Minister of Defence (India)#Ministers of State
{{short description|Minister of Defence in India}}
{{more citations needed|date=February 2019}}
{{Multiple issues|Not multiple, fix only how the series box overlaps over the box of cabinet ministers.}}
{{EngvarB|date=July 2016}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2016}}
{{Infobox official post
| post = Minister of Defence
| native_name = {{transliteration|hi|Rakṣā Maṁtrī}}
| insignia = Ministry of Defence India.svg
| insigniasize =
| insigniacaption = Emblem of India
| flag = Flag of the Ministry of Defence of India.svg
| flagsize =
| flagborder =
| flagcaption = Flag of the minister of defence
| image = Shri Rajnath Singh, Union Minister of Defence at a webinar on August 04, 2022.jpg
| imagesize =
| alt =
| incumbent = Rajnath Singh
| acting =
| incumbentsince = 30 May 2019
| department = File:Flag of the Ministry of Defence of India.svg Ministry of Defence
| style = The Honourable
| type =
| status =
| abbreviation =
| member_of = Union Cabinet
| reports_to = President of India
Prime Minister of India
Parliament of India
| residence =
| seat =
| nominator =
| appointer = President
| appointer_qualified = on the advice of the Prime Minister
| termlength = 5 years
| termlength_qualified =
| constituting_instrument =
| precursor =
| formation = 15 August 1947
| first = Baldev Singh
| last =
| abolished =
| succession =
| unofficial_names =
| deputy = Sanjay Seth
{{small|Minister of State}}
| salary =
| website = {{URL|https://mod.gov.in}}
}}
{{Politics of 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.
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.
Cabinet ministers
| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
! rowspan="2" | {{Abbr|No.|Number}} ! rowspan="2" colspan="2"| Portrait ! rowspan="2" style="width:17em" |Name ! colspan="3" |Term of office ! rowspan="2" style="width:8em" |Political party ! rowspan="2" style="width:6em" | Ministry ! rowspan="2" colspan="2"| Prime Minister |
| style="width:8em"| Took office
! style="width:8em"| Left office ! style="width:6em"| Time in office |
|---|
| 1
| bgcolor="{{party color|Indian National Congress}}"| | 70px | Baldev Singh | 15 August | 13 May | {{ayd|1947|8|15|1952|5|13}} | rowspan="15"| Indian National Congress | Nehru I | rowspan="9" bgcolor="{{party color|Indian National Congress}}"| | rowspan="9" style="width:9em"| Jawaharlal Nehru |
| 2
| bgcolor="{{party color|Indian National Congress}}"| | 70px | N. Gopalaswami Ayyangar | 13 May | 10 February | {{ayd|1952|5|13|1953|2|10}} | rowspan="4"| Nehru II |
| 3
| bgcolor="{{party color|Indian National Congress}}"| | 70px | Jawaharlal Nehru | 10 February | 10 January | {{ayd|1953|2|10|1955|1|10}} |
| 4
| bgcolor="{{party color|Indian National Congress}}"| | 70px | Kailash Nath Katju | 10 January | 30 January | {{ayd|1955|1|10|1957|1|30}} |
| (3)
| bgcolor="{{party color|Indian National Congress}}"| | 70px | Jawaharlal Nehru | 30 January | 17 April | {{ayd|1957|1|30|1957|4|17}} |
| rowspan="2"| 5
