| '''{{ayd|26 Jun 1991|18 Jan 1993}}'''
| rowspan="4| [[Indian National Congress (I)]]
| rowspan="4"| [[Rao ministry|Rao]]
| rowspan="4" bgcolor="{{party color|Indian National Congress (I)}}"|
| rowspan="4"| '''[[P. V. Narasimha Rao]]'''
|-
! 25
| bgcolor="{{party color|Indian National Congress (I)}}"|
|
| '''[[Mallikarjun Goud]]'''<br />{{small|(1941{{ndash}}2002)<br />MP for [[Mahabubnagar Lok Sabha constituency|Mahabubnagar]]}}
| 18 January<br>1993
| 19 January<br>1995
| '''{{ayd|18 Jan 1993|19 Jan 1995}}'''
|-
! 26
| bgcolor="{{party color|Indian National Congress (I)}}"|
| [[File:Suresh Pachouri ji.jpg|70px]]
| '''[[Suresh Pachouri]]'''<br>{{small|(born 1952)<br>Rajya Sabha MP for [[Madhya Pradesh]]}}<br>(Defence Production and Supplies)
| 15 September<br>1995
| 16 May<br>1996
| '''{{ayd|15 Sep 1995|16 May 1996}}'''
|-
! 27
| bgcolor="{{party color|Indian National Congress (I)}}"|
|
| '''[[Mallikarjun Goud]]'''<br />{{small|(1941{{ndash}}2002)<br />MP for [[Mahabubnagar Lok Sabha constituency|Mahabubnagar]]}}<br>(Defence,<br>Defence Research and Development)
| 30 September<br>1995
| 16 May<br>1996
| '''{{ayd|30 Sep 1995|16 May 1996}}'''
|-
! colspan="11"|
|-
! rowspan="2"| 28
| rowspan="2" bgcolor="{{party color|Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam}}"|
| rowspan="2"|
| rowspan="2"| '''[[N. V. N. Somu]]'''<br>{{small|(1937{{ndash}}1997)<br>MP for [[Chennai North Lok Sabha constituency|Chennai North]]}}
| 6 July<br>1996
| 21 April<br>1997
| rowspan="2"| '''{{ayd|29 Jun 1996|21 Apr 1997}}'''
| rowspan="2"| [[Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam]]
| [[Deve Gowda ministry|Deve Gowda]]
| bgcolor="{{party color|Janata Dal}}"|
| '''[[H. D. Deve Gowda]]'''
|-
| 21 April<br>1997
| 14 November<br>1997<br/>{{small|''(died in office)''}}
| [[Gujral ministry|Gujral]]
| bgcolor="{{party color|Janata Dal}}"|
| '''[[Inder Kumar Gujral]]'''
|-
! colspan="11"|
|-
! 29
| bgcolor="{{party color|Bharatiya Janata Party}}"|
| [[File:Harin Pathak 2014-01-21 09-56.jpg|70px]]
| '''[[Harin Pathak]]'''<br>{{small|(born 1947)<br>MP for [[Ahmedabad East Lok Sabha constituency|Ahmedabad East]]}}
| 13 October<br>1999
| 14 November<br>2000
| '''{{ayd|1999|10|13|2000|11|14}}'''
| rowspan="7"| [[Bharatiya Janata Party]]
| rowspan="7"| [[Third Vajpayee ministry|Vajpayee III]]
| rowspan="7" bgcolor="{{party color|Bharatiya Janata Party}}"|
| rowspan="7"| '''[[Atal Bihari Vajpayee]]'''
|-
! 30
| bgcolor="{{party color|Bharatiya Janata Party}}"|
|
| '''[[Bachi Singh Rawat]]'''<br>{{small|(1949{{ndash}}2021)<br>MP for [[Almora Lok Sabha constituency|Almora]]}}
| 13 October<br>1999
| 22 November<br>1999
| '''{{ayd|1999|10|13|1999|11|22}}'''
|-
! colspan="7"|
|-
! 31
| bgcolor="{{party color|Bharatiya Janata Party}}"|
| [[File:Uppalapati Krishnam Raju.jpg|70px]]
| '''[[Krishnam Raju]]'''<br>{{small|(1940{{ndash}}2022)<br>MP for [[Narasapuram Lok Sabha constituency|Narasapuram]]}}
| 22 July<br>2001
| 1 July<br>2002
| '''{{ayd|2001|7|22|2002|7|1}}'''
|-
! (29)
| bgcolor="{{party color|Bharatiya Janata Party}}"|
| [[File:Harin Pathak 2014-01-21 09-56.jpg|70px]]
| '''[[Harin Pathak]]'''<br>{{small|(born 1947)<br>MP for [[Ahmedabad East Lok Sabha constituency|Ahmedabad East]]}}<br>(Defence Production and Supplies)
| 15 October<br>2001
| 29 January<br>2003
| '''{{ayd|2001|10|15|2003|1|29}}'''
|-
! 32
| bgcolor="{{party color|Bharatiya Janata Party}}"|
|
| '''[[Chaman Lal Gupta]]'''<br>{{small|(1934{{ndash}}2021)<br>MP for [[Udhampur Lok Sabha constituency|Udhampur]]}}
| 1 July<br>2002
| 22 May<br>2004
| '''{{ayd|2002|7|1|2004|5|22}}'''
|-
! 33
| bgcolor="{{party color|Bharatiya Janata Party}}"|
| [[File:O Rajagopal.jpg|70px]]
| '''[[O. Rajagopal]]'''<br>{{small|(born 1929)<br>Rajya Sabha MP for [[Madhya Pradesh]]}}
| 29 January<br>2003
| 22 May<br>2004
| '''{{ayd|2004|1|29|2004|5|22}}'''
|-
! 34
| bgcolor="{{party color|Indian National Congress}}"|
| [[File:B. K. Handique (cropped).png|70px]]
| '''[[Bijoy Krishna Handique]]'''<br>{{small|(1934{{ndash}}2015)<br>MP for [[Jorhat Lok Sabha constituency|Jorhat]]}}
