Last Updated: 8 September 2023
The Indian Defence Minister (Rakshā Mantrī) 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 Indian 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.
The Ministry of Defence (MoD) [Rakshā Mantrālaya] is charged with coordinating and supervising all agencies and functions of the government relating directly to National Security and the Indian Armed Forces. The current Defence Minister of India is Rajnath Singh.
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Minister Of Defence At A Glance
| # | Header | Details |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Style | The Honourable |
| 2 | Member Of | Union Cabinet |
| 3 | Reports To | Prime Minister |
| 4 | Appointer | President of India (On The Advice of the Prime Minister) |
| 5 | Term Length | 5 Years |
| 6 | Formation | 15 August 1947 |
| 7 | First Holder | Baldev Singh |
| 8 | Present Minister | Rajnath Singh |
| 9 | Present MoS | Ajay Bhatt |
| 10 | Website | mod.gov.in |
Facts About Ministry Of Defence
- The first Indian Defence Minister was Baldev Singh Chokkar, who served in Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru’s cabinet during 1947–52.
- The President of India is the Ceremonial Commander-in-Chief of the armed forces in India.
- The Indian Armed Forces (including the Indian Army, Indian Air Force, and Indian Navy) and the Indian Coast Guard under the Ministry of Defence are primarily responsible for ensuring the territorial integrity of India.
- As per Statista, It is the biggest employer in the world with 2.92 million employees.
- The Ministry organizes and runs Republic Day celebrations and Parades every year in January, hosting a chief guest.
- The Ministry of Defence has the largest budget among the federal departments of India and currently stands third (First United States & Second China) in military expenditure in the world, among countries of the world.
List Of Indian Defence Minister
| # | Name | Term In | Term Out | Total Term | Prime Minister |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Baldev Singh (INC) | 15 Aug 1947 | 13 May 1952 | 4Y 272D | Jawaharlal Nehru |
| 2 | N. Gopalaswami Ayyangar (INC) | 13 May 1952 | 10 Feb 1953 | 273D | Jawaharlal Nehru |
| 3 | Jawaharlal Nehru (INC) | 10 Feb 1953 | 10 Jan 1955 | 1Y 334D | Jawaharlal Nehru |
| 4 | Kailash Nath Katju (INC) | 10 Jan 1955 | 30 Jan 1957 | 2Y 20D | Jawaharlal Nehru |
| ~ | Jawaharlal Nehru[3] (INC) | 30 Jan 1957 | 17 Apr 1957 | 2Y 97D | Jawaharlal Nehru |
| 5 | V. K. Krishna Menon (INC) | 17 Apr 1957 | 31 Oct 1962 | 5Y 197D | Jawaharlal Nehru |
| ~ | Jawaharlal Nehru[3] (INC) | 31 Oct 1962 | 14 Nov 1962 | 14 days | Jawaharlal Nehru |
| 6 | Yashwantrao Chavan (INC) | 14 Nov 1962 | 13 Nov 1966 | 3Y 364D | Jawaharlal Nehru + Lal Bahadur Shastri + Indira Gandhi |
| 7 | Swaran Singh (INC) | 13 Nov 1966 | 27 Jun 1970 | 3Y 226D | Indira Gandhi |
| 8 | Jagjivan Ram (INC) | 27 Jun 1970 | 10 Oct 1974 | 4Y 105D | Indira Gandhi |
| ~ | Swaran Singh[7] (INC) | 10 Oct 1974 | 01 Dec 1975 | 1Y 52D | Indira Gandhi |
| 9 | Indira Gandhi (INC) | 01 Dec 1975 | 20 Dec 1975 | 19D | Indira Gandhi |
| 10 | Bansi Lal (INC) | 21 Dec 1975 | 24 Mar 1977 | 1Y 94D | Indira Gandhi |
| ~ | Jagjivan Ram[8] (JP) | 24 Mar 1977 | 28 Jul 1979 | 2Y 126D | Morarji Desai |
| 11 | Chidambaram Subramaniam INC (U) | 28 Jul 1979 | 14 Jan 1980 | 170D | Charan Singh |
| ~ | Indira Gandhi[9] (INC) | 14 Jan 1980 | 15 Jan 1982 | 2Y 1D | Indira Gandhi |
| 12 | Ramaswamy Venkataraman (INC) | 15 Jan 1982 | 02 Aug 1984 | 2Y 200D | Indira Gandhi |
| 13 | Shankarrao Chavan (INC) | 02 Aug 1984 | 31 Dec 1984 | 151D | Indira Gandhi + Rajiv Gandhi |
| 14 | P. V. Narasimha Rao (INC) | 01 Jan 1985 | 25 Sep 1985 | 267D | Rajiv Gandhi |
| 15 | Rajiv Gandhi (INC) | 25 Sep 1985 | 24 Jan 1987 | 269D | Rajiv Gandhi |
| 16 | Vishwanath Pratap Singh (INC) | 24 Jan 1987 | 12 Apr 1987 | 78D | Rajiv Gandhi |
| 17 | K. C. Pant (INC) | 13 Apr 1987 | 01 Dec 1989 | 2Y 232D | Rajiv Gandhi |
| ~ | Vishwanath Pratap Singh(16) (JD) | 02 Dec 1989 | 10 Nov 1990 | 343D | V. P. Singh |