| rowspan="2" bgcolor="{{party color|Indian National Congress}}"| | rowspan="2"| 70px | rowspan="2"| V. K. Krishna Menon | 17 April | 2 April | rowspan="2"| {{ayd|1957|4|17|1962|10|31}} |
| 2 April 1962 | 31 October | rowspan="3"| Nehru IV |
| (3)
| bgcolor="{{party color|Indian National Congress}}"| | 70px | Jawaharlal Nehru | 31 October | 14 November | {{ayd|1962|10|31|1962|11|14}} |
| rowspan="5"| 6
| rowspan="5" bgcolor="{{party color|Indian National Congress}}"| | rowspan="5"| 70px | rowspan="5"| Yashwantrao Chavan | 14 November | 27 May | rowspan="5"| {{ayd|1962|11|14|1966|11|13}} |
| 27 May 1964 | 9 June | Nanda I | bgcolor="{{party color|Indian National Congress}}"| |
| 9 June 1964 | 11 January | Shastri | bgcolor="{{party color|Indian National Congress}}"| |
| 11 January 1966 | 24 January | Nanda II | bgcolor="{{party color|Indian National Congress}}"| |
| 24 January 1966 | 13 November | rowspan="2"| Indira I | rowspan="3" bgcolor="{{party color|Indian National Congress}}"| | rowspan="8"| Indira Gandhi |
| rowspan="2"| 7
| rowspan="2" bgcolor="{{party color|Indian National Congress}}"| | rowspan="2"| 70px | rowspan="2"| Swaran Singh | 13 November | 13 March | rowspan="2"| {{ayd|1966|11|13|1970|6|27}} |
| 13 March 1967 | 27 June | rowspan="2"| Indira II |
| rowspan="2"| 8
| rowspan="2" bgcolor="{{party color|Indian National Congress (R)}}"| | rowspan="2"| 70px | rowspan="2"| Jagjivan Ram | 27 June | 18 March | rowspan="2"| {{ayd|1970|6|27|1974|10|10}} | rowspan="5"| Indian National Congress (R) | rowspan="5" bgcolor="{{party color|Indian National Congress (R)}}"| |
| 18 March 1971 | 10 October | rowspan="4"| Indira III |
| (7)
| bgcolor="{{party color|Indian National Congress (R)}}"| | 70px | Swaran Singh | 10 October | 1 December | {{ayd|1974|10|10|1975|12|1}} |
| 9
| bgcolor="{{party color|Indian National Congress (R)}}"| | 70px | Indira Gandhi | 1 December | 20 December | {{ayd|1975|12|1|1975|12|20}} |
| 10
| bgcolor="{{party color|Indian National Congress (R)}}"| | | Bansi Lal | 21 December | 24 March | {{ayd|1975|12|21|1977|3|24}} |
| (8)
| bgcolor="{{party color|Janata Party}}"| | 70px | Jagjivan Ram | 24 March | 28 July | {{ayd|1977|3|24|1979|7|28}} | Desai | bgcolor="{{party color|Janata Party}}"| |
| 11
| bgcolor="{{party color|Indian National Congress (Urs)}}"| | 70px | Chidambaram Subramaniam | 28 July | 14 January | {{ayd|1979|7|28|1980|1|14}} | Indian National Congress (Urs) | Charan | bgcolor="{{party color|Janata Party (Secular)}}"| |
| (9)
| bgcolor="{{party color|Indian National Congress (I)}}"| | 70px | Indira Gandhi | 14 January | 15 January | {{ayd|1980|1|14|1982|1|15}} | rowspan="8"| Indian National Congress (I) | rowspan="3"| Indira IV | rowspan="3" bgcolor="{{party color|Indian National Congress (I)}}"| | rowspan="3"| Indira Gandhi |
| 12
| bgcolor="{{party color|Indian National Congress (I)}}"| | 70px | Ramaswamy Venkataraman | 15 January | 2 August | {{ayd|1982|1|15|1984|8|2}} |
| rowspan="2"| 13