| 23 May<br>2004
| 29 January<br>2006
| '''{{ayd|2004|5|23|2006|1|29}}'''
| rowspan="7"| [[Indian National Congress]]
| rowspan="3"| [[First Manmohan Singh ministry|Manmohan I]]
| rowspan="7" bgcolor="{{party color|Indian National Congress}}"|
| rowspan="7"| '''[[Manmohan Singh]]'''
|-
! 35
| bgcolor="{{party color|Indian National Congress}}"|
| [[File:Rao Inderjit Singh taking over as Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Planning in May 2014 (cropped).jpg|70px]]
| '''[[Rao Inderjit Singh]]'''<br>{{small|(born 1951)<br>MP for [[Mahendragarh Lok Sabha constituency|Mahendragarh]]}}
| 29 January<br>2006
| 22 May<br>2009
| '''{{ayd|2006|1|29|2009|5|22}}'''
|-
! rowspan="2"| 36
| rowspan="2" bgcolor="{{party color|Indian National Congress}}"|
| rowspan="2"| [[File:Pallam Raju (cropped).jpg|70px]]
| rowspan="2"| '''[[M. M. Pallam Raju]]'''<br>{{small|(born 1962)<br>MP for [[Kakinada Lok Sabha constituency|Kakinada]]}}<br>(Defence Production, until 28 May 2009)
| 29 January<br>2006
| 22 May<br>2009
| rowspan="2"| '''{{ayd|2006|1|29|2012|10|28}}'''
|-
| 28 May<br>2009
| 28 October<br>2012
| rowspan="4"| [[Second Manmohan Singh ministry|Manmohan II]]
|-
! 37
| bgcolor="{{party color|Indian National Congress}}"|
| [[File:Jitin Prasada assuming office as Minister of State, Road Transport and Highways (cropped).jpg|70px]]
| '''[[Jitin Prasada]]'''<br>{{small|(born 1973)<br>MP for [[Dhaurahra Lok Sabha constituency|Dhaurahra]]}}
| 28 October<br>2012
| 29 October<br>2012
| '''{{ayd|2012|10|28|2012|10|29}}'''
|-
! 38
| bgcolor="{{party color|Indian National Congress}}"|
| [[File:Lal Chand Kataria taking office in October 2012 (cropped).jpg|70px]]
| '''[[Lalchand Kataria]]'''<br>{{small|(born 1968)<br>MP for [[Jaipur Rural Lok Sabha constituency|Jaipur Rural]]}}
| 28 October<br>2012
| 31 October<br>2012
| '''{{ayd|2012|10|28|2012|10|31}}'''
|-
! 39
| bgcolor="{{party color|Indian National Congress}}"|
| [[File:Maharaja Jitendra Singh Naruka of Alwar.jpg|70px]]
| '''[[Jitendra Singh (politician, born 1971)|Jitendra Singh]]'''<br>{{small|(born 1971)<br>MP for [[Alwar Lok Sabha constituency|Alwar]]}}
| 28 October<br>2012
| 26 May<br>2014
| '''{{ayd|2012|10|28|2014|4|26}}'''
|-
! (35)
| bgcolor="{{party color|Bharatiya Janata Party}}"|
| [[File:Rao Inderjit Singh taking over as Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Planning in May 2014 (cropped).jpg|70px]]
| '''[[Rao Inderjit Singh]]'''<br>{{small|(born 1951)<br>MP for [[Gurgaon Lok Sabha constituency|Gurgaon]]}}
| 27 May<br>2014
| 5 July<br>2016
| '''{{ayd|2014|5|27|2016|7|5}}'''
| rowspan="5"| [[Bharatiya Janata Party]]
| rowspan="2"| [[First Modi ministry|Modi I]]
| rowspan="5" bgcolor="{{party color|Bharatiya Janata Party}}"|
| rowspan="5"| [[Narendra Modi]]
|-
! 40
| bgcolor="{{party color|Bharatiya Janata Party}}"|
| [[File:Subhash Ramrao Bhamre (cropped).jpg|70px]]
| '''[[Subhash Bhamre]]'''<br>{{small|(born 1953)<br>MP for [[Dhule Lok Sabha constituency|Dhule]]}}
| 5 July<br>2016
| 30 May<br>2019
| '''{{ayd|2016|7|5|2019|5|30}}'''
|-
! 41
| bgcolor="{{party color|Bharatiya Janata Party}}"|
| [[File:Shripad Yasso Naik - Kolkata 2014-10-12 7755.JPG|70px]]
| '''[[Shripad Yesso Naik]]'''<br>{{small|(born 1952)<br>MP for [[North Goa Lok Sabha constituency|North Goa]]}}
| 31 May<br>2019
| 7 July<br>2021
| '''{{ayd|2019|5|31|2021|7|7}}'''
| rowspan="2"| [[Second Modi ministry|Modi II]]
|-
! 42
| bgcolor="{{party color|Bharatiya Janata Party}}"|
| [[File:Ajay Bhatt Minister (cropped).jpg|70px]]
| '''[[Ajay Bhatt (politician)|Ajay Bhatt]]'''<br>{{small|(born 1961)<br>MP for [[Nainital–Udhamsingh Nagar Lok Sabha constituency|Nainital–Udhamsingh Nagar]]}}
| 7 July<br>2021
| 9 June<br>2024
| '''{{ayd|2021|7|7|2024|6|9}}'''
|-
! 43
| bgcolor="{{party color|Bharatiya Janata Party}}"|
| [[File:Sanjay Seth (cropped).jpg|70px]]
| '''[[Sanjay Seth (Jharkhand politician)|Sanjay Seth]]'''<br/>{{small|(born 1959)<br/>MP for [[Ranchi Lok Sabha constituency|Ranchi]]}}
| 10 June<br>2024
| '''Incumbent'''
| '''{{ayd|2024|6|10}}'''
| [[Third Modi ministry|Modi III]]
|-
|}
|}