| 18 | Chandra Shekhar SJP(R) | 10 Nov 1990 | 21 Jun 1991 | 223D | Chandra Shekhar |
| ~ | P. V. Narasimha Rao[14] (INC) | 21 Jun 1991 | 26 Jun 1991 | 5D | P. V. Narasimha Rao |
| 19 | Sharad Pawar (INC) | 26 Jun 1991 | 06 Mar 1993 | 1Y 253D | P. V. Narasimha Rao |
| ~ | P. V. Narasimha Rao[14] (INC) | 06 Mar 1993 | 16 May 1996 | 3Y 71D | P. V. Narasimha Rao |
| 20 | Pramod Mahajan (BJP) | 16 May 1996 | 01 Jun 1996 | 16D | Atal Bihari Vajpayee |
| 21 | Mulayam Singh Yadav (SP) | 01 Jun 1996 | 19 Mar 1998 | 1Y 291D | Deve Gowda + I. K. Gujral |
| 22 | George Fernandes (SAP) | 19 Mar 1998 | 16 Mar 2001 | 2Y 362D | Atal Bihari Vajpayee |
| 23 | Jaswant Singh (BJP) | 16 Mar 2001 | 21 Oct 2001 | 219D | Atal Bihari Vajpayee |
| ~ | George Fernandes[22] JD(U) | 21 Oct 2001 | 22 May 2004 | 2Y 214D | Atal Bihari Vajpayee |
| 24 | Pranab Mukherjee (INC) | 22 May 2004 | 26 Oct 2006 | 2Y 157D | Manmohan Singh |
| 25 | A. K. Antony (INC) | 26 Oct 2006 | 26 May 2014 | 7Y 212D | Manmohan Singh |
| 26 | Arun Jaitley (BJP) | 26 May 2014 | 09 Nov 2014 | 167D | Narendra Modi |
| 27 | Manohar Parrikar (BJP) | 09 Nov 2014 | 13 Mar 2017 | 2Y 124D | Narendra Modi |
| ~ | Arun Jaitley[26] (BJP) | 13 Mar 2017 | 03 Sep 2017 | 174D | Narendra Modi |
| 28 | Nirmala Sitharaman (BJP) | 03 Sep 2017 | 30 May 2019 | 1Y 269D | Narendra Modi |
| 29 | Rajnath Singh (BJP) | 30 May 2019 | ~ | 4Y 99D | Narendra Modi |
| Acronym 1) INC: Indian National Congress 2) JP: Janata Party 3) INC (U): Indian National Congress (Urs) 4) JD: Janata Dal 5) SJP (R): Samajwadi Janata Party (Rashtriya) 6) BJP: Bharatiya Janata Party 7) SP: Samajwadi Party 8) SAP: Samata Party 9) JD (U): Janata Dal (United) |
List Of Minister of State in the Ministry of Defence
| # | Minister | Term In | Term Out | Total Term |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bachi Singh Rawat | 13 Oct 1999 | 22 Nov 1999 | 40D |
| 2 | Harin Pathak | 13 Oct 1999 | 14 Nov 2000 | 1Y 32D |
| 3 | Krishnam Raju | 22 Jul 2001 | 1 Jul 2002 | 344D |
| 4 | Harin Pathak | 15 Oct 2001 | 29 Jan 2003 | 1Y 106D |
| 5 | Chaman Lal Gupta | 1 Jul 2002 | 22 May 2004 | 1Y 326D |
| 6 | O. Rajagopal | 29 Jan 2003 | 22 May 2004 | 114D |
| 7 | Bijoy Krishna Handique | 23 May 2004 | 29 Jan 2006 | 1Y 251D |
| 8 | Rao Inderjit Singh | 29 Jan 2006 | 22 May 2009 | 3Y 113D |
| 9 | M. M. Pallam Raju | 29 Jan 2006 | 28 Oct 2012 | 6Y 273D |
| 10 | Jitin Prasada | 28 Oct 2012 | 29 Oct 2012 | 1D |
| 11 | Lalchand Kataria | 28 Oct 2012 | 31 Oct 2012 | 3D |
| 12 | Jitendra Singh | 28 Oct 2012 | 26 May 2014 | 1Y 180D |
| 13 | Rao Inderjit Singh | 26 May 2014 | 05 Jul 2016 | 2Y 40D |
| 14 | Subhash Bhamre | 05 July 2016 | 30 May 2019 | 2Y 329D |
| 15 | Shripad Naik | 30 May 2019 | 07 Jul 2021 | 3Y 196D |
| 16 | Ajay Bhatt | 07 July 2021 | ~ | 2Y 62D |
Questions On Defence Ministry Of India
1. Who is the first Defence Minister of India?
Answer: Baldev Singh (15 Aug 1947 – 13 May 1952)
2. Who is the first woman Defence Minister of India?
Answer: Indira Gandhi (1 Dec 1975 – 20 Dec 1975)
3. Who is the current Defence Minister of India?
Answer: Rajnath Singh
4. Who is the Deputy Minister of Defence?
Answer: Ajay Bhatt
5. Who is the present Defence Secretary of India?
Answer: Giridhar Aramane (IAS)
6. Who is the longest-serving Defence Minister of India?
Answer: A. K. Antony (26 Oct 2006 – 26 May 2014) [7 Years 212 Days]
7. Who is the shortest-serving Defence Minister of India?
Answer: P. V. Narasimha Rao (21 Jun 1991 – 26 Jun 1991) [5 days]
8. Which Indian political Party had the most number of Defence Ministers in India?
Answer: Indian National Congress
9. What is the annual budget of the Ministry of Defence for 2022-23?
Answer: ₹525,166 crores (US$66 billion)
10. How many departments does the Ministry of Defence consist of?
Answer: Five Departments:
1) Department of Defence (DoD)
2) Department of Military Affairs (DMA)
3) Department of Defence Production (DDP)
4) Department of Defence Research and Development (DRDO)
5) Department of Ex-Servicemen Welfare (DESW)
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