| rowspan="2" bgcolor="{{party color|Indian National Congress (I)}}"| | rowspan="2"| 70px | rowspan="2"| Shankarrao Chavan | 2 August | 31 October | rowspan="2"| {{ayd|1984|8|2|1984|12|31}} |
| 31 October 1984 | 31 December | Rajiv I | rowspan="5" bgcolor="{{party color|Indian National Congress (I)}}"| | rowspan="5"| Rajiv Gandhi |
| 14
| bgcolor="{{party color|Indian National Congress (I)}}"| | 70px | P. V. Narasimha Rao | 31 December | 25 September | {{ayd|1984|12|31|1985|9|25}} | rowspan="4"| Rajiv II |
| 15
| bgcolor="{{party color|Indian National Congress (I)}}"| | 70px | Rajiv Gandhi | 25 September | 24 January | {{ayd|1985|9|25|1987|1|24}} |
| 16
| bgcolor="{{party color|Indian National Congress (I)}}"| | 70px | V. P. Singh | 24 January | 12 April | {{ayd|1987|1|24|1987|4|12}} |
| 17
| bgcolor="{{party color|Indian National Congress (I)}}"| | 70px | K. C. Pant | 12 April | 2 December | {{ayd|1987|4|12|1989|12|2}} |
| (16)
| bgcolor="{{party color|Janata Dal}}"| | 70px | Vishwanath Pratap Singh | 2 December | 10 November | {{ayd|1989|12|2|1990|11|10}} | bgcolor="{{party color|Janata Dal}}"| |
| 18
| bgcolor="{{party color|Samajwadi Janata Party (Rashtriya)}}"| | 70px | Chandra Shekhar | 10 November | 21 June | {{ayd|1990|11|10|1991|6|21}} | Samajwadi Janata Party (Rashtriya) | bgcolor="{{party color|Samajwadi Janata Party (Rashtriya)}}"| |
| (14)
| bgcolor="{{party color|Indian National Congress (I)}}"| | 70px | P. V. Narasimha Rao | 21 June | 26 June | {{ayd|1991|6|21|1991|6|26}} | rowspan="3"| Indian National Congress (I) | rowspan="3"| Rao | rowspan="3" bgcolor="{{party color|Indian National Congress (I)}}"| | rowspan="3"| P. V. Narasimha Rao |
| 19
| bgcolor="{{party color|Indian National Congress (I)}}"| | 70px | Sharad Pawar | 26 June | 6 March | {{ayd|1991|6|26|1993|3|6}} |
| (14)
| bgcolor="{{party color|Indian National Congress (I)}}"| | 70px | P. V. Narasimha Rao | 6 March | 16 May | {{ayd|1993|3|6|1996|5|16}} |
| 20
| bgcolor="{{party color|Bharatiya Janata Party}}"| | 70px | Pramod Mahajan | 16 May | 1 June | {{ayd|1996|5|16|1996|6|1}} | bgcolor="{{party color|Bharatiya Janata Party}}"| |
| rowspan="2"| 21
| rowspan="2" bgcolor="{{party color|Samajwadi Party}}"| | rowspan="2"| 70px | rowspan="2"| Mulayam Singh Yadav | 1 June | 21 April | rowspan="2"| {{ayd|1996|6|1|1998|3|18}} | rowspan="2"| Samajwadi Party | bgcolor="{{party color|Janata Dal}}"| |
| 21 April 1997 | 18 March | Gujral | bgcolor="{{party color|Janata Dal}}"| |
| rowspan="2"| 22
| rowspan="2" bgcolor="{{party color|Samata Party}}"| | rowspan="2"| 70px | rowspan="2"| George Fernandes | 19 March | 13 October | rowspan="2"| {{ayd|1998|12|5|2001|3|16}} | rowspan="2"| Samata Party | rowspan="4" bgcolor="{{party color|Bharatiya Janata Party}}"| | rowspan="4"| Atal Bihari Vajpayee |
| 13 October 1999 | 16 March | rowspan="3"| Vajpayee III |
| 23
| bgcolor="{{party color|Bharatiya Janata Party}}"| | 70px | Jaswant Singh | 16 March | 21 October | {{ayd|2001|3|16|2001|10|21}} |
| (22)
| bgcolor="{{party color|Janata Dal (United)}}"| | 70px | George Fernandes | 21 October | 22 May | {{ayd|2001|10|21|2004|5|22}} |
