The Minister of Defence (''Rakshā Mantrī'') is the head of the

Ministry of Defence {{unsourced, date=February 2021 A ministry of defence or defense (see spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is an often-used name for the part of a government responsible for matters of defence, found in state ...

and a high ranking minister 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, ...

. The Defence Minister is one of the most senior offices in the

Union Council of Ministers 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 ...

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 The Manohar Parrikar Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses (MP-IDSA) (formerly known as: Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses (IDSA)), New Delhi, is India's foremost think tank for advanced research in international relations, espe ...

, and as Chancellor of the

Defence Institute of Advanced Technology Defence Institute of Advanced Technology (DIAT) is the premier engineering training institute under the Department of Defence Research & Development, Ministry of Defence, Government of India. DIAT (DU) is specialized in the training of officers ...

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 Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru (; ; ; 14 November 1889 – 27 May 1964) was an Indian Anti-colonial nationalism, anti-colonial nationalist, secular humanist, social democrat— * * * * and author who was a central figure in India du ...

's cabinet during 1947–52.

Rajnath Singh Rajnath Singh (; born 10 July 1951) is an Indian politician serving as the Defence Minister of India. He is currently the Deputy Leader of the House Lok Sabha. He is the former President of Bharatiya Janata Party. He has previously served as ...

is the current defence minister of India.

List of Defence Ministers

List of Ministers of State

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Defence_(India) Minister_of_ Union ministers of India Lists of government ministers of India

List of Defence Ministers

List of Ministers of State

See also

References