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Cabinet Ministers of India





What is a Cabinet Minister and Union Cabinet?

The prime minister of India is the head of the Republic of India. The constitution has entrusted the prime minister with the responsibility of governance. There are numerous sectors affecting the lives of the people, therefore, a ministry is a higher authority that manages that sector of public administration. A minister is the head of any such specific ministry. The prime minister runs the government through various ministries and he has the right to allocate a certain ministry to a person of his choice- called a minister.


A group of central ministries headed by the prime minister is called a union cabinet. A minister of the key portfolios of the government is designated as a cabinet minister. In other words, the union cabinet consists of cabinet ministers and the prime minister. Union cabinet is the highest decision making body in India. Union cabinet advises the prime minister and vice versa. The respective cabinet minister implements the decisions taken and directives from the prime minister in his ministry.


The prime minister has the sole right for the appointment and removal of any minister from the ministry. In actual facts, the prime minister basically advises the president to appoint a minister. The cabinet is presided by the prime minister of India. In the hierarchy, the cabinet minister works under the prime minister. The prime minister himself is in charge of certain portfolios and any other portfolio which has not been allotted.

Council of Ministers and Categories of Ministries in the Government

A council of states is the executive body which consists of four categories of ministers; the Cabinet Ministers, Minister of States, Minister of States with independent charge, and Deputy Ministers.

Cabinet Ministers: The Cabinet of India is the core of the Council of Ministers of the Union Government and the collective decision-making body. All the important portfolios of the Central Government together comprise the Cabinet. It is the role of the Cabinet primarily to keep the confidence of the Houses of Parliament during the party's tenure in the Union government. It is the collective responsibility of the Cabinet to be accountable to the two Houses of Parliament, for its policies and schemes.


Minister of States with Independent Charge: The minister of states with an independent charge has the same powers as that of the cabinet minister in relation to his ministry. However, they are not the members of the cabinet and hence do not attend the cabinet meetings unless invited in some special scenario.

Ministers of States: Ministers of states are given charge of some specific departments under the ministry. A minister of states is guided by the cabinet minister.

Deputy Ministers: Deputy ministers assist the cabinet ministers is their administrative, parliamentary, and political duties. These ministers are of the lowest rank in the government.


List of Ministers of India with Portfolio


Prime Minister and His Portfolio

Shri Narendra ModiPrime Minister and also in-charge of: Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions;Department of Atomic Energy; Department of Space; and All important policy issues; and All other portfolios not allocated to any Minister.

Cabinet Ministers of India

Sr. No.MinisterPortfolio
1Rajnath SinghMinister of Defence
2Subrahmanyam Jaishankar Minister of External Affairs
3 Amit Shah Minister of Home Affairs, Ministry of Co-operation
4 Nirmala Sitharaman Minister of Finance, Minister of Corporate Affairs
5Nitin Gadkari Minister of Road Transport and Highways
6Piyush GoyalMinister of Commerce and Industry, Minister of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution, Minister of Textiles
7Smriti Zubin IraniMinister of Women and Child Development
8Arjun MundaMinister of Tribal Affairs
9Kiren RijijuMinister of Law and Justice
10Dharmendra PradhanMinister of Education, Minister of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship
11Narendra Singh TomarMinister of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare
12Dr. Virendra KumarMinister of Social Justice and Empowerment
13Mansukh L. MandaviyaMinister of Health and Family Welfare, Minister of Chemicals and Fertilizers
14Bhupender YadavMinister of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Ministry of Labour and Employment
15Mukhtar Abbas NaqviMinister of Minority Affairs
16Mahendra Nath PandeyMinister of Heavy Industries and Public Enterprises
17Pralhad JoshiMinister of Parliamentary Affairs, Ministry of Coal, Ministry of Mines
18Gajendra Singh ShekhawatMinister of Jal Shakti
19Narayan Tatu RaneMinister of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises
20Parshottam RupalaMinister of Animal Husbandry, Dairying and Fisheries
21Ashwini VaishnawMinister of Railways, Minister of Communications, Minister of Electronics and Information Technology
22Sarbananda SonowalMinister of Ports, Shipping and Waterways, Ministry of AYUSH
23Giriraj SinghMinister of Rural Development, Minister of Panchayati Raj
24Jyotiraditya ScindiaMinister of Civil Aviation
25Ramchandra Prasad SinghMinister of Steel
26Pashupati Kumar ParasMinister of Food Processing Industries
27Raj Kumar SinghMinister of Power, Minister of New and Renewable Energy
28Hardeep Singh PuriMinister of Petroleum and Natural Gas, Minister of Housing and Urban Affairs
29Kishan ReddyMinister of Culture, Minister of Tourism. Minister of Development of North Eastern Region
30Anurag ThakurMinister of Information and Broadcasting, Minister of Youth Affairs and Sports