| 24
| bgcolor="{{party color|Indian National Congress}}"| | 70px | Pranab Mukherjee | 23 May | 26 October | {{ayd|2004|5|23|2006|10|26}} | rowspan="3"| Indian National Congress | rowspan="2"| Manmohan I | rowspan="3" bgcolor="{{party color|Indian National Congress}}"| | rowspan="3"| Manmohan Singh |
| rowspan="2"| 25
| rowspan="2" bgcolor="{{party color|Indian National Congress}}"| | rowspan="2"| 70px | rowspan="2"| A. K. Antony | 26 October | 22 May | rowspan="2"| {{ayd|2006|10|26|2014|5|26}} |
| 23 May 2009 | 26 May |
| 26
| bgcolor="{{party color|Bharatiya Janata Party}}"| | 70px | Arun Jaitley | 27 May | 9 November | {{ayd|2014|5|27|2014|11|9}} | rowspan="6"| Bharatiya Janata Party | rowspan="4"| Modi I | rowspan="6" bgcolor="{{party color|Bharatiya Janata Party}}"| | rowspan="6"| Narendra Modi |
| 27
| bgcolor="{{party color|Bharatiya Janata Party}}"| | 70px | Manohar Parrikar | 9 November | 13 March | {{ayd|2014|11|9|2017|3|13}} |
| (26)
| bgcolor="{{party color|Bharatiya Janata Party}}"| | 70px | Arun Jaitley | 13 March | 3 September | {{ayd|2017|3|13|2017|9|3}} |
| 28
| bgcolor="{{party color|Bharatiya Janata Party}}"| | 70px | Nirmala Sitharaman | 3 September | 30 May | {{ayd|2017|9|3|2019|5|30}} |
| rowspan =2|29
|rowspan="2"bgcolor="{{party color|Bharatiya Janata Party}}"| | rowspan=2|70px | rowspan=2|Rajnath Singh | 31 May | 9 June | rowspan=2|{{ayd|2019|5|31}} | Modi II |
| 10 June 2024 |Incumbent | Modi III |
Ministers of state
| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
! rowspan="2" | {{Abbr|No.|Number}} ! rowspan="2" colspan="2"| Portrait ! rowspan="2" style="width:17em" |Minister ! colspan="3" |Term of office ! rowspan="2" style="width:8em" |Political party ! rowspan="2" style="width:6em" | Ministry ! rowspan="2" colspan="2"| Prime Minister |
| style="width:8em"| From
! style="width:8em"| To ! style="width:6em"| Period |
|---|
| 1
| bgcolor="{{party color|Indian National Congress}}"| | 70px | Mahavir Tyagi | 16 March | 17 April | {{ayd|16 Mar 1953|17 Apr 1957}} | Nehru II | rowspan="3" bgcolor="{{party color|Indian National Congress}}"| | rowspan="3" style="width:9em"| Jawaharlal Nehru |
| colspan="9"| |
| rowspan="2"| 2
| rowspan="2" bgcolor="{{party color|Indian National Congress}}"| | rowspan="2"| 70px | rowspan="2"| Kotha Raghuramaiah | 16 April | 27 May | rowspan="2"| {{ayd|16 Apr 1962|9 Jun 1964}} | rowspan="10"| Indian National Congress | Nehru IV |
| 27 May 1964 | 9 June | Nanda I | bgcolor="{{party color|Indian National Congress}}"| |
| 3
| bgcolor="{{party color|Indian National Congress}}"| | 70px | Alungal Mathai Thomas | 13 June | 11 January | {{ayd|13 Jun 1964|11 Jan 1966}} | rowspan="2"| Shastri | rowspan="2" bgcolor="{{party color|Indian National Congress}}"| | rowspan="2"| Lal Bahadur Shastri |
| 4
| bgcolor="{{party color|Indian National Congress}}"| | 70px | Jaisukhlal Hathi | 29 October | 11 January | {{ayd|29 Oct 1965|11 Jan 1966}} |
| (3)
