Current Ministries
There are 54 
Union ministries and 93 departments in India. [1]
The Government of India exercises its executive authority through a number of government ministries or departments of state. A ministry is composed of employed officials, known as civil servants, and is politically accountable through a minister . Most major ministries are headed by a Cabinet Minister, who sits in the Union Council of Ministers, and is typically supported by a team of junior ministers called the Ministers of State. A union minister also known as cabinet minister.
Some ministries have subdivisions called departments. For example, the Ministry of Communications has two departments - the Department of Telecommunications and Department of Posts.
There are 54 Union ministries and 93 departments in India. [1]
These are independent departments working under the direct supervision of the Prime Minister's Office.
The following ministries once functioned, but have since become defunct, generally because of a merger with another ministry or division into new ministries.
| Ministry name | Established | Defunct | Fate |
|---|---|---|---|
| Agriculture | August 1947 | 1 February 1951 | Merged to constitute the Ministry of Food and Agriculture. [2] |
| Food | 29 August 1947 | ||
| Food and Agriculture | 1 February 1951 | October 1956 | Bifurcated into the Ministry of Agriculture and the Ministry of Food. |
| Agriculture | October 1956 | 17 April 1957 | Merged once again to form the Ministry of Food and Agriculture. [2] |
| Food | |||
| Food and Agriculture | 17 April 1957 | January 1966 | Merged with the Ministry of Community Development and Cooperation to form the Ministry of Food, Agriculture, Community Development and Cooperation. The new ministry was renamed the Ministry of Agriculture in 1971, with four departments. [2] |
| Agriculture | January 1966 | 1983 | The Department of Food was separated from the ministry, and elevated to the new Ministry of Food and Civil Supplies. [2] |
| Food and Civil Supplies | 1983 | June 1991 | Bifurcated into the Ministry of Food and the Ministry of Civil Supplies. [2] |
| Food | June 1991 | 4 June 1997 | Merged to form Ministry of Food and Consumer Affairs with three departments - Department of Food & Civil Supplies, Department of Sugar and Edible Oils and Department of Consumer Affairs. On 15 October 1999, the new ministry was renamed as the Ministry of Consumer Affairs & Public Distribution, having the same three departments. On 17 July 2000, the Ministry of Consumer Affairs and Public Distribution was renamed as the Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution, with two departments - Department of Food & Public Distribution and Department of Consumer Affairs. [2] |
| Civil Supplies | |||
| National Resources and Scientific Research | 1951 | [3] | |
| Irrigation and Power | 1952 | November 1974 | Bifurcated into a separate Department of Irrigation under the reconstituted Ministry of Agriculture and Irrigation, and a separate ministry. [3] |
| Agriculture and Irrigation | November 1974 | 22 July 1980 | Following the formation of the Ministry of Irrigation in June 1980, three items of work were transferred from the ministry to the new ministry, and the Ministry of Agriculture and Irrigation was renamed the Ministry of Agriculture. [3] |
| Energy and Irrigation | January 1980 | 9 June 1980 | Bifurcated into the Ministry of Energy and the Department of Irrigation (which was brought under the ministry in January 1980) was elevated to the new Ministry of Irrigation. [3] |
| Irrigation | 9 June 1980 | January 1985 | Merged with the Ministry of Power to once again, form the Ministry of Irrigation and Power. [3] |
| Irrigation and Power | January 1985 | September 1985 | Bifurcated into the Ministry of Power and the Department of Irrigation was re-constituted as the Ministry of Water Resources. On 31 July 2014, the Ministry of Water Resources was renamed as Ministry of Water Resources, River Development & Ganga Rejuvenation. [3] |
| Surface Transport | 22 October 1986 | 17 November 2000 | Bifurcated into the Ministry of Shipping and the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways. |
| Small Scale Industries and Agro and Rural Industries | October 1999 | September 2001 | Bifurcated into the Ministry of Agro and Rural Industries and the Ministry of Small Scale Industries. |
| Agro and Rural Industries | September 2001 | 2007 | Merged with the Ministry of Small Scale Industries to form the Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises. |
| Small Scale Industries | September 2001 | 2007 | Merged with the Ministry of Agro and Rural Industries to form the Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises. |
| Overseas Indian Affairs | May 2004 | 7 January 2016 | Merged with the Ministry of External Affairs |
| Communications and Information Technology (India) | August 1947 | 5 July 2016 | Bifurcated into the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology and the Ministry of Communications (India) |