== List of Ministers of State ==
==Deputy Ministers==
{| class="wikitable sortable mw-collapsible style=" ;"sortable mw-collapsible"
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
|+Minister of State in the Ministry of Defence
! rowspan="2" | {{Abbr|No.|Number}}
! [[Minister of state]]
! rowspan="2" colspan="2"| Portrait
! Portrait
! rowspan="2" style="width:17em" |Minister<br>{{small|(Birth-Death)<br>Constituency}}
! Political party
! colspan="3" |Term of office
!
! rowspan="2" style="width:8em" |Political party
! colspan="2" | Term
! rowspan="2" style="width:6em" | Ministry
! Years
! rowspan="2" colspan="2"| Prime Minister
|-align=center
|-
|[[Rao Inderjit Singh]]
! style="width:8em"| From
|[[File:Rao Inderjit Singh addressing at the Meeting with the StatesUTs on the Implementation of “The Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act, 2016”, in New Delhi.jpg|100px]]
! style="width:8em"| To
|Rowspan=4|[[Bharatiya Janata Party]]
! style="width:6em"| Period
|Rowspan=4 bgcolor=FF9933|
|-
|26 May 2014
! 1
|5 July 2016
| bgcolor="{{party color|Indian National Congress}}"|
|{{Age in years and days|2014|05|26|2016|07|5}}
|
|-align=center
| {{small|Major-General}}<br>'''[[Himmatsinhji (general)|Kumar Shri Himmatsinhji]]''' {{post-nominals|country=GBR|CIE}}<br>{{small|(1897{{ndash}}1973)}}
|[[Subhash Bhamre]]
| 14 August<br>1950
|[[File:The foundation stone for the construction of DRDO established IIT Bombay & IIT Madras bi-nodal ‘Centre of Propulsion Technology’ (CoPT) was laid at IIT Bombay premises by Minister of State for Defence, Dr. Subhash Bhamre.jpg|100px]]
| 29 February<br>1952
|5 July 2016
| '''{{ayd|14 Aug 1950|29 Feb 1952}}'''
|30 May 2019
| [[Indian National Congress]]
|{{Age in years and days|2016|07|5|2019|05|30}}
| [[First Nehru ministry|Nehru I]]
|-align=center
| rowspan="8" bgcolor="{{party color|Indian National Congress}}"|
|[[Shripad Naik]]
| rowspan="8" style="width:9em"| '''[[Jawaharlal Nehru]]'''
|[[File:Shripad Yasso Naik - Kolkata 2014-10-12 7755.JPG|100px]]
|-
|30 May 2019
! colspan="9"|
|7 July 2021
|-
|{{Age in years and days|2019|05|30}}
! 2
|-align=center
| bgcolor="{{party color|Indian National Congress}}"|
|[[Ajay Bhatt (politician)|Ajay Bhatt]]
| [[File:Surjit Singh Majithia Official portrait 1952.gif|70px]]
| {{small|Wing Commander}}<br>'''[[Surjit Singh Majithia]]'''<br>{{small|(1912{{ndash}}1995)<br>MP for [[Tarn Taran Lok Sabha constituency|Tarn Taran]]}}
| 12 August<br>1952
| 17 April<br>1957
| '''{{ayd|12 Aug 1952|17 Apr 1957}}'''
| rowspan="4"| [[Indian National Congress]]
| rowspan="2"| [[Second Nehru ministry|Nehru II]]
|-
! 3
| bgcolor="{{party color|Indian National Congress}}"|
| [[File:Satish Chandra Lok Sabha photo.jpg|70px]]
| '''[[Satish Chandra (politician)|Satish Chandra]]'''<br>{{small|(1917{{ndash}}1990)<br>MP for [[Bareilly Lok Sabha constituency|Bareilly]]}}<br>(Defence Production,<br>from 14 July 1955)
| 27 November<br>1952
| 17 April<br>1957
| '''{{ayd|27 Nov 1952|17 Apr 1957}}'''
|-
! (2)
| bgcolor="{{party color|Indian National Congress}}"|
| [[File:Surjit Singh Majithia Official portrait 1952.gif|70px]]
| {{small|Wing Commander}}<br>'''[[Surjit Singh Majithia]]'''<br>{{small|(1912{{ndash}}1995)<br>MP for [[Tarn Taran Lok Sabha constituency|Tarn Taran]]}}
| 17 April<br>1957
| 10 April<br>1962
| '''{{ayd|17 Apr 1957|10 Apr 1962}}'''
