Minister of Defence (India)
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The Minister of Defence (Rakshā Mantri) is the head of the 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 National Defence University.
| Minister of Defence Rakshā Mantri | |
|---|---|
 | |
 | |
 Ministry of Defence | |
| Style | The Honourable |
| Member of | Union Cabinet |
| Reports to | Prime Minister Parliament of India |
| Appointer | President on the advice of the Prime Minister |
| Term length | 5 years |
| Formation | 15 August 1947 |
| First holder | Baldev Singh |
| Deputy | Ajay Bhatt Minister of State |
| Website | mod |
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 Chokkar, who served in Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru's cabinet during 1947–52. Rajnath Singh is the current defence minister of India.
List of Defence Ministers
| No. | Portrait | Name (born-died) |
Term of office | Political party (Alliance) |
Ministry | Ref. | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Took office | Left office | Time in office | |||||||
| 1 | .jpg)
|
Baldev Singh (1902–1961) |
15 August 1947 | 13 May 1952 | 4 years, 272 days | Indian National Congress | Nehru I–II | [1] | |
| 2 | 
|
N. Gopalaswami Ayyangar (1882–1953) |
13 May 1952 | 10 February 1953 | 273 days | Nehru II | [1] | ||
| 3 | 
|
Jawaharlal Nehru (1889–1964) |
10 February 1953 | 10 January 1955 | 1 year, 334 days | Nehru II | [1] | ||
| 4 | 
|
Kailash Nath Katju (1887–1968) |
10 January 1955 | 30 January 1957 | 2 years, 20 days | Nehru II | [1] | ||
| (3) |
|
Jawaharlal Nehru (1889–1964) |
30 January 1957 | 17 April 1957 | 2 years, 97 days | Nehru II–III | [1] | ||
| 5 | 
|
V. K. Krishna Menon (1896–1974) |
17 April 1957 | 31 October 1962 | 5 years, 197 days | Nehru III–IV | [1] | ||
| (3) |
|
Jawaharlal Nehru (1889–1964) |
31 October 1962 | 14 November 1962 | 14 days | Nehru IV | [1] | ||
| 6 | .jpg)
|
Yashwantrao Chavan (1913–1984) |
14 November 1962 | 13 November 1966 | 3 years, 364 days | Nehru IV Nanda I Shastri Nanda II Gandhi I |
[1] | ||
| 7 | Swaran Singh (1907–1994) |
13 November 1966 | 27 June 1970 | 3 years, 226 days | I. Gandhi I | [1] | |||
| 8 | .jpg)
|
Jagjivan Ram (1908–1986) |
27 June 1970 | 10 October 1974 | 4 years, 105 days | I. Gandhi I–II | [1] | ||
| (7) | Swaran Singh (1907–1994) |
10 October 1974 | 1 December 1975 | 1 year, 52 days | I. Gandhi II | [1] | |||
| 9 | 
|
Indira Gandhi (1917–1984) |
1 December 1975 | 20 December 1975 | 19 days | I. Gandhi II | [1] | ||
| 10 | Bansi Lal (1927–2006) |
21 December 1975 | 24 March 1977 | 1 year, 94 days | I. Gandhi II | [1] | |||
| (8) |
|
Jagjivan Ram (1908–1986) |
24 March 1977 | 28 July 1979 | 2 years, 126 days | Janata Party | Desai | [1] | |
| 11 | 
|
Chidambaram Subramaniam (1910–2000) |
28 July 1979 | 14 January 1980 | 170 days | Indian National Congress (Urs) | C. Singh | [1] | |
| (9) |
|
Indira Gandhi (1917–1984) |
14 January 1980 | 15 January 1982 | 2 years, 1 day | Indian National Congress | I. Gandhi III | [1] | |
| 12 | 
|
Ramaswamy Venkataraman (1910–2009) |
15 January 1982 | 2 August 1984 | 2 years, 200 days | I. Gandhi III | [1] | ||
| 13 | .jpg)
|
Shankarrao Chavan (1920–2004) |
2 August 1984 | 31 December 1984 | 151 days | I. Gandhi III R. Gandhi |
[1] | ||
| 14 | File:Pumapaparti.N.rao.jpg | P. V. Narasimha Rao (1921–2004) |
1 January 1985 | 25 September 1985 | 267 days | R. Gandhi | [1] | ||
| 15 | .jpg)
|
Rajiv Gandhi (1944–1991) |
