The Deputy Chief Minister is a member of the state government and usually the second highest ranking executive officer of their state's council of ministers. While not a constitutional office, it seldom carries any specific powers.^[1] A deputy chief minister usually also holds a cabinet portfolio such as home minister or finance minister. In the parliamentary system of government, the Chief Minister is treated as the "first among equals" in the cabinet; the position of deputy chief minister is used to bring political stability and strength within a coalition government.

Currently, only 14 states (out of 28 states and 8 union territories) have deputy chief ministers. Out of these, Andhra Pradesh has five deputy chief ministers while Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Meghalaya, Nagaland, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh have two deputy chief ministers each. No other state and union territory has more than one deputy chief minister in office.

The Bharatiya Janata Party has thirteen incumbents, the YSR Congress Party has five, the Indian National Congress has three, the National People's Party have two incumbents and the Nationalist Democratic Progressive Party, the Nationalist Congress Party and the Jananayak Janata Party have one incumbent each. Of the twenty five incumbents, only one is a woman — Diya Kumari in Rajasthan. The longest-serving incumbent Deputy Chief Minister is Chowna Mein, who has served as the Deputy Chief Minister of Arunachal Pradesh since 17 July 2016 (for 7 years, 289 days). As of 1 May 2024, one state (Uttarakhand) and one union territory (Puducherry) have never had a deputy chief minister.

• List of current Indian chief ministers
• List of longest-serving Indian chief ministers
• List of female deputy chief ministers in India
• List of chief ministers from the Bharatiya Janata Party
• List of chief ministers from the Communist Party of India (Marxist)
• List of chief ministers from the Indian National Congress
• List of deputy prime ministers of India