| rowspan="2"| [[Third Nehru ministry|Nehru III]]
|-
! 4
| bgcolor="{{party color|Indian National Congress}}"|
| [[File:Kotha Raghuramaiah.png|70px]]
| '''[[Kotha Raghuramaiah]]'''<br>{{small|(1912{{ndash}}1979)<br>MP for [[Guntur Lok Sabha constituency|Guntur]]}}
| 21 May<br>1957
| 10 April<br>1962
| '''{{ayd|21 May 1957|10 Apr 1962}}'''
|-
! colspan="9"|
|-
! rowspan="2"| 5
| rowspan="2" bgcolor="{{party color|Indian National Congress}}"|
| rowspan="2"| [[File:Dajisaheb Chavan Lok Sabha image.gif|70px]]
| rowspan="2"| '''[[Dajisaheb Chavan]]'''<br>{{small|(1916{{ndash}}1973)<br>MP for [[Karad Lok Sabha constituency|Karad]]}}
| 8 May<br>1962
| 27 May<br>1964
| rowspan="2"| '''{{ayd|8 May 1962|9 June 1964}}'''
| rowspan="2"| [[Indian National Congress]]
| [[Fourth Nehru ministry|Nehru IV]]
|-
| 27 May<br>1964
| 9 June<br>1964
| [[First Nanda ministry|Nanda I]]
| bgcolor="{{party color|Indian National Congress}}"|
| '''[[Gulzarilal Nanda]]'''
|-
! colspan="11"|
|-
! 6
| bgcolor="{{party color|Indian National Congress}}"|
| [[File:Col. D.S. Raju.jpg|70px]]
| {{small|Colonel}}<br>'''[[Datla Satyanarayana Raju]]'''<br>{{small|MP for [[Rajahmundry Lok Sabha constituency|Rajahmundry]]}}
| 15 June<br>1964
| 24 January<br>1966
| '''{{ayd|15 Jun 1964|24 Jan 1966}}'''
| rowspan="2"| [[Indian National Congress]]
| [[Shastri ministry|Shastri]]
| bgcolor="{{party color|Indian National Congress}}"|
| '''[[Lal Bahadur Shastri]]'''
|-
! 7
| bgcolor="{{party color|Indian National Congress}}"|
|
|
|7 July 2021
| '''[[Shyam Dhar Mishra]]'''<br>{{small|(1919{{ndash}}2001)<br>MP for [[Mirzapur Lok Sabha constituency|Mirzapur]]}}
|''Incumbent''
| 24 January<br>1966
|{{Age in years and days|2021|07|07}}
| 14 February<br>1966
| '''{{ayd|24 Jan 1966|14 Feb 1966}}'''
| [[First Indira Gandhi ministry|Indira I]]
| rowspan="3" bgcolor="{{party color|Indian National Congress}}"|
| rowspan="5"| '''[[Indira Gandhi]]'''
|-
! colspan="9"|
|-
! 8
| bgcolor="{{party color|Indian National Congress}}"|
|
| '''[[M. R. Krishna]]'''<br>{{small|MP for [[Peddapalli Lok Sabha constituency|Peddapalli]]}}
| 16 November<br>1967
| 27 June<br>1970
| '''{{ayd|16 Nov 1967|27 Jun 1970}}'''
| [[Indian National Congress]]
| [[Second Indira Gandhi ministry|Indira II]]
|-
! colspan="10"|
|-
! 9
| bgcolor="{{party color|Indian National Congress (I)}}"|
| [[File:Assam Governor Janaki Ballabh Patnaik at Platinum Jubilee of Assam Legislative Assembly (cropped).jpg|70px]]
| '''[[Janaki Ballabh Patnaik]]'''<br>{{small|(1927{{ndash}}2015)<br>MP for [[Cuttack Lok Sabha constituency|Cuttack]]}}
| 5 February<br>1973
| 23 December<br>1976
| '''{{ayd|5 Feb 1973|23 Dec 1976}}'''
| [[Indian National Congress (R)]]
| [[Third Indira Gandhi ministry|Indira III]]
| bgcolor="{{party color|Indian National Congress (I)}}"|
|-
! colspan="11"|
|-
! 10
| bgcolor="{{party color|Indian National Congress (I)}}"|
|  [[File:2025 Rajnath Singh (cropped).jpg|70px]]
| {{small|Brigadier}}<br>'''[[Kamakhya Prasad Singh Deo]]''' {{post-nominals|country=IND|AVSM}}<br>{{small|(born 1941)<br>MP for [[Dhenkanal Lok Sabha constituency|Dhenkanal]]}}
| 15 January<br>1982
| 29 January<br>1983
| '''{{ayd|15 Jan 1982|29 Jan 1983}}'''
| [[Indian National Congress (I)]]
| [[Fourth Indira Gandhi ministry|Indira IV]]
| bgcolor="{{party color|Indian National Congress (I)}}"|
| '''[[Indira Gandhi]]'''
|-
|}
 
