Minister_of_Defence_(India)
Minister of Defence (India)
Minister of Defence in India
The Minister of Defence (ISO: Rakṣā Maṁtrī) 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.
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Quick Facts Style, Member of ...
| Minister of Defence | |
|---|---|
| Rakṣā Maṁtrī | |
 | |
 | |
 Ministry of Defence | |
| Style | The Honourable |
| Member of | Union Cabinet |
| Reports to | President of India Prime Minister of India 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 |
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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.
- Key
- † Assassinated or died in office
More information #, Portrait ...
| # | Portrait | Minister (Birth-Death) Constituency |
Term of office | Political party | Ministry | Prime Minister | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| From | To | Period | |||||||
| 1 | .jpg) |
Baldev Singh (1902–1961) MP for Punjab (Constituent Assembly) |
15 August 1947 |
2 April 1952 |
4 years, 272 days | Indian National Congress | Nehru I | Jawaharlal Nehru | |
| 2 April 1952 |
13 May 1952 |
Nehru II | |||||||
| 2 |  |
N. Gopalaswami Ayyangar (1882–1953) Rajya Sabha MP for Madras |
13 May 1952 |
10 February 1953[†] |
273 days | ||||
| – |  |
Jawaharlal Nehru (1889–1964) MP for Phulpur (Prime Minister) |
10 February 1953 |
10 January 1955 |
1 year, 334 days | ||||
| 3 |  |
Kailash Nath Katju (1887–1968) MP for Mandsaur |
10 January 1955 |
30 January 1957 |
2 years, 20 days | ||||
| – | |
Jawaharlal Nehru (1889–1964) MP for Phulpur (Prime Minister) |
30 January 1957 |
17 April 1957 |
77 days | ||||
| 4 |  |
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 | |||||||
| – | |
Jawaharlal Nehru (1889–1964) MP for Phulpur (Prime Minister) |
31 October 1962 |
14 November 1962 |
14 days | ||||
| 5 |  |
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 (acting) | ||||||
| 9 June 1964 |
11 January 1966 |
Shastri | Lal Bahadur Shastri | ||||||
| 11 January 1966 |
24 January 1966 |
Nanda II | Gulzarilal Nanda (acting) | ||||||
| 24 January 1966 |
13 November 1966 |
Indira I | Indira Gandhi | ||||||
| 6 |  |
Swaran Singh (1907–1994) MP for Jullundur |
13 November 1966 |
27 June 1970 |
3 years, 226 days | ||||
| 13 March 1967 |
27 June 1970 |
Indira II | |||||||
| 7 |  |
Jagjivan Ram (1908–1986) MP for Sasaram |
27 June 1970 |
15 March 1971 |
4 years, 105 days | Indian National Congress (R) | |||
| 15 March 1971 |
10 October 1974 |
Indira III | |||||||
| (6) | |
Swaran Singh (1907–1994) MP for Jullundur |
10 October 1974 |
1 December 1975 |
1 year, 52 days | ||||
| – |  |
Indira Gandhi (1917–1984) MP for Rae Bareli (Prime Minister) |
1 December 1975 |
20 December 1975 |
19 days | ||||
| 8 |  |
Bansi Lal (1927–2006) Rajya Sabha MP for Punjab |
21 December 1975 |
24 March 1977 |
1 year, 93 days | ||||
| (7) | |
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 | |
| 9 |  |
Chidambaram Subramaniam (1910–2000) MP for Palani |
28 July 1979 |
14 January 1980 |
170 days | Indian National Congress (Urs) | Charan Singh | Charan Singh | |
| – | |
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 | |
| 10 |  |
Ramaswamy Venkataraman (1910–2009) MP for Chennai South |
15 January 1982 |
2 August 1984 |
2 years, 200 days | ||||
| 11 | .jpg) |
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 | ||||||
| 12 | (2).jpg) |
P. V. Narasimha Rao (1921–2004) MP for Ramtek |
31 December 1984 |
25 September 1985 |
268 days | Rajiv II | |||
| – |  |
Rajiv Gandhi (1944–1991) MP for Amethi (Prime Minister) |
25 September 1985 |
24 January 1987 |
1 year, 121 days | ||||
| 13 | .jpg) |
V. P. Singh (1931–2008) Rajya Sabha MP for Uttar Pradesh |
24 January 1987 |
12 April 1987 |
78 days | ||||
| 14 | .jpg) |
K. C. Pant (1931–2012) MP for New Delhi |
12 April 1987 |
2 December 1989 |
2 years, 234 days | ||||
| – | |
V. P. Singh (1931–2008) MP for Fatehpur (Prime Minister) |
2 December 1989 |
10 November 1990 |
343 days | Janata Dal | V. P. Singh | V. P. Singh | |
| – |  |
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 | |
| – | |
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 | |
| 15 | .jpg) |
Sharad Pawar (born 1940) MP for Baramati |
26 June 1991 |
6 March 1993 |
1 year, 253 days | ||||
| – | |
P. V. Narasimha Rao (1921–2004) MP for Nandyal (Prime Minister) |
6 March 1993 |
16 May 1996 |
3 years, 71 days | ||||
| 16 |  |
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 | |
| 17 | .jpg) |
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 | ||||||
| 18 | .jpg) |
George Fernandes (1930–2019) MP for Nalanda |
19 March 1998 |
13 October 1999 |
2 years, 101 days | Janata Dal (United) | Vajpayee II | Atal Bihari Vajpayee | |
| 13 October 1999 |
16 March 2001 |
Vajpayee III | |||||||
| 19 |  |
Jaswant Singh (1938–2020) Rajya Sabha MP for Rajasthan |
16 March 2001 |
21 October 2001 |
219 days | Bharatiya Janata Party | |||
| (18) | |
George Fernandes (1930–2019) MP for Nalanda |
21 October 2001 |
22 May 2004 |
2 years, 214 days | Janata Dal (United) | |||
| 20 | .jpg) |
Pranab Mukherjee (1935–2020) MP for Jangipur |
23 May 2004 |
26 October 2006 |
2 years, 156 days | Indian National Congress | Manmohan I | Manmohan Singh | |
| 21 |  |
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 | |||||||
| 22 | .jpg) |
Arun Jaitley (1952–2019) Rajya Sabha MP for Gujarat |
27 May 2014 |
9 November 2014 |
166 days | Bharatiya Janata Party | Modi I | Narendra Modi | |
| 23 |  |
Manohar Parrikar (1955–2019) Rajya Sabha MP for Uttar Pradesh |
9 November 2014 |
13 March 2017 |
2 years, 124 days | ||||
| (22) | |
Arun Jaitley (1952–2019) Rajya Sabha MP for Gujarat |
13 March 2017 |
3 September 2017 |
174 days | ||||
| 24 |  |
Nirmala Sitharaman (born 1959) Rajya Sabha MP for Karnataka |
3 September 2017 |
30 May 2019 |
1 year, 269 days | ||||
| 25 | .jpg) |
Rajnath Singh (born 1951) MP for Lucknow |
31 May 2019 |
Incumbent | 4 years, 330 days | Modi II | |||
Close
More information No., Portrait ...
| 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 | 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 | V. P. 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[†] |
Gujral | I. K. 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 |
Incumbent | 2 years, 293 days | |||||
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More information No., Portrait ...
| 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 | 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 | 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 | 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 | 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 | |||
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