Ministers of State

Sr.No.MinisterPortfolio
1Darshana Jardosh, Raosaheb DanveMinister of State in the Ministry of Railways
2Darshana JardoshMinister of State in the Ministry of Textiles
3Faggan Singh KulasteMinister of State in the Ministry of Steel
4Faggan Singh Kulaste, Sadhvi Niranjan JyotiMinister of State in the Ministry of Rural Development
5Dr. Bharati Pravin PawarMinister of State in the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare
6V. Muraleedharan, Arjun Ram MeghwalMinister of State in the Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs
7V. Muraleedharan, Meenakshi Lekhi, Dr. Rajkumar Ranjan SinghMinister of State in the Ministry of External Affairs
8Arjun Ram Meghwal, Meenakshi LekhiMinister of State in the Ministry of Culture
9General (Retd.) V. K. SinghMinister of State in the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways, Minister of State in the Ministty of Civil Aviation
10Ramdas Athawale, Abbaiah Narayanaswamy, Pratima BhoumikMinister of State in the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment
11Ashwini Kumar Choubey, Sadhvi Niranjan JyotiMinister of State in the Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution
12Ashwini Kumar ChoubeyMinister of State in the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change
13Nityanand Rai Yadav, Ajay Kumar Mishra, Nisith PramanikMinister of State in the Ministry of Home Affairs
14Shobha Karandlaje, Kailash ChoudharyMinister of State in the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare
15Dr. L. Murugan, Sanjeev Kumar BalyanMinister of State in the Ministry of Animal Husbandry, Dairying and Fisheries
16Dr. L. MuruganMinister of State in the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting
17Annpurna Devi Yadav, Dr. Rajkumar Ranjan Singh, Dr. Subhas SarkarMinister of State in the Ministry of Education
18Renuka Singh, Bishweswar TuduMinister of State in the Ministry of Tribal Affairs
19Som Parkash, Anupriya PatelMinister of State in the Ministry of Commerce and Industry
20Rameswar TeliMinister of State in the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas, Minister of State in the Ministry of Labour and Employment
21Dr. Mahendra MunjaparaMinister of State in the Ministry of Women and Child Development, Minister of State in the Ministry of AYUSH
22Dr. Bhagwat Kishanrao Karad, Pankaj ChoudharyMinister of State in the Ministry of Finance
23S. P. Singh BaghelMinister of State in the Ministry of Law and Justice
24Ajay Bhatt, Shripad NaikMinister of State in the Ministry of Tourism
25Ajay BhattMinister of State in the Ministry of Defence
26B. L. VermaMinister of State in the Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region, Minister of State in the Ministry of Co-operation
27Bhagwanth KhubaMinister of State in the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy, Minister of State in the Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilizers
28Bhanu Pratap Singh VermaMinister of State in the Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises
29Bishweswar Tudu, Prahlad Singh PatelMinister of State in the Ministry of Jal Shakti
30Raosaheb DanveMinister of State in the Ministry of Coal, Minister of State in the Ministry of Mines
31Devusinh Jesingbhai ChauhanMinister of State in the Ministry of Communications
32John BarlaMinister of State in the Ministry of Minority Affairs
33Kapil PatilMinister of State in the Ministry of Panchayati Raj
34Kaushal KishoreMinister of State in the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs
35Krishan PalMinister of State in the Ministry of Power, Minister of State in the Ministry of Heavy Industries and Public Enterprises
36Prahlad Singh PatelMinister of State in the Ministry of Food Processing Industries
37Rajeev ChandrasekharMinister of State in the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship, Minister of State in the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology
38Shripad Naik, Shantanu ThakurMinister of State in the Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways
39Nisith PramanikMinister of State in the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports




Ministers of State (Independent Charge)