== List by tenure ==
{| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:center"
|+List by tenure<ref name="MoD"/>
! data-sort-type=number|No.
! Defence Minister
! colspan=2 |Party
! Longest continuous term
! Total tenure
|-
! data-sort-value="1" | 1
| [[A K Antony]]
| {{Party name with color|Indian National Congress}}
| 7 years, 212 days
| 7 years, 212 days
|-
! data-sort-value="2" | 2
| [[Rajnath Singh]]
| {{Party name with color|Bharatiya Janata Party}}
| '''{{Age in years and days|30 May 2019}}'''
| '''{{Age in years and days|30 May 2019}}'''
|-
! data-sort-value="3" |3
| [[Jagjivan Ram]]
| {{Party name with color|Indian National Congress}}
| 4 years, 105 days
| 6 years, 231 days 
|-
|}
|}


Line 438: Line 1,188:
*[[Ministry of Defence (India)]]
*[[Ministry of Defence (India)]]
* [[Defence ministers]]
* [[Defence ministers]]
==Notes==
{{notelist}}


==References==
==References==
{{reflist}}
{{reflist}}
{{Defence Ministers of India}}
{{Heads of the Ministries of the Government of India}}
{{Military of India}}
{{Types of government minister}}
{{Indian Air Force}}


{{DEFAULTSORT:Defence_(India) Minister_of_}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Defence_(India) Minister_of_}}
[[Category:Defence Ministers of India| ]]
[[Category:Ministers of defence of India| ]]
[[Category:Union ministers of India]]
[[Category:Union ministers of India]]
[[Category:Lists of government ministers of India]]
[[Category:Lists of government ministers of India]]

Latest revision as of 20:30, 6 March 2026


Minister of Defence
Rakṣhā Mantrī
Emblem of the Ministry of Defence
Incumbent
Rajnath Singh
since 30 May 2019
StyleThe Honourable
Member ofUnion Council of Ministers
Reports toPresident of India
Prime Minister of India
Parliament of India
Residence17, Akbar Road, New Delhi
SeatRoom No. 104, South Block, New Delhi
AppointerPresident of India
on the advice of the Prime Minister
Term length5 years
Constituting instrumentConstitution of India
Formation15 August 1947
First holderBaldev Singh
DeputySanjay Seth, MoS
Salary₹124,000 (US$1,700) monthly[lower-alpha 1][1]
Websitemod.gov.in
India
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The Minister of Defence or the Defence Minister (ISO: Rakṣhā Mantrī),[2] is the head of the Ministry of Defence and a high-ranking minister in the Union Council of Ministers of the Government of India. The defence minister additionally serves as president of the Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses, and as the chancellor of the Defence Institute of Advanced Technology and the National Defence University. The minister is usually a member of the Cabinet Committee on Security, and the National Security Council. The defence minister is assisted by a minister of state and, less commonly by a deputy minister.

The first defence minister of independent India was Baldev Singh of the Indian National Congress, who served in the First Nehru ministry from 1947 to 1952. A. K. Antony of the Congress has had the longest tenure, serving for seven years and 212 days from 26 October 2006 till 26 May 2014.[3] Rajnath Singh of the Bharatiya Janata Party is the incumbent defence minister, serving since 30 May 2019.

Cabinet Ministers[edit | edit source]

No. Portrait Name
(born–died)
Constituency 		Term of office Political party Ministry Prime Minister
Took office Left office Time in office
1 Baldev Singh
(1902–1961)
MP for Punjab (Constituent Assembly) 		15 August
1947 		13 May
1952 		4 years, 272 days Indian National Congress Nehru I Jawaharlal Nehru
2 N. Gopalaswami Ayyangar
(1882–1953)
Rajya Sabha MP for Madras 		13 May
1952 		10 February
1953
(died in office) 		273 days Nehru II
3 Jawaharlal Nehru
(1889–1964)
MP for Phulpur
(Prime Minister) 		10 February
1953 		10 January
1955 		1 year, 334 days
4 Kailash Nath Katju
(1887–1968)
MP for Mandsaur 		10 January
1955 		30 January
1957 		2 years, 20 days
(3) Jawaharlal Nehru
(1889–1964)
MP for Phulpur
(Prime Minister) 		30 January
1957 		17 April
1957 		77 days
5 V. K. Krishna Menon
(1896–1974)
MP for Bombay North 		17 April
1957 		2 April
1962 		5 years, 197 days Nehru III
2 April
1962 		31 October
1962 		Nehru IV
(3) Jawaharlal Nehru
(1889–1964)
MP for Phulpur
(Prime Minister) 		31 October
1962 		14 November
1962 		14 days
6 Yashwantrao Chavan
(1913–1984)
MP for Nashik 		14 November
1962 		27 May
1964 		3 years, 364 days
27 May
1964 		9 June
1964 		Nanda I Gulzarilal Nanda