25 September 1985 | 24 January 1987 | 269 days | R. Gandhi | [1] | ||
| 16 | .jpg)
|
Vishwanath Pratap Singh (1930–2008) |
24 January 1987 | 12 April 1987 | 78 days | R. Gandhi | [1] | ||
| 17 | .jpg)
|
K. C. Pant (1931–2012) |
13 April 1987 | 1 December 1989 | 2 years, 232 days | R. Gandhi | [1] | ||
| (16) |
|
Vishwanath Pratap Singh (1930–2008) |
2 December 1989 | 10 November 1990 | 343 days | Janata Dal (National Front) |
V. Singh | [1] | |
| 18 | 
|
Chandra Shekhar (1927–2007) |
10 November 1990 | 21 June 1991 | 223 days | Samajwadi Janata Party | Shekhar | [1] | |
| (14) | File:Pumapaparti.N.rao.jpg | P. V. Narasimha Rao (1921–2004) |
21 June 1991 | 26 June 1991 | 5 days | Indian National Congress | Rao | [1] | |
| 19 | 
|
Sharad Pawar (born 1940) |
26 June 1991 | 6 March 1993 | 1 year, 253 days | Rao | [1] | ||
| (14) | File:Pumapaparti.N.rao.jpg | P. V. Narasimha Rao (1921–2004) |
6 March 1993 | 16 May 1996 | 3 years, 71 days | Rao | [1] | ||
| 20 | File:Pramod Mahajan.jpg | Pramod Mahajan (1949–2006) |
16 May 1996 | 1 June 1996 | 16 days | Bharatiya Janata Party | Vajpayee I | [1] | |
| 21 | .jpg)
|
Mulayam Singh Yadav (born 1939) |
1 June 1996 | 19 March 1998 | 1 year, 291 days | Samajwadi Party | Gowda Gujral |
[1] | |
| 22 | .jpg)
|
George Fernandes (1930–2019) |
19 March 1998 | 16 March 2001 | 2 years, 362 days | Samata Party | Vajpayee II–III | [1] | |
| 23 | 
|
Jaswant Singh (1938–2020) |
16 March 2001 | 21 October 2001 | 219 days | Bharatiya Janata Party | Vajpayee III | [1] | |
| (22) |
|
George Fernandes (1930–2019) |
21 October 2001 | 22 May 2004 | 2 years, 214 days | Janata Dal (United) | Vajpayee III | [1] | |
| 24 | .jpg)
|
Pranab Mukherjee (1935–2020) |
22 May 2004 | 26 October 2006 | 2 years, 157 days | Indian National Congress | M. Singh I | [1] | |
| 25 | 
|
A. K. Antony (born 1940) |
26 October 2006 | 26 May 2014 | 7 years, 212 days | M. Singh I–II | [1] | ||
| 26 | 
|
Arun Jaitley (1952–2019) |
26 May 2014 | 9 November 2014 | 167 days | Bharatiya Janata Party | Modi I | [1] | |
| 27 | 
|
Manohar Parrikar (1955–2019) |
9 November 2014 | 13 March 2017 | 2 years, 124 days | Modi I | [1] | ||
| (26) |
|
Arun Jaitley (1952–2019) |
13 March 2017 | 3 September 2017 | 174 days | Modi I | [1] | ||
| 28 | ,_at_India_Expo_Centre_%26_Mart,_Greater_Noida,_Uttar_Pradesh_(cropped).jpg)
|
Nirmala Sitharaman (born 1959) |
3 September 2017 | 30 May 2019 | 1 year, 269 days | Modi I | [1] | ||
| 29 | 
|
Rajnath Singh (born 1951) |
30 May 2019 | Incumbent | 5 years, 356 days | Modi II | [2] | ||
List of Ministers of State
| Minister of state | Portrait | Political party | Term | Days | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rao Inderjit Singh | _Act,_2016%E2%80%9D,_in_New_Delhi.jpg)
|
Bharatiya Janata Party | 26 May 2014 | 5 July 2016 | 771 days | |
| Subhash Bhamre | _was_laid_at_IIT_Bombay_premises_by_Minister_of_State_for_Defence,_Dr._Subhash_Bhamre.jpg)
|
5 July 2016 | 30 May 2019 | 1059 days | ||
| Shripad Naik | 
|
30 May 2019 | 7 July 2021 | 2184 days | ||
| Ajay Bhatt | 7 July 2021 | Incumbent | 1415 days | |||
See also
References
- ↑ 1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 1.10 1.11 1.12 1.13 1.14 1.15 1.16 1.17 1.18 1.19 1.20 1.21 1.22 1.23 1.24 1.25 1.26 1.27 1.28 1.29 1.30 1.31 1.32 1.33 1.34 1.35 1.36 1.37 "Ministry of Defence, List of Defence Ministers of India". Elections.in. Retrieved 13 February 2019.
- ↑ "Rajnath Singh to be the new Defence Minister, Naik to be MoS". The Economic Times. 31 May 2019.