1Rao Inderjit SinghMinister of State (Independent Charge) of Statistics and Programme Implementation, Minister of State (Independent Charge) of Planning, Minister of State in the Ministry of Corporate Affairs
2Jitendra SinghMinister of State (Independent Charge) of Ministry of Science and Technology, Minister of State (Independent Charge) of Ministry of Earth Sciences, Minister of State in the Prime Minister's Office, Minister of State in the Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions, Minister of State in the Department of Atomic Energy, Minister of State in the Department of Space

List of Cabinet Ministers of India with Photo and Portfolio 2014

Prime Minister Narendra Modi's cabinet is slightly smaller in size than that of his predecessor Manmohan Singh's 77. Modi's council of ministers include 66 ministers, including 28 cabinet ministers, the Prime Minister, 39 Ministers of State and Minister of State (Independent charge) combined. The top members of the cabinet ministers are Rajnath Singh who has got Home Ministry, Sushma Swaraj who has been handed External Affairs Ministry and Arun Jaitley who is going to oversee Finance and Corporate Affairs.

The Narendra Modi government effected its first cabinet ministers' reshuffle since taking office on 5 July, 2016 and then on September 3, 2017. The key changes made during the last reshuffle was the elevation of Nirmala Sitharaman to Cabinet rank with the responsibility of Defence portfolio. Minister Suresh Prabhu was moved to Commerce and Industry from his earlier ministry i.e. Railways. Piyush Goyal was handed the ministery of Railways instead. HRD Minister Smriti Irani has been shifted to Textiles. Babul Supriyo, the Union Minister of State for Urban Planning has been shifted to Heavy Industries. Minorities' Affairs Minister Najma Heptullah put in her papers to pave way for her deputy Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi.


Ministers of State

Cabinet Ministers

S.No Ministries Name Photo
1 Ministry of Atomic Energy
Ministry of Space
Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions
All important policy issues and all other portfolios not allocated to any Minister
Shri Narendra Modi Shri Narendra Modi
2 Minister without Portfolio Arun Jaitley Arun Jaitley
Ministry of Corporate Affairs
3 Ministry of Home Affairs Shri Rajnath Singh Rajnath Singh
4 Ministry of External Affairs Smt. Sushma Swaraj Sushma Swaraj
5 Ministry of Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari Nitin Gadkari
Ministry of Shipping
Ministry of Road Transport and Highways
Ministry of Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation
6 Minister of Commerce and Industry, Ministry of Civil Aviation Suresh Prabhu Suresh Prabhu
Ministry of Civil Aviation
7 Minister of Statistics and Programme Implementation
Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilizers
D. V. Sadananda Gowda D. V. Sadananda Gowda
8 Minister of Drinking Water and Sanitation Uma Bharti Uma Bharti
9 Ministry of Consumer Affairs & Food & Public Distribution Shri Ram Vilas Paswan Ram Vilas Paswan
10 Ministry of Women & Child Development Smt. Maneka Sanjay Gandhi Maneka Gandhi
11 Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilizers and Minister of Parliamentary Affairs Shri Ananth Kumar Ananth Kumar
12 Minister of Law and Justice; Minister of Electronics and Information Technology Shri Ravi Shankar Prasad Ravi Shankar Prasad
13 Ministry of Health & Family Welfare Jagat Prakash Nadda Jagat Prakash Nadda
14 Ministry of Heavy Industries and Public Enterprises Shri Anant Geete Anant Geete
15 Ministry of Food Processing Industries Harsimrat Kaur Badal Harsimrat Kaur Badal
16 Ministry of Rural Development
Ministry of Mines
Ministry of Panchayati Raj
Shri Narendra Singh Tomar Narendra Singh Tomar
Ministry of Panchayati Raj
Minister of Mines
17 Ministry of Steel Chaudhary Birender Singh Chaudhary Birender Singh
18 Ministry of Tribal Affairs Jual Oram Jual Oram
19 Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare. Shri Radha Mohan Singh Radha Mohan Singh
20 Minister of Textiles and Minister of Information & Broadcasting Smriti Irani Smriti Irani
21 Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment Shri Thawar Chand Gehlot Thawar Chand Gehlot
22 Ministry of Science and Technology
Ministry of Earth Sciences
Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change
Dr. Harsh Vardhan Harsh Vardhan
Ministry of Earth Science
23 Ministry of Human Resource Development Shri Prakash Javadekar Shri Prakash Javadekar
24 Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas; and Minister of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship. Shri Dharmendra Pradhan Shri Dharmendra Pradhan
25 Ministry of Railways; and Minister of Coal
Ministry of Railways
Ministry of Finance
Shri Piyush Goyal Shri Piyush Goyal
26 Ministry of Defence Shri Nirmala Sitharaman Shri Nirmala Sitharaman
27 Ministry of Minority Affairs Shri Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi Shri Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi


