List of Defence Ministers of India from 1947 till now

The backbone of any nation is its defence. A strong military and Defence Ministry ensure the security of a country. The government of India is in charge of maintaining the country's robust defence capabilities, and the President serves as the supreme commander of all armed forces. The Defence Minister heads the Ministry of Defence. The Ministry of Defence is located in New Delhi.

List of Defence Ministers of India

Baldev Singh was the first Defence Minister of India and the post of Defence Minister has been served by many prominent leaders of India. Here is the list of Defence Ministers of India from 1947 to date.

1. Baldev Singh: 15 August 1947-13 May 1952
2. N. Gopalaswami Ayyangar: 13 May 1952-10 February 1953
3. Jawaharlal Nehru: 10 February 1953-10 January 1955
4. Kailash Nath Katju: 10 January 1955-30 January 1957
5. Jawaharlal Nehru: 30 January 1957-17 April 1957
6. V.K Krishna Menon: 17 April 1957-31 October 1962
7. Jawaharlal Nehru: 31 October 1962-14 November 1962
8. Yashwantrao Chavan: 14 November 1962-13 November 1966
9. Swaran Singh: 13 November 1966-27 June 1970
10. Jagjivan Ram: 27 June 1970-10 October 1974
11. Swaran Singh: 10 October 1974-1 December 1975
12. Indira Gandhi: 1 December 1975-20 December 1975
13. Bansi Lal: 21 December 1975-24 March 1977
14. Jagjivan Ram: 24 March 1977-28 July 1979
15. Chidambaram Subramaniam: 28 July 1979-14 January 1980
16. Indira Gandhi: 14 January 1980-15 January 1982
17. Ramaswamy Venkataraman: 15 January 1982-2 August 1984
18. Shankarrao Chavan: 2 August 1984-31 December 1984
19. P.V Narasimha Rao: 1 January 1985-25 September 1985
20. Rajiv Gandhi: 25 September 1985-24 January 1987
21. Vishwanath Pratap Singh: 24 January 1987-12 April 1987
22. K.C Pant: 13 April 1987-1 December 1989
23. Vishwanath Pratap Singh: 2 December 1989-10 November 1990
24. Chandra Shekhar: 10 November 1990-21 June 1991
25. P.V Narasimha Rao: 21 June 1991-26 June 1991
26. Sharad Pawar: 26 June 1991-6 March 1993
27. P.V Narasimha Rao: 6 March 1993-16 May 1996
28. Pramod Mahajan: 16 May 1996-1 June 1996
29. Mulayam Singh Yadav: 1 June 1996-19 March 1998
30. George Fernades: 19 March 1998-16 March 2001
31. Jaswant Singh: 16 March 2001-21 October 2001
32. George Fernades: 21 October 2001: 22 May 2004
33. Pranab Mukherjee: 22 May 2004-6 October 2006
34. A.K Antony: 26 October 2006-26 May 2014
35. Arun Jaitley: 26 May 2014-9 November 2014
36. Manohar Parrikar: 9 November 2014-13 March 2017
37. Arun Jaitley: 13 March 2017-3 September 2017
38. Nirmala Sitharaman: 3 September 2017-30 May 2019
39. Rajnath Singh: 30 May 2019-Present

Roles and functions of Defence Minister of India

The Ministry of Defence receives a huge chunk of the budget among all federal departments in India and is primarily in charge of coordinating and directing all government agencies and functions that directly relate to national security and the Indian armed forces.

The Defence Ministry is responsible for framing policy directions on defence and security matters and communicating them to "Services Headquarters, Inter-Services Organizations, Production Establishments, and Research and Development Organizations".

The most delicate and significant administration area is national security, and the defence ministry works relentlessly to bring about peace and harmony in the country.

The Indian Armed Forces and Indian Coast Guard under the Ministry of Defence are primarily responsible for the territorial integrity of India.

Ministry of Defence with 2.92 million employers is the largest employer in the world.

Departments under Ministry of Defence in India

The Ministry of Defence has five departments:

Department of Defence (DoD)

Department of Military Affairs (DMA)

Department of Defence Production (DDP)

Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO)

Department of Ex-Servicemen Welfare (DESW)

Defence Secretary and its role

The Defence Secretary heads the Department of Defence. He is responsible for coordinating the activities of the four departments in the Ministry of Defence.

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