| Drinking Water and Sanitation | 2011 | 30 May 2019 | Merged with the Ministry of Water Resources, River Development & Ganga Rejuvenation and formed Ministry of Jal Shakti |
| Water Resources, River Development & Ganga Rejuvenation | September 1985 | 30 May 2019 | Merged with Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation to form Ministry of Jal Shakti constituted with Department of Water Resources and Department of Drinking Water and Sanitation |
| Ministry of Urban Development | 7 July 2017 | Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs | |
| Minister of Urban Development and Poverty Alleviation | 7 July 2017 | 7 July 2017 | Ministry Of Housing and Urban Affairs |
The prime minister of India is the head of Union Council of Ministersof the Republic of India. Executive authority is vested in the prime minister and his chosen Council of Ministers, despite the president of India being the nominal head of the executive. The prime minister has to be a (nominated) member of one of the houses of bicameral Parliament of India, alongside heading the respective house. The prime minister and his cabinet are at all times responsible to the Lok Sabha.
Minister of state is a designation for a government minister, with varying meanings in different jurisdictions. In a number of European countries, the title is given as an honorific conferring a higher rank, often bestowed upon senior ministers. In the United Kingdom and several other Commonwealth countries, "minister of state" is a junior rank subordinate to ministers of higher rank. In Brazil and Japan, all ministers of cabinet rank hold the title, while in Australia "minister of state" is the designation applied to all government ministers regardless of rank.
An interior minister is a cabinet official position that is responsible for internal affairs, such as public security, civil registration and identification, emergency management, supervision of regional and local governments, conduct of elections, public administration and immigration matters. This position is head of a department that is often called an interior ministry, a ministry of internal affairs or a ministry of home affairs. In some jurisdictions, there is no department called an "interior ministry", but the relevant responsibilities are allocated to other departments.
A government agency or state agency, sometimes an appointed commission, is a permanent or semi-permanent organization in the machinery of government (bureaucracy) that is responsible for the oversight and administration of specific functions, such as an administration. There is a notable variety of agency types. Although usage differs, a government agency is normally distinct both from a department or ministry, and other types of public body established by government. The functions of an agency are normally executive in character since different types of organizations are most often constituted in an advisory role — this distinction is often blurred in practice however, it is not allowed.
The Government of India is the national authority of the Republic of India, located in South Asia, consisting of 36 states and union territories. The government is led by the President of India who exercises the most executive power and selects the Prime Minister of India and other Ministers for aid and advice. The country has been legislated by a NDA-led legislature since 2014. The prime minister and their senior ministers belong to the Union Council of Ministers—its executive decision-making committee being the cabinet.
The Union Council of Ministers is the principal executive organ of the Government of India, which serves to aid and advice the President of India in execution of their functions. It is chaired by the Prime Minister of India and consists of the heads of each of the executive government ministries. Currently, the council is headed by Narendra Modi and consists of 71 fellow members. The council is answerable to the Lok Sabha.
The Cabinet Secretariat is responsible for the administration of the Government of India. It provides secretarial assistance to the Cabinet of India and facilitates smooth transaction of business between Ministries and Departments of the Government. It functions from the Rashtrapati Bhavan on Raisina Hill in New Delhi.
The Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, formerly the Ministry of Agriculture, is a branch of the Government of India and the apex body for formulation and administration of the rules and regulations and laws related to agriculture in India. The three broad areas of scope for the Ministry are agriculture, food processing and co-operation. The agriculture ministry is headed by Minister of Agriculture and Farmers' Welfare which is currently held by Shivraj Singh Chouhan. Kailash Choudhary and Shobha Karandlaje are the Ministers of State. Sharad Pawar, serving from 22 May 2004 to 26 May 2014, has held the office of Minister of Agriculture for the longest continuous period till date.