State Ministers of India with Independent Charge

S.NoMinistriesNamePhoto
1Ministry of Chemicals and FertilizersRao Inderjit Singh Rao Inderjit Singh
2Ministry of Ayurveda, Yoga and Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha and Homoeopathy (AYUSH)Shripad Yesso Naik Shripad Yesso Naik
3Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region
Department of Atomic Energy
Department of Space
Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions
Prime Minister's Office
Dr. Jitendra Singh Dr. Jitendra Singh
4Minister of State Ministry of Culture
Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change
Dr. Mahesh Sharma Dr. Mahesh Sharma
5Ministry of Railways
Minister of State Ministry of Communications
Manoj Sinha Manoj Sinha
6Ministry of Labour and EmploymentSantosh Kumar GangwarSantosh Kumar Gangwar
7Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium EnterprisesGiriraj SinghGiriraj Singh
8Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports; Minister of State in the Ministry of Information and BroadcastingCol. Rajyavardhan RathoreCol. Rajyavardhan Rathore
9Ministry of Power; Ministry of New and Renewable Energy.Raj Kumar SinghRaj Kumar Singh
10Ministry of Housing and Urban AffairsHardeep Singh PuriHardeep Singh Puri
11Ministry of TourismAlphons KannanthanamAlphons Kannanthanam
12Ministry of Power
Ministry of New and Renewable Energy
Shri Raj Kumar SinghShri Hardeep Singh Puri

Ministers of State

S.NoMinistriesNamePhoto
1External AffairsGeneral (Retd.) V.K. Singh V.K. Singh
2Ministry of Electronics and Information TechnologyS.S. Ahluwalia S.S. Ahluwalia
3Social Justice and EmpowermentRamdas Athawale Ramdas Athawale
4Rural DevelopmentRam Kripal Yadav Ram Kripal Yadav
5Mines and CoalHaribhai Parthibhai Chaudhary Haribhai Parthibhai Chaudhary
6Micro, Small and Medium EnterprisesGiriraj Singh Giriraj Singh
7Home AffairsHansraj Gangaram Ahir Hansraj Gangaram Ahir
8Drinking Water and SanitationRamesh Chandappa Jigajinagi Ramesh Chandappa Jigajinagi
9RailwaysRajen Gohain Rajen Gohain
10Agriculture and Farmers Welfare and Panchayati RajParshottam Rupala Parshottam Rupala
11External AffairsM. J. Akbar M. J. Akbar
12Human Resource DevelopmentUpendra Kushwaha Upendra Kushwaha
13Finance and ShippingRadhakrishnan Radhakrishnan
14Home AffairsKiren Rijiju Kiren Rijiju
15Social Justice and EmpowermentKrishan Pal Krishan Pal
16Tribal AffairsJaswantsinh Sumanbhai Bhabhor Jaswantsinh Sumanbhai Bhabhor
17SteelVishnu Deo Sai Vishnu Deo
18Tribal AffairsSudarshan Bhagat Sudarshan
19Science and Technology and Earth SciencesY.S. Chowdary Y.S. Chowdary
20Civil AviationJayant Sinha Jayant Sinha
21Heavy Industries and Public EnterprisesBabul Supriyo Babul Supriyo
22Food Processing IndustriesSadhvi Niranjan Jyoti Sadhvi Niranjan
23Social Justice and EmpowermentVijay Sampla Vijay Sampla
24Parliamentary Affairs; Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation.Arjun Ram Meghwal Arjun Ram Meghwal
25TextilesAjay Tamta Ajay Tamta
26Agriculture and Farmers WelfareSmt. Krishna Raj Smt. Krishna Raj
27Road Transport and Highways Shipping and Chemicals and FertilizersMansukh L. Mandaviya Mansukh L. Mandaviya
28Health and Family WelfareSmt. Anupriya Patel Smt. Anupriya Patel
29Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution, Ministry Commerce and Industry.C. R. Chaudhary C. R. Chaudhary
30Law and Justice; Corporate AffairsP.P. Chaudhary P.P. Chaudhary
31DefenceDr. Subhash Ramrao Bhamre Dr. Subhash Ramrao Bhamre
32Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs; Ministry of Statistics and Programme ImplementationVijay GoelVijay Goel
33FinanceShiv Pratap ShuklaShiv Pratap Shukla
34Health and Family WelfareAshwini Kumar ChoubeyAshwini Kumar Choubey
35Women and Child Development; Minority AffairsDr. Virendra KumarDr. Virendra Kumar
36Skill Development and EntrepreneurshipAnantkumar HegdeAnantkumar Hegde
37Agriculture and Farmers WelfareGajendra Singh ShekhawatGajendra Singh Shekhawat
38Human Resource Development; Water Resources, River Development and Ganga RejuvenationSatya Pal SinghSatya Pal Singh

