Union Government ministries of India


The Government of India exercises its executive authority through a number of government ministries or departments of state. A ministry is composed of employed officials, known as civil servants, and is politically accountable through a minister. Most major ministries are headed by a Cabinet Minister, who sits in the Union Council of Ministers, and is typically supported by a team of junior ministers.
Some ministries have subdivisions called departments. For example, the Ministry of Communications has two departments - the Department of Telecommunications and Department of Posts.

List of Union Government Ministries

The recently concluded general election of 2019 ended with a sliding victory for the National Democratic Alliance with Bharatiya Janata Party alone securing about 303 seats. Narendra Modi was selected as the leader of the 17th Lok sabha. He along with other fifty eight members took oath on 30 May 2019 at 7 PM which was administered by the President Ram Nath Kovind. The august ceremony was attended by prominent leaders of BIMSTEC countries as chief guests.
Ministry nameEstablishedMinister responsibleMinister rank
1Ministry of agriculture and farmers welfare1947Narendra Singh TomarCabinet
2Ministry of AYUSH9 November 2014Shripad Yasso NaikMinister of State
3Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilizers5 June 1991D.V. Sadanand GowdaCabinet
4Ministry of Civil AviationHardeep Singh PuriMinister of State
5Ministry of CoalPralhad JoshiCabinet
6Ministry of Commerce and Industry15 August 1947Piyush GoyalCabinet
7Ministry of Communications19 July 2016Ravi Shankar PrasadCabinet
8Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public DistributionRam Vilas PaswanCabinet
9Ministry of Corporate AffairsNirmala SitharamanCabinet
10Ministry of CulturePrahalad Singh PatelMinister of State
11Ministry of Defence15 August 1947Rajnath SinghCabinet
12Ministry for Development of North Eastern Region29 January 2003Jitendra SinghMinister of State
13Ministry of Earth Sciences2006Harsh VardhanCabinet
14Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology19 July 2016Ravi Shankar PrasadCabinet
15Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change1985Prakash JavadekarCabinet
16Ministry of External Affairs2 September 1946Subrahmanyam JaishankarCabinet
17Ministry of Finance29 October 1946Nirmala SitharamanCabinet
18Ministry of Food Processing Industries1988Harsimrat Kaur BadalCabinet
19Ministry of Health and Family Welfare15 August 1947Harsh VardhanCabinet
20Ministry of Home Affairs15 August 1947Amit ShahCabinet
21Ministry of Heavy Industries and Public EnterprisesPrakash JavadekarCabinet
22Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs2017Hardeep Singh PuriMinister of State
23Ministry of Education15 August 1947Ramesh PokhriyalCabinet
24Ministry of Information and Broadcasting15 August 1947Prakash JavadekarCabinet
25Ministry of Jal Shakti 30 May 2019Gajendra Singh ShekhawatCabinet
26Ministry of Labour and EmploymentSantosh GangwarMinister of State
27Ministry of Law and Justice15 August 1947Ravi Shankar PrasadCabinet
28Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises9 May 2007Nitin GadkariCabinet
29Ministry of MinesPralhad JoshiCabinet
30Ministry of Minority Affairs2006Mukhtar Abbas NaqviCabinet
31Ministry of New and Renewable Energy1992R. K. SinghMinister of State
32Ministry of Science and Technology1971Harsh VardhanCabinet
33Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs1949Pralhad JoshiCabinet
34Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions1 August 1970Narendra ModiPrime Minister of India
35Ministry of Petroleum and Natural GasDharmendra PradhanCabinet
36Ministry of Planning2014Rao Inderjit SinghMinister of State
37Ministry of Panchayati Raj27 May 2004Narendra Singh TomarCabinet
38Ministry of Rural DevelopmentNarendra Singh TomarCabinet
39Ministry of Road Transport and Highways1942Nitin GadkariCabinet
40Ministry of Power2 July 1992R. K. SinghCabinet
41Ministry of Railways15 August 1947Piyush GoyalCabinet
42Ministry of Shipping15 August 1947Mansukh L. MandaviyaCabinet
43Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment1985Thawar Chand GehlotCabinet
44Ministry of Statistics and Programme ImplementationRao Inderjit SinghMinister of State
45Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship9 November 2014Mahendra Nath PandeyCabinet
46Ministry of SteelDharmendra PradhanCabinet
47Ministry of TextilesSmriti IraniCabinet
48Ministry of Tourism]1999Prahlad Singh PatelMinister of State
49Ministry of Tribal Affairs1999Arjun MundaCabinet
50Ministry of Animal Husbandry, Dairying And Fisheries30 May 2019Giriraj SinghCabinet
51Ministry of Women and Child Development1985Smriti IraniCabinet
52Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports27 May 2000Kiren RijijuMinister of State