9 June
1964 		11 January
1966 		Shastri Lal Bahadur Shastri
11 January
1966 		24 January
1966 		Nanda II Gulzarilal Nanda
24 January
1966 		13 November
1966 		Indira I Indira Gandhi
7 Swaran Singh
(1907–1994)
MP for Jullundur 		13 November
1966 		13 March
1967 		3 years, 226 days
13 March
1967 		27 June
1970 		Indira II
8 Jagjivan Ram
(1908–1986)
MP for Sasaram 		27 June
1970 		18 March
1971 		4 years, 105 days Indian National Congress (R)
18 March
1971 		10 October
1974 		Indira III
(7) Swaran Singh
(1907–1994)
MP for Jullundur 		10 October
1974 		1 December
1975 		1 year, 52 days
9 Indira Gandhi
(1917–1984)
MP for Rae Bareli
(Prime Minister) 		1 December
1975 		20 December
1975 		19 days
10 Bansi Lal
(1927–2006)
Rajya Sabha MP for Punjab 		21 December
1975 		24 March
1977 		1 year, 93 days
(8) Jagjivan Ram
(1908–1986)
MP for Sasaram
(Deputy Prime Minister
from 24 January 1979) 		24 March
1977 		28 July
1979 		2 years, 126 days Janata Party Desai Morarji Desai
11 Chidambaram Subramaniam
(1910–2000)
MP for Palani 		28 July
1979 		14 January
1980 		170 days Indian National Congress (Urs) Charan Charan Singh
(9) Indira Gandhi
(1917–1984)
MP for Medak
(Prime Minister) 		14 January
1980 		15 January
1982 		2 years, 1 day Indian National Congress (I) Indira IV Indira Gandhi
12 Ramaswamy Venkataraman
(1910–2009)
MP for Chennai South 		15 January
1982 		2 August
1984 		2 years, 200 days
13 Shankarrao Chavan
(1920–2004)
MP for Nanded 		2 August
1984 		31 October
1984 		151 days
31 October
1984 		31 December
1984 		Rajiv I Rajiv Gandhi
14 P. V. Narasimha Rao
(1921–2004)
MP for Ramtek 		31 December
1984 		25 September
1985 		268 days Rajiv II
15 Rajiv Gandhi
(1944–1991)
MP for Amethi
(Prime Minister) 		25 September
1985 		24 January
1987 		1 year, 121 days
16 V. P. Singh
(1931–2008)
Rajya Sabha MP for Uttar Pradesh 		24 January
1987 		12 April
1987 		78 days
17 K. C. Pant
(1931–2012)
MP for New Delhi 		12 April
1987 		2 December
1989 		2 years, 234 days
(16) Vishwanath Pratap Singh
(1931–2008)
MP for Fatehpur
(Prime Minister) 		2 December
1989 		10 November
1990 		343 days Janata Dal Vishwanath Vishwanath Pratap Singh
18 Chandra Shekhar
(1927–2007)
MP for Ballia
(Prime Minister) 		10 November
1990 		21 June
1991 		223 days Samajwadi Janata Party (Rashtriya) Chandra Shekhar Chandra Shekhar
(14) P. V. Narasimha Rao
(1921–2004)
Unelected
(Prime Minister) 		21 June
1991 		26 June
1991 		5 days Indian National Congress (I) Rao P. V. Narasimha Rao
19 Sharad Pawar
(born 1940)
MP for Baramati 		26 June
1991 		6 March
1993 		1 year, 253 days
(14) P. V. Narasimha Rao
(1921–2004)
MP for Nandyal
(Prime Minister) 		6 March
1993 		16 May
1996 		3 years, 71 days
20 Pramod Mahajan
(1949–2006)
MP for Mumbai North East 		16 May
1996 		1 June
1996 		16 days Bharatiya Janata Party Vajpayee I Atal Bihari Vajpayee
21 Mulayam Singh Yadav
(1939–2022)
MP for Mainpuri 		1 June
1996 		21 April
1997 		1 year, 290 days Samajwadi Party Deve Gowda H. D. Deve Gowda
21 April
1997 		18 March
1998 		Gujral Inder Kumar Gujral
22 George Fernandes
(1930–2019)
MP for Nalanda 		19 March
1998 		13 October
1999 		2 years, 101 days Samata Party Vajpayee II Atal Bihari Vajpayee
13 October
1999 		16 March
2001 		Vajpayee III
23 Jaswant Singh
(1938–2020)
Rajya Sabha MP for Rajasthan 		16 March
2001 		21 October
2001 		219 days Bharatiya Janata Party
(22) George Fernandes
(1930–2019)
MP for Nalanda 		21 October
2001 		22 May
2004 		2 years, 214 days Janata Dal (United)
24 Pranab Mukherjee
(1935–2020)
MP for Jangipur 		23 May
2004[4] 		26 October
2006 		2 years, 156 days Indian National Congress Manmohan I Manmohan Singh
25 A. K. Antony
(born 1940)
Rajya Sabha MP for Kerala 		26 October
2006 		22 May
2009 		7 years, 212 days
23 May
2009 		26 May
2014 		Manmohan II
26 Arun Jaitley
(1952–2019)
Rajya Sabha MP for Gujarat 		26 May
2014[5] 		9 November
2014 		166 days Bharatiya Janata Party Modi I Narendra Modi
27 Manohar Parrikar
(1955–2019)
Rajya Sabha MP for Uttar Pradesh 		9 November
2014[6] 		13 March
2017 		2 years, 124 days
(26) Arun Jaitley
(1952–2019)
Rajya Sabha MP for Gujarat 		13 March
2017[7] 		3 September
2017 		174 days
28 Nirmala Sitharaman
(born 1959)
Rajya Sabha MP for Karnataka 		3 September
2017[8][9] 		30 May
2019 		1 year, 269 days
29 Rajnath Singh
(born 1951)
MP for Lucknow 		30 May
2019[10] 		9 June
2024 		7 years, 70 days Modi II
9 June
2024[11] 		Incumbent Modi III