What is Union Cabinet of India and How it Works?

According to the Constitution of India, in the everyday administration the Prime Minister is assisted by the Council of Ministers, which consists of the Cabinet Ministers, Deputy Ministers, Ministers of State with independent charge, Ministers of State working with the Cabinet Ministers and others. The Prime Minister is the Chairperson of the Cabinet. The core Council of Ministers is called the Cabinet, ministers of which are decided by the PM. The various departments are allotted to various ministers by the PM. The PM presides over Cabinet meetings and oversees the important functions of the Cabinet. Ministers are removed from departments if the PM does not approve of the performance of the minister.

Cabinet Ministers and Prime Minister

The Prime Minister of India is the Head of the Union Government. Unlike the President who is the Head of the State, the PM is the Chief of government at the Centre In other words, he is the real head of the executive branch of the Union Government. He is the Leader of the House of Parliament to which he belongs.


As India follows the Westminster Model of constitutional democracy, it is the Prime Minister who oversees the day-to-day functioning of the Indian administration. He is also the Chief adviser to the President. The PM has many functions and powers. The PM holds the power to form his/her Council of Ministers, choosing members of his/her party for particular ministries within the working of the country.

The PM also oversees defence-related issues of the country. He makes all important policies and schemes of the government. He has to devote attention to all judicial appointments, appointments to State Administrative Tribunals, Central Administrative Tribunal, UPSC, Election Commission. The PM is solely in-charge of certain departments or ministries like Ministry of Planning, Department of Atomic Energy, Department of Space and Ministry of Personal, Public Grievances and Pensions.


Categories of Ministers in Government

There are three categories of ministers within the Council of Ministers - Cabinet, Ministers of State with independent charges and Ministers of State working with the Cabinet Ministers.

Roles and Responsibilities of Cabinet Ministers of India
The Cabinet of India is the core of the Council of Ministers of the Union Government, and the collective decision-making body. All the important portfolios of the Central Government together comprise the Cabinet. Some of the most important ministries are Ministry of Home Affairs, Ministry of External Affairs, Ministry of Defence, Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Commerce and Industry and others.


The role of the Cabinet ranges from advising the Council of Ministers and provide assistance to them, attend Cabinet meetings called by either the Prime Minister or any one of the Cabinet ministers to discuss issues related to his ministry. More importantly, it is the role of the Cabinet primarily to keep the confidence of the Houses of Parliament during the party's tenure in the Union government. It is the collective responsibility of the Cabinet to be accountable to the two Houses of Parliament, for its policies and schemes.

Roles and Responsibilities of Ministers of State with independent charges
The Ministers of State with independent charges are the second category of ministers in the Council of Ministers. They are not as important in their role as the Cabinet. There is no overseeing Cabinet Minister for the portfolio of the Minister of state with independent charges.


Roles and Responsibilities of Ministers of State
Ministers of State working with the Cabinet Ministers are the third rank of ministers. These are junior ministers who assist the Cabinet Minister in the particular portfolio. These junior ministers look after one or two aspects of the Cabinet portfolio, and not the whole ministry as such.

Know about the Cabinets of Indian States
Andhra PradeshMaharashtra
Arunachal PradeshManipur
AssamMeghalaya
BiharMizoram
ChhattisgarhNagaland
DelhiOdissa
GoaPondicherry
GujaratPunjab
HaryanaRajasthan
Himachal PradeshSikkim
Jammu and KashmirTamil Nadu
JharkhandTelangana
KarnatakaTripura
KeralaUttar Pradesh
Madhya PradeshUttarakhand


Last Updated on: Sept 29, 2021


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