| bgcolor="{{party color|Indian National Congress}}"| | 70px | Alungal Mathai Thomas | rowspan="2"| 11 January | rowspan="2"| 24 January | rowspan="2"| {{ayd|11 Jan 1966|24 Jan 1966}} | rowspan="2"| Nanda II | rowspan="2" bgcolor="{{party color|Indian National Congress}}"| | rowspan="2"| Gulzarilal Nanda |
| (4)
| bgcolor="{{party color|Indian National Congress}}"| | 70px | Jaisukhlal Hathi |
| (3)
| bgcolor="{{party color|Indian National Congress}}"| | 70px | Alungal Mathai Thomas | rowspan="2"| 24 January | rowspan="2"| 13 March | rowspan="2"| {{ayd|24 Jan 1966|13 Mar 1967}} | rowspan="2"| Indira I | rowspan="4" bgcolor="{{party color|Indian National Congress}}"| | rowspan="11"| Indira Gandhi |
| (4)
| bgcolor="{{party color|Indian National Congress}}"| | 70px | Jaisukhlal Hathi |
| 5
| bgcolor="{{party color|Indian National Congress}}"| | 70px | Bali Ram Bhagat | 13 March | 14 November | {{ayd|13 Mar 1967|14 Nov 1967}} | rowspan="4"| Indira II |
| 6
| bgcolor="{{party color|Indian National Congress}}"| | 70px | Lalit Narayan Mishra | 14 November | 27 June | {{ayd|14 Nov 1967|27 Jun 1970}} |
| 7
| bgcolor="{{party color|Indian National Congress (R)}}"| | 70px | Narendrasinghji Mahida | 27 June | 18 March | {{ayd|27 Jun 1970|18 Mar 1971}} | rowspan="7"| Indian National Congress (R) | rowspan="7" bgcolor="{{party color|Indian National Congress (R)}}"| |
| rowspan="2"| 8
| rowspan="2" bgcolor="{{party color|Indian National Congress (R)}}"| | rowspan="2"| 70px | rowspan="2"| Prakash Chandra Sethi | 27 June | 18 March | rowspan="2"| {{ayd|27 Jun 1970|2 May 1971}} |
| 18 March 1971 | 2 May | rowspan="5"| Indira III |
| 9
| bgcolor="{{party color|Indian National Congress (R)}}"| | 70px | Vidya Charan Shukla | 2 May | 10 October | {{ayd|2 May 1971|10 Oct 1974}} |
| 10
| bgcolor="{{party color|Indian National Congress}}"| | 70px | Ram Niwas Mirdha | 10 October | 21 December | {{ayd|10 Oct 1974|21 Dec 1975}} |
| 11
| bgcolor="{{party color|Indian National Congress (Indira)}}"| | | Vitthalrao Gadgil | 25 December | 24 March | {{ayd|25 Dec 1975|24 Mar 1977}} |
| 12
| bgcolor="{{party color|Indian National Congress (I)}}"| | 70px | Janaki Ballabh Patnaik | 23 December | 24 March | {{ayd|23 Dec 1976|24 Mar 1977}} |
| colspan="11"| |
| 13
| bgcolor="{{party color|Janata Party}}"| | 70px | Sher Singh Kadyan | 14 August | 28 July | {{ayd|14 Aug 1977|28 Jul 1979}} | Desai | bgcolor="{{party color|Janata Party}}"| |
| 14
| bgcolor="{{party color|Janata Party (Secular)}}"| | | Jagbir Singh | 30 July | 14 January | {{ayd|30 Jul 1979|14 Jan 1980}} | Charan | bgcolor="{{party color|Janata Party (Secular)}}"| |
| colspan="11"| |
| 15
| bgcolor="{{party color|Indian National Congress (I)}}"| | | C. P. N. Singh | 3 March | 19 October | {{ayd|3 Mar 1980|19 Oct 1980}} | rowspan="10"| Indian National Congress (I) | rowspan="4"| Indira IV | rowspan="4" bgcolor="{{party color|Indian National Congress (I)}}"| | rowspan="4"| Indira Gandhi |
| 16
| bgcolor="{{party color|Indian National Congress (I)}}"| | 70px | Shivraj Patil | 19 October | 15 January | {{ayd|19 Oct 1980|15 Jan 1982}} |
| colspan="7"| |
| rowspan="2"| 17