Ministers of State[edit | edit source]

No. Portrait Minister
(Birth-Death)
Constituency 		Term of office Political party Ministry Prime Minister
From To Period
1 Mahavir Tyagi
(1899–1980)
MP for Dehradun
Minister of Defence Organisation 		16 March
1953 		17 April
1957 		4 years, 32 days Indian National Congress Nehru II Jawaharlal Nehru
2 Kotha Raghuramaiah
(1912–1979)
MP for Guntur
Minister of Defence Production,
since 14 November 1962 		16 April
1962 		27 May
1964 		2 years, 54 days Indian National Congress Nehru IV
27 May
1964 		9 June
1964 		Nanda I Gulzarilal Nanda
3 Alungal Mathai Thomas
(1912–1981)
MP for Ernakulam
(Defence Production) 		13 June
1964 		11 January
1966 		1 year, 212 days Shastri Lal Bahadur Shastri
4 Jaisukhlal Hathi
(1909–1982)
Rajya Sabha MP for Gujarat 		29 October
1965 		11 January
1966 		74 days
(3) Alungal Mathai Thomas
(1912–1981)
MP for Ernakulam
(Defence Production) 		11 January
1966 		24 January
1966 		13 days Nanda II Gulzarilal Nanda
(4) Jaisukhlal Hathi
(1909–1982)
Rajya Sabha MP for Gujarat
(3) Alungal Mathai Thomas
(1912–1981)
MP for Ernakulam
(Defence Production
since 31 January 1966) 		24 January
1966 		13 March
1967 		1 year, 48 days Indira I Indira Gandhi
(4) Jaisukhlal Hathi
(1909–1982)
Rajya Sabha MP for Gujarat
Minister of Defence Supplies,
until 13 November 1966
5 Bali Ram Bhagat
(1922–2011)
MP for Arrah 		13 March
1967 		14 November
1967 		246 days Indira II
6 Lalit Narayan Mishra
(1923–1975)
Rajya Sabha MP for Bihar
(Defence Production) 		14 November
1967 		27 June
1970 		2 years, 225 days
7 Narendrasinghji Mahida
MP for Anand 		27 June
1970 		18 March
1971 		264 days Indian National Congress (R)
8 Prakash Chandra Sethi
(1919–1996)
MP for Indore
(Defence Production) 		27 June
1970 		18 March
1971 		309 days
18 March
1971 		2 May
1971 		Indira III
9 Vidya Charan Shukla
(1929–2013)
MP for Raipur
(Defence Production) 		2 May
1971 		10 October
1974 		3 years, 161 days
10 Ram Niwas Mirdha
(1924–2010)
Rajya Sabha MP for Rajasthan
(Defence Production) 		10 October
1974 		21 December
1975 		1 year, 72 days
11 Vitthalrao Gadgil
(1928–2001)
MP for Pune
(Defence Production) 		25 December
1975 		24 March
1977 		1 year, 89 days
12 Janaki Ballabh Patnaik
(1927–2015)
MP for Cuttack 		23 December
1976 		24 March
1977 		91 days
13 Sher Singh Kadyan
(1917–2009)
MP for Rohtak 		14 August
1977 		28 July
1979 		1 year, 348 days Janata Party Desai Morarji Desai
14 Jagbir Singh
Rajya Sabha MP for Uttar Pradesh 		30 July
1979 		14 January
1980 		168 days Janata Party (Secular) Charan Charan Singh
15 C. P. N. Singh
MP for Padrauna 		3 March
1980 		19 October
1980 		230 days Indian National Congress (I) Indira IV Indira Gandhi
16 Shivraj Patil
(born 1935)
MP for Latur 		19 October
1980 		15 January
1982 		1 year, 88 days
17 Brigadier
Kamakhya Prasad Singh Deo AVSM
(born 1941)
MP for Dhenkanal 		29 January
1983 		31 October
1984 		1 year, 332 days
4 November
1984 		31 December
1984 		Rajiv I Rajiv Gandhi
18 Sukh Ram
(1927–2022)
MP for Mandi
(Defence Production and Defence Supplies) 		25 September
1985 		22 October
1986 		1 year, 27 days Rajiv II
19 Arun Singh
(born 1944)
Rajya Sabha MP for Uttar Pradesh
(Defence Research and Development Organisation) 		25 September
1985 		18 July
1987 		1 year, 296 days
(16) Shivraj Patil
(born 1935)
MP for Latur 		22 October
1986 		25 June
1988 		1 year, 247 days
20 Chintamani Panigrahi
(1922–2000)
MP for Bhubaneswar
(Defence Production and Defence Supplies) 		25 June
1988 		4 July
1989 		1 year, 9 days
21 Dumar Lal Baitha
(1924–1997)
MP for Araria
(Defence Production and Supplies) 		4 July
1989 		2 December
1989 		151 days
22 Raja Ramanna
(1925–2004)
Unelected 		20 January
1990 		10 November
1990 		294 days Janata Dal Vishwanath Vishwanath Pratap Singh
23 Lalit Vijay Singh
(1931–1998)
MP for Begusarai 		21 November
1990 		21 June
1991 		212 days Samajwadi Janata Party (Rashtriya) Chandra Shekhar Chandra Shekhar
24 S. Krishna Kumar
(born 1939)
MP for Quilon 		26 June
1991 		18 January
1993 		1 year, 206 days Indian National Congress (I) Rao P. V. Narasimha Rao
25 Mallikarjun Goud
(1941–2002)
MP for Mahabubnagar 		18 January
1993 		19 January
1995 		2 years, 1 day
26 Suresh Pachouri
(born 1952)
Rajya Sabha MP for Madhya Pradesh
(Defence Production and Supplies) 		15 September
1995 		16 May
1996 		244 days
27 Mallikarjun Goud
(1941–2002)
MP for Mahabubnagar
(Defence,
Defence Research and Development) 		30 September
1995 		16 May
1996 		229 days
28 N. V. N. Somu
(1937–1997)
MP for Chennai North 		6 July
1996 		21 April
1997 		296 days Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam Deve Gowda H. D. Deve Gowda
21 April
1997 		14 November
1997
(died in office) 		Gujral Inder Kumar Gujral
29 Harin Pathak
(born 1947)
MP for Ahmedabad East 		13 October
1999 		14 November
2000 		1 year, 32 days Bharatiya Janata Party Vajpayee III Atal Bihari Vajpayee
30 Bachi Singh Rawat
(1949–2021)
MP for Almora 		13 October
1999 		22 November
1999 		40 days
31 Krishnam Raju
(1940–2022)
MP for Narasapuram 		22 July
2001 		1 July
2002 		344 days
(29) Harin Pathak
(born 1947)
MP for Ahmedabad East
(Defence Production and Supplies) 		15 October
2001 		29 January
2003 		1 year, 106 days
32 Chaman Lal Gupta
(1934–2021)
MP for Udhampur 		1 July
2002 		22 May
2004 		1 year, 326 days
33 O. Rajagopal
(born 1929)
Rajya Sabha MP for Madhya Pradesh 		29 January
2003 		22 May
2004 		114 days
34 Bijoy Krishna Handique
(1934–2015)
MP for Jorhat 		23 May
2004 		29 January
2006 		1 year, 251 days Indian National Congress Manmohan I Manmohan Singh
35 Rao Inderjit Singh
(born 1951)
MP for Mahendragarh 		29 January
2006 		22 May
2009 		3 years, 113 days
36 M. M. Pallam Raju
(born 1962)
MP for Kakinada
(Defence Production, until 28 May 2009) 		29 January
2006 		22 May
2009 		6 years, 273 days
28 May
2009 		28 October
2012 		Manmohan II
37 Jitin Prasada
(born 1973)
MP for Dhaurahra 		28 October
2012 		29 October
2012 		1 day
38 Lalchand Kataria
(born 1968)
MP for Jaipur Rural 		28 October
2012 		31 October
2012 		3 days
39 Jitendra Singh
(born 1971)
MP for Alwar 		28 October
2012 		26 May
2014 		1 year, 180 days
(35) Rao Inderjit Singh
(born 1951)
MP for Gurgaon 		27 May
2014 		5 July
2016 		2 years, 39 days Bharatiya Janata Party Modi I Narendra Modi
40 Subhash Bhamre
(born 1953)
MP for Dhule 		5 July
2016 		30 May
2019 		2 years, 329 days
41 Shripad Yesso Naik
(born 1952)
MP for North Goa 		31 May
2019 		7 July
2021 		2 years, 37 days Modi II
42 Ajay Bhatt
(born 1961)
MP for Nainital–Udhamsingh Nagar 		7 July
2021 		9 June
2024 		2 years, 338 days
43 Sanjay Seth
(born 1959)
MP for Ranchi 		10 June
2024 		Incumbent 2 years, 60 days Modi III