Prakash Chandra Sethi was an Indian National Congress politician who served as Minister of Home Affairs (1982–84) and as the 8th Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh (1972–75).
The Government of Kerala, also known as the Kerala Government, is the administrative body responsible for governing the Indian state of Kerala. The government is led by a chief minister, who selects all the other ministers. The chief minister and their most senior ministers belong to the supreme decision-making committee, known as the cabinet.
The Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment is a Government of India ministry. It is responsible for welfare, social justice and empowerment of disadvantaged and marginalised sections of society, including scheduled castes (SC), Other Backward Classes (OBC), LGBT people, the disabled, the elderly, and the victims of drug abuse. It also helps in the enforcement of legislation with regards to these marginalized groups to better enforce anti-discrimination policies.
Prakash Keshav Javadekar is an Indian politician and former parliamentarian. He served as the Minister of Environment, Forest and Climate Change two times, from May 2014 to July 2016 and from May 2019 to July 2021.
The Minister of Railways is the head of the Ministry of Railways and a member of the union council of ministers of India. The position of the Minister of Railways is usually held by a minister of cabinet rank and is often assisted by one or two junior Ministers of State.
The Ministry of Education (MoE) is a ministry of the Government of India, responsible for the implementation of the National Policy on Education. The ministry is further divided into two departments: the Department of School Education and Literacy, which deals with primary, secondary and higher secondary education, adult education and literacy, and the Department of Higher Education, which deals with university level education, technical education, scholarships, etc.
The Government of Jammu and Kashmir is the principal administrative authority responsible for the governance of the Indian union territory of Jammu and Kashmir. Established on 5 March 1948 as the Government of Princely state of Jammu and Kashmir, and the Government of Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir after the reorganization of the former state of Jammu and Kashmir in October 2019, the government operates under the framework of the Indian constitution. The union territory comprises two divisions—Jammu and Kashmir—with different cultural and geographical characteristics.
Piyush Vedprakash Goyal is an Indian politician who is serving as Minister of Commerce and Industry since 2019. He also served as Minister of Textiles and Minister of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution. He was elevated to the Cabinet Minister position on 3 September 2017. Formerly a Member of Parliament for Rajya Sabha from the state of Maharashtra, he is also the former Leader of the House in Rajya Sabha. Goyal was elected as member of 18th Lok Sabha Representing Mumbai North Lok Sabha constituency.
The Cabinet Secretary is the top-most executive official and senior-most civil servant of the Government of India. The Cabinet Secretary is the ex-officio head of the Civil Services Board, the Cabinet Secretariat, the Indian Administrative Service (IAS), and all Civil Services of India work under the rules of business of the government.
The Prime Minister's Office (PMO) consists of the immediate staff of the Prime Minister of India, as well as multiple levels of support staff reporting to the Prime Minister. The PMO is headed by the Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister of India, currently Pramod Kumar Mishra. The PMO was originally called the Prime Minister's Secretariat until 1977, when it was renamed during the Morarji Desai ministry.
The Indian Ordnance Factories Service (IOFS) is a civil service of the Government of India. IOFS officers are Gazetted defence-civilian officers under the Ministry of Defence. They are responsible for the administration of the Indian Ordnance Factories, which provide the indigenous defence production capabilities of India.
The Home Department is a department of Government of Bihar. It plays a key role in maintenance of administration in the state of Bihar. The department oversees the maintenance of law and order, prevention and control of crime, prosecution of criminals besides dealing with Fire Services and Prisons Administration. It is the nodal department for the State Secretariat Service and is also responsible for the functioning of State Police and Home Guards Services. The department is also the cadre controlling authority of Indian Police Service (IPS) and Bihar Police Service (BPS). The Chief Minister generally serves as the departmental minister, and the Principal Secretary (Home), an IAS officer, is the administrative head of the department.