| rowspan="2" bgcolor="{{party color|Indian National Congress (I)}}"| | rowspan="2"| | rowspan="2"| {{small|Brigadier}} | 29 January | 31 October | rowspan="2"| {{ayd|29 Jan 1983|26 Dec 1984}} |
| 4 November 1984 | 31 December | Rajiv I | rowspan="7" bgcolor="{{party color|Indian National Congress (I)}}"| | rowspan="7"| Rajiv Gandhi |
| colspan="9"| |
| 18
| bgcolor="{{party color|Indian National Congress (I)}}"| | | Sukh Ram | 25 September | 22 October | {{ayd|25 Sep 1985|22 Oct 1986}} | rowspan="5"| Rajiv II |
| 19
| bgcolor="{{party color|Indian National Congress (I)}}"| | | Arun Singh | 25 September | 18 July | {{ayd|25 Sep 1985|18 Jul 1987}} |
| (16)
| bgcolor="{{party color|Indian National Congress (I)}}"| | 70px | Shivraj Patil | 22 October | 25 June | {{ayd|22 Oct 1986|25 Jun 1988}} |
| 20
| bgcolor="{{party color|Indian National Congress (I)}}"| | 70px | Chintamani Panigrahi | 25 June | 4 July | {{ayd|25 Jun 1988|4 Jul 1989}} |
| 21
| bgcolor="{{party color|Indian National Congress (I)}}"| | 70px | Dumar Lal Baitha | 4 July | 2 December | {{ayd|4 Jul 1989|2 Dec 1989}} |
| colspan="11"| |
| 22
| bgcolor="{{party color|Janata Dal}}"| | | Raja Ramanna | 20 January | 10 November | {{ayd|20 Jan 1990|10 Nov 1990}} | bgcolor="{{party color|Janata Dal}}"| |
| 23
| bgcolor="{{party color|Samajwadi Janata Party (Rashtriya)}}"| | | Lalit Vijay Singh | 21 November | 21 June | {{ayd|21 Nov 1990|21 Jun 1991}} | Samajwadi Janata Party (Rashtriya) | bgcolor="{{party color|Samajwadi Janata Party (Rashtriya)}}"| |
| 24
| bgcolor="{{party color|Indian National Congress (I)}}"| | | S. Krishna Kumar | 26 June | 18 January | {{ayd|26 Jun 1991|18 Jan 1993}} | rowspan="4| Indian National Congress (I) | rowspan="4"| Rao | rowspan="4" bgcolor="{{party color|Indian National Congress (I)}}"| | rowspan="4"| P. V. Narasimha Rao |
| 25
| bgcolor="{{party color|Indian National Congress (I)}}"| | | Mallikarjun Goud | 18 January | 19 January | {{ayd|18 Jan 1993|19 Jan 1995}} |
| 26
| bgcolor="{{party color|Indian National Congress (I)}}"| | 70px | Suresh Pachouri | 15 September | 16 May | {{ayd|15 Sep 1995|16 May 1996}} |
| 27
| bgcolor="{{party color|Indian National Congress (I)}}"| | | Mallikarjun Goud | 30 September | 16 May | {{ayd|30 Sep 1995|16 May 1996}} |
| colspan="11"| |
| rowspan="2"| 28
| rowspan="2" bgcolor="{{party color|Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam}}"| | rowspan="2"| | rowspan="2"| N. V. N. Somu | 6 July | 21 April | rowspan="2"| {{ayd|29 Jun 1996|21 Apr 1997}} | rowspan="2"| Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam | bgcolor="{{party color|Janata Dal}}"| |
| 21 April 1997 | 14 November | Gujral | bgcolor="{{party color|Janata Dal}}"| |
| colspan="11"| |
| 29
| bgcolor="{{party color|Bharatiya Janata Party}}"| | 70px | Harin Pathak | 13 October | 14 November | {{ayd|1999|10|13|2000|11|14}} | rowspan="7"| Bharatiya Janata Party | rowspan="7"| Vajpayee III | rowspan="7" bgcolor="{{party color|Bharatiya Janata Party}}"| | rowspan="7"| Atal Bihari Vajpayee |
| 30