Deputy Ministers[edit | edit source]

No. Portrait Minister
(Birth-Death)
Constituency 		Term of office Political party Ministry Prime Minister
From To Period
1 Major-General
Kumar Shri Himmatsinhji CIE
(1897–1973) 		14 August
1950 		29 February
1952 		1 year, 199 days Indian National Congress Nehru I Jawaharlal Nehru
2 Wing Commander
Surjit Singh Majithia
(1912–1995)
MP for Tarn Taran 		12 August
1952 		17 April
1957 		4 years, 248 days Indian National Congress Nehru II
3 Satish Chandra
(1917–1990)
MP for Bareilly
(Defence Production,
from 14 July 1955) 		27 November
1952 		17 April
1957 		4 years, 141 days
(2) Wing Commander
Surjit Singh Majithia
(1912–1995)
MP for Tarn Taran 		17 April
1957 		10 April
1962 		4 years, 358 days Nehru III
4 Kotha Raghuramaiah
(1912–1979)
MP for Guntur 		21 May
1957 		10 April
1962 		4 years, 324 days
5 Dajisaheb Chavan
(1916–1973)
MP for Karad 		8 May
1962 		27 May
1964 		2 years, 32 days Indian National Congress Nehru IV
27 May
1964 		9 June
1964 		Nanda I Gulzarilal Nanda
6 Colonel
Datla Satyanarayana Raju
MP for Rajahmundry 		15 June
1964 		24 January
1966 		1 year, 223 days Indian National Congress Shastri Lal Bahadur Shastri
7 Shyam Dhar Mishra
(1919–2001)
MP for Mirzapur 		24 January
1966 		14 February
1966 		21 days Indira I Indira Gandhi
8 M. R. Krishna
MP for Peddapalli 		16 November
1967 		27 June
1970 		2 years, 223 days Indian National Congress Indira II
9 Janaki Ballabh Patnaik
(1927–2015)
MP for Cuttack 		5 February
1973 		23 December
1976 		3 years, 322 days Indian National Congress (R) Indira III
10 Brigadier
Kamakhya Prasad Singh Deo AVSM
(born 1941)
MP for Dhenkanal 		15 January
1982 		29 January
1983 		1 year, 14 days Indian National Congress (I) Indira IV Indira Gandhi

List by tenure[edit | edit source]

List by tenure[3]
No. Defence Minister Party Longest continuous term Total tenure
1 A K Antony INC 7 years, 212 days 7 years, 212 days
2 Rajnath Singh BJP 7 years, 71 days 7 years, 71 days
3 Jagjivan Ram INC 4 years, 105 days 6 years, 231 days

See also[edit | edit source]

Notes[edit | edit source]

  1. ↑ Minister of Defence gets the same salary as a Member of Parliament in India. In addition to the basic pay, there is a constituency allowance of ₹87,000, office allowance of ₹75,000 per month, and other emoluments.

References[edit | edit source]

  1. ↑ "Notification by the Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs" (PDF). Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs. Retrieved 25 August 2025.
  2. ↑ "Who's who". Ministry of Defence. Retrieved 1 January 2026.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 "Defence Ministers of India". Ministry of Defence. Retrieved 1 June 2025.
  4. ↑ "Pranab Mukherjee takes over as Defence Minister". Press Information Bureau (Press release). 24 October 2006. Retrieved 1 June 2025.
  5. ↑ "Arun Jaitley takes over as Defence Minister". Press Information Bureau (Press release). 14 March 2017. Retrieved 1 June 2025.
  6. ↑ "Manohar Parrikar takes charge as Defence Minister". Business Standard. 10 November 2014. Retrieved 1 June 2025.
  7. ↑ "Jaitley takes charge as Defence Minister". The Hindu. 14 March 2017. Retrieved 1 June 2025.
  8. ↑ "Nirmala Sitharaman takes over as Defence Minister". Press Information Bureau (Press release). 7 September 2017. Retrieved 1 June 2025.
  9. ↑ "Nirmala Sitharaman takes charge as Defence Minister". The Hindustan Times. 7 September 2017. Retrieved 1 June 2025.
  10. ↑ "Rajnath Singh to be the new Defence Minister of India". The Economic Times. 31 May 2019. Retrieved 1 June 2025.
  11. ↑ "Rajnath Singh assumes charge as Minister of Defence (Raksha Mantri) for the second consecutive term". Press Information Bureau (Press release). 13 June 2024. Retrieved 1 June 2025.
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