Independent departments

The following are independent departments of the Government of India that are not under any union ministry. They come directly under Prime Minister's Office.
The following ministries once functioned, but have since become defunct, generally because of a merger with another ministry or division into new ministries.
Ministry nameEstablishedDefunctFate
Ministry of AgricultureAugust 19471 February 1951Merged to constitute the Ministry of Food and Agriculture.
Ministry of Food29 August 19471 February 1951Merged to constitute the Ministry of Food and Agriculture.
Ministry of Food and Agriculture1 February 1951October 1956Bifurcated into the Ministry of Agriculture and the Ministry of Food.
Ministry of AgricultureOctober 195617 April 1957Merged once again to form the Ministry of Food and Agriculture.
Ministry of FoodOctober 195617 April 1957Merged once again to form the Ministry of Food and Agriculture.
Ministry of Food and Agriculture17 April 1957January 1966Merged with the Ministry of Community Development and Cooperation to form the Ministry of Food, Agriculture, Community Development and Cooperation. The new ministry was renamed the Ministry of Agriculture in 1971, with four departments.
Ministry of AgricultureJanuary 19661983The Department of Food was separated from the ministry, and elevated to the new Ministry of Food and Civil Supplies.
Ministry of Food and Civil Supplies1983June 1991Bifurcated into the Ministry of Food and the Ministry of Civil Supplies.
Ministry of FoodJune 19914 June 1997Merged to form Ministry of Food and Consumer Affairs with three departments - Department of Food & Civil Supplies, Department of Sugar and Edible Oils and Department of Consumer Affairs. On 15 October 1999, the new ministry was renamed as the Ministry of Consumer Affairs & Public Distribution, having the same three departments. On 17 July 2000, the Ministry of Consumer Affairs and Public Distribution was renamed as the Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution, with two departments - Department of Food & Public Distribution and Department of Consumer Affairs.
Ministry of Civil SuppliesJune 19914 June 1997Merged to form Ministry of Food and Consumer Affairs with three departments - Department of Food & Civil Supplies, Department of Sugar and Edible Oils and Department of Consumer Affairs. On 15 October 1999, the new ministry was renamed as the Ministry of Consumer Affairs & Public Distribution, having the same three departments. On 17 July 2000, the Ministry of Consumer Affairs and Public Distribution was renamed as the Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution, with two departments - Department of Food & Public Distribution and Department of Consumer Affairs.
Ministry of National Resources and Scientific Research1951
Ministry of Irrigation and Power1952November 1974Bifurcated into a separate Department of Irrigation under the reconstituted Ministry of Agriculture and Irrigation, and a separate ministry.
Ministry of Agriculture and IrrigationNovember 197422 July 1980Following the formation of the Ministry of Irrigation in June 1980, three items of work were transferred from the ministry to the new ministry, and the Ministry of Agriculture and Irrigation was renamed the Ministry of Agriculture.
Ministry of Energy and IrrigationJanuary 19809 June 1980Bifurcated into the Ministry of Energy and the Department of Irrigation was elevated to the new Ministry of Irrigation.
Ministry of Irrigation9 June 1980January 1985Merged with the Ministry of Power to once again, form the Ministry of Irrigation and Power.
Ministry of Irrigation and PowerJanuary 1985September 1985Bifurcated into the Ministry of Power and the Department of Irrigation was re-constituted as the Ministry of Water Resources. On 31 July 2014, the Ministry of Water Resources was renamed as Ministry of Water Resources, River Development & Ganga Rejuvenation.
Ministry of Surface Transport22 October 198617 November 2000Bifurcated into the Ministry of Shipping and the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways.
Ministry of Small Scale Industries and Agro and Rural IndustriesOctober 1999September 2001Bifurcated into the Ministry of Agro and Rural Industries and the Ministry of Small Scale Industries.
Ministry of Agro and Rural IndustriesSeptember 20012007Merged with the Ministry of Small Scale Industries to form the Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises.
Ministry of Small Scale IndustriesSeptember 20012007Merged with the Ministry of Agro and Rural Industries to form the Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises.
Ministry of Overseas Indian AffairsMay 20047 January
2016
Merged with the Ministry of External Affairs
Ministry of Communications and Information Technology August 19475 July 2016Bifurcated into the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology and the Ministry of Communications
Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation201130 May 2019Merged with the Ministry of Water Resources, River Development & Ganga Rejuvenation and formed Ministry of Jal Shakti
Ministry of Water Resources, River Development & Ganga RejuvenationSeptember 198530 May 2019Merged with Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation to form Ministry of Jal Shakti constituted with Department of Water Resources and Department of Drinking Water and Sanitation