| bgcolor="{{party color|Bharatiya Janata Party}}"| | | Bachi Singh Rawat | 13 October | 22 November | {{ayd|1999|10|13|1999|11|22}} |
| colspan="7"| |
| 31
| bgcolor="{{party color|Bharatiya Janata Party}}"| | 70px | Krishnam Raju | 22 July | 1 July | {{ayd|2001|7|22|2002|7|1}} |
| (29)
| bgcolor="{{party color|Bharatiya Janata Party}}"| | 70px | Harin Pathak | 15 October | 29 January | {{ayd|2001|10|15|2003|1|29}} |
| 32
| bgcolor="{{party color|Bharatiya Janata Party}}"| | | Chaman Lal Gupta | 1 July | 22 May | {{ayd|2002|7|1|2004|5|22}} |
| 33
| bgcolor="{{party color|Bharatiya Janata Party}}"| | 70px | O. Rajagopal | 29 January | 22 May | {{ayd|2004|1|29|2004|5|22}} |
| 34
| bgcolor="{{party color|Indian National Congress}}"| | 70px | Bijoy Krishna Handique | 23 May | 29 January | {{ayd|2004|5|23|2006|1|29}} | rowspan="7"| Indian National Congress | rowspan="3"| Manmohan I | rowspan="7" bgcolor="{{party color|Indian National Congress}}"| | rowspan="7"| Manmohan Singh |
| 35
| bgcolor="{{party color|Indian National Congress}}"| | 70px | Rao Inderjit Singh | 29 January | 22 May | {{ayd|2006|1|29|2009|5|22}} |
| rowspan="2"| 36
| rowspan="2" bgcolor="{{party color|Indian National Congress}}"| | rowspan="2"| 70px | rowspan="2"| M. M. Pallam Raju | 29 January | 22 May | rowspan="2"| {{ayd|2006|1|29|2012|10|28}} |
| 28 May 2009 | 28 October | rowspan="4"| Manmohan II |
| 37
| bgcolor="{{party color|Indian National Congress}}"| | 70px | Jitin Prasada | 28 October | 29 October | {{ayd|2012|10|28|2012|10|29}} |
| 38
| bgcolor="{{party color|Indian National Congress}}"| | 70px | Lalchand Kataria | 28 October | 31 October | {{ayd|2012|10|28|2012|10|31}} |
| 39
| bgcolor="{{party color|Indian National Congress}}"| | 70px | Jitendra Singh | 28 October | 26 May | {{ayd|2012|10|28|2014|4|26}} |
| (35)
| bgcolor="{{party color|Bharatiya Janata Party}}"| | 70px | Rao Inderjit Singh | 27 May | 5 July | {{ayd|2014|5|27|2016|7|5}} | rowspan="5"| Bharatiya Janata Party | rowspan="2"| Modi I | rowspan="5" bgcolor="{{party color|Bharatiya Janata Party}}"| | rowspan="5"| Narendra Modi |
| 40
| bgcolor="{{party color|Bharatiya Janata Party}}"| | 70px | Subhash Bhamre | 5 July | 30 May | {{ayd|2016|7|5|2019|5|30}} |
| 41
| bgcolor="{{party color|Bharatiya Janata Party}}"| | 70px | Shripad Yesso Naik | 31 May | 7 July | {{ayd|2019|5|31|2021|7|7}} | rowspan="2"| Modi II |
| 42
| bgcolor="{{party color|Bharatiya Janata Party}}"| | 70px | Ajay Bhatt | 7 July | 9 June | {{ayd|2021|7|7|2024|6|9}} |
| 43
| bgcolor="{{party color|Bharatiya Janata Party}}"| | 70px | Sanjay Seth | 10 June | Incumbent | {{ayd|2024|6|10}} | Modi III |
Deputy ministers
| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
! rowspan="2" | {{Abbr|No.|Number}} ! rowspan="2" colspan="2"| Portrait ! rowspan="2" style="width:17em" |Minister ! colspan="3" |Term of office ! rowspan="2" style="width:8em" |Political party ! rowspan="2" style="width:6em" | Ministry ! rowspan="2" colspan="2"| Prime Minister |
| style="width:8em"| From
