The First Ministry of Manmohan Singh was the first

Union Council of Ministers of India The Union Council of Ministers Article 58 of the ''Constitution of India'' is the principal executive organ of the Government of India, which is responsible for being the senior decision making body of the executive branch. It is chaired by t ...

under the

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister i ...

ship of Dr. Manmohan Singh. It was formed after the

2004 Indian general election General elections were held in India in four phases between 20 April and 10 May 2004. Over 670 million people were eligible to vote, electing 543 members of the 14th Lok Sabha. Seven states also held assembly elections to elect state governme ...

held in four phases during 20 April - 10 May 2004, to elect the

14th Lok Sabha The 14th Lok Sabha (17 May 2004 – 18 May 2009) was convened after the 2004 Indian general election held in four phases during 20 April – 10 May 2004, which led to the formation of first Manmohan Singh ministry (2004–2009). Indian Nation ...

, and it functioned from 2004 to May 2009. After the election Singh took the oath as the Prime Minister of India on 22 May 2004, and continued to hold the post till full term, the next Council of Ministers of the Republic of India was sworn in on 22 May 2009, when Singh started his second term in office as PM. With three female Cabinet ministers, the Manmohan Singh ministry was the first Indian government to appoint more than one female Cabinet minister.

Overview

This is a list of members of the Union Cabinet of the

Government of India The Government of India (ISO: ; often abbreviated as GoI), known as the Union Government or Central Government but often simply as the Centre, is the national government of the Republic of India, a federal democracy located in South Asia, ...

, 2004 to May 2009. All ministers are based in offices of their respective Union Ministries in

New Delhi New Delhi (, , ''Naī Dillī'') is the capital of India and a part of the National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT). New Delhi is the seat of all three branches of the government of India, hosting the Rashtrapati Bhavan, Parliament Ho ...

. All Cabinet members are mandated by the

constitution A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organisation or other type of entity and commonly determine how that entity is to be governed. When these princ ...

to be members of either house of the

Parliament of India The Parliament of India ( IAST: ) is the supreme legislative body of the Republic of India. It is a bicameral legislature composed of the president of India and two houses: the Rajya Sabha (Council of States) and the Lok Sabha (House of the ...

. In a departure from the norm the current

, Manmohan Singh, is a member of the Upper House, the

Rajya Sabha The Rajya Sabha, constitutionally the Council of States, is the upper house of the bicameral Parliament of India. , it has a maximum membership of 245, of which 233 are elected by the legislatures of the states and union territories using si ...

, and has remained so for the duration of his entire term (2004–2009). There are three categories of ministers, in descending order of rank: * Union Cabinet Minister - Senior minister in-charge of a ministry. A Cabinet minister may also hold additional charges of other Ministries, where no other Cabinet minister is appointed * Minister of State (Independent Charge)- with no overseeing Union Cabinet Minister for that portfolio * Minister of State (MoS) - junior minister with an overseeing Cabinet Minister, usually tasked with a specific responsibility in that ministry. For instance, an MoS in the Finance Ministry may only handle Taxation

Council of ministers

Cabinet ministers

Ministers of State (Independent charge)

Ministers of State

Demographics of the Council of Ministers

UPA Cabinet by Party

References

External links

Council of Ministers--Official link
{{Indian federal ministries Indian union ministries 2004 establishments in India Manmohan Singh administration 2009 disestablishments in India Cabinets established in 2004 Cabinets disestablished in 2009 Council of Ministers of India Nationalist Congress Party Telangana Rashtra Samithi Pattali Makkal Katchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam Jharkhand Mukti Morcha Lok Janshakti Party Indian Union Muslim League Indian National Congress