! style="width:8em"| To ! style="width:6em"| Period |
|---|
| 1
| bgcolor="{{party color|Indian National Congress}}"| | | {{small|Major-General}} | 14 August | 29 February | {{ayd|14 Aug 1950|29 Feb 1952}} | Nehru I | rowspan="8" bgcolor="{{party color|Indian National Congress}}"| | rowspan="8" style="width:9em"| Jawaharlal Nehru |
| colspan="9"| |
| 2
| bgcolor="{{party color|Indian National Congress}}"| | 70px | {{small|Wing Commander}} | 12 August | 17 April | {{ayd|12 Aug 1952|17 Apr 1957}} | rowspan="4"| Indian National Congress | rowspan="2"| Nehru II |
| 3
| bgcolor="{{party color|Indian National Congress}}"| | 70px | Satish Chandra | 27 November | 17 April | {{ayd|27 Nov 1952|17 Apr 1957}} |
| (2)
| bgcolor="{{party color|Indian National Congress}}"| | 70px | {{small|Wing Commander}} | 17 April | 10 April | {{ayd|17 Apr 1957|10 Apr 1962}} | rowspan="2"| Nehru III |
| 4
| bgcolor="{{party color|Indian National Congress}}"| | 70px | Kotha Raghuramaiah | 21 May | 10 April | {{ayd|21 May 1957|10 Apr 1962}} |
| colspan="9"| |
| rowspan="2"| 5
| rowspan="2" bgcolor="{{party color|Indian National Congress}}"| | rowspan="2"| 70px | rowspan="2"| Dajisaheb Chavan | 8 May | 27 May | rowspan="2"| {{ayd|8 May 1962|9 June 1964}} | rowspan="2"| Indian National Congress | Nehru IV |
| 27 May 1964 | 9 June | Nanda I | bgcolor="{{party color|Indian National Congress}}"| |
| colspan="11"| |
| 6
| bgcolor="{{party color|Indian National Congress}}"| | 70px | {{small|Colonel}} | 15 June | 24 January | {{ayd|15 Jun 1964|24 Jan 1966}} | rowspan="2"| Indian National Congress | Shastri | bgcolor="{{party color|Indian National Congress}}"| |
| 7
| bgcolor="{{party color|Indian National Congress}}"| | | Shyam Dhar Mishra | 24 January | 14 February | {{ayd|24 Jan 1966|14 Feb 1966}} | Indira I | rowspan="3" bgcolor="{{party color|Indian National Congress}}"| | rowspan="5"| Indira Gandhi |
| colspan="9"| |
| 8
| bgcolor="{{party color|Indian National Congress}}"| | | M. R. Krishna | 16 November | 27 June | {{ayd|16 Nov 1967|27 Jun 1970}} |
| colspan="10"| |
| 9
| bgcolor="{{party color|Indian National Congress (I)}}"| | 70px | Janaki Ballabh Patnaik | 5 February | 23 December | {{ayd|5 Feb 1973|23 Dec 1976}} | Indian National Congress (R) | bgcolor="{{party color|Indian National Congress (I)}}"| |
| colspan="11"| |
| 10
| bgcolor="{{party color|Indian National Congress (I)}}"| | | {{small|Brigadier}} | 15 January | 29 January | {{ayd|15 Jan 1982|29 Jan 1983}} | Indian National Congress (I) | bgcolor="{{party color|Indian National Congress (I)}}"| |
See also
{{commons category|Ministers of Defence of India}}
References
{{reflist}}{{Cite web |title=Former Defence Ministers of State |url=http://mod.gov.in/former-raksha-rajya-mantri-0 |access-date=2023-05-10 |website=Ministry of Defence GOI |language=en}}{{Defence Ministers of India}}
{{Heads of the Ministries of the Government of India}}
{{Military of India}}
{{Types of government minister}}
{{Indian Air Force}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Defence_(India) Minister_of_}}