The prime minister of India is the head of the Republic of India. The constitution has entrusted the prime minister with the responsibility of governance. There are numerous sectors affecting the lives of the people, therefore, a ministry is a higher authority that manages that sector of public administration. A minister is the head of any such specific ministry. The prime minister runs the government through various ministries and he has the right to allocate a certain ministry to a person of his choice- called a minister.
A group of central ministries headed by the prime minister is called a union cabinet. A minister of the key portfolios of the government is designated as a cabinet minister. In other words, the union cabinet consists of cabinet ministers and the prime minister. Union cabinet is the highest decision making body in India. Union cabinet advises the prime minister and vice versa. The respective cabinet minister implements the decisions taken and directives from the prime minister in his ministry.
The prime minister has the sole right for the appointment and removal of any minister from the ministry. In actual facts, the prime minister basically advises the president to appoint a minister. The cabinet is presided by the prime minister of India. In the hierarchy, the cabinet minister works under the prime minister. The prime minister himself is in charge of certain portfolios and any other portfolio which has not been allotted.
A council of states is the executive body which consists of four categories of ministers; the Cabinet Ministers, Minister of States, Minister of States with independent charge, and Deputy Ministers.
Cabinet Ministers: The Cabinet of India is the core of the Council of Ministers of the Union Government and the collective decision-making body. All the important portfolios of the Central Government together comprise the Cabinet. It is the role of the Cabinet primarily to keep the confidence of the Houses of Parliament during the party's tenure in the Union government. It is the collective responsibility of the Cabinet to be accountable to the two Houses of Parliament, for its policies and schemes.
Minister of States with Independent Charge: The minister of states with an independent charge has the same powers as that of the cabinet minister in relation to his ministry. However, they are not the members of the cabinet and hence do not attend the cabinet meetings unless invited in some special scenario.
Ministers of States: Ministers of states are given charge of some specific departments under the ministry. A minister of states is guided by the cabinet minister.
Deputy Ministers: Deputy ministers assist the cabinet ministers is their administrative, parliamentary, and political duties. These ministers are of the lowest rank in the government.
| Shri Narendra Modi | Prime Minister and also in-charge of: Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions;Department of Atomic Energy; Department of Space; and All important policy issues; and All other portfolios not allocated to any Minister. |
|---|
| Sr. No. | Minister | Portfolio |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Rajnath Singh | Minister of Defence |
| 2 | Subrahmanyam Jaishankar | Minister of External Affairs |
| 3 | Amit Shah | Minister of Home Affairs, Ministry of Co-operation |
| 4 | Nirmala Sitharaman | Minister of Finance, Minister of Corporate Affairs |
| 5 | Nitin Gadkari | Minister of Road Transport and Highways |
| 6 | Piyush Goyal | Minister of Commerce and Industry, Minister of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution, Minister of Textiles |
| 7 | Smriti Zubin Irani | Minister of Women and Child Development |
| 8 | Arjun Munda | Minister of Tribal Affairs |
| 9 | Kiren Rijiju | Minister of Law and Justice |
| 10 | Dharmendra Pradhan | Minister of Education, Minister of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship |
| 11 | Narendra Singh Tomar | Minister of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare |
| 12 | Dr. Virendra Kumar | Minister of Social Justice and Empowerment |
| 13 | Mansukh L. Mandaviya | Minister of Health and Family Welfare, Minister of Chemicals and Fertilizers |
| 14 | Bhupender Yadav | Minister of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Ministry of Labour and Employment |
| 15 | Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi | Minister of Minority Affairs |
| 16 | Mahendra Nath Pandey | Minister of Heavy Industries and Public Enterprises |
| 17 | Pralhad Joshi | Minister of Parliamentary Affairs, Ministry of Coal, Ministry of Mines |
| 18 | Gajendra Singh Shekhawat | Minister of Jal Shakti |
| 19 | Narayan Tatu Rane | Minister of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises |
| 20 | Parshottam Rupala | Minister of Animal Husbandry, Dairying and Fisheries |
| 21 | Ashwini Vaishnaw | Minister of Railways, Minister of Communications, Minister of Electronics and Information Technology |
| 22 | Sarbananda Sonowal | Minister of Ports, Shipping and Waterways, Ministry of AYUSH |
| 23 | Giriraj Singh | Minister of Rural Development, Minister of Panchayati Raj |
| 24 | Jyotiraditya Scindia | Minister of Civil Aviation |
| 25 | Ramchandra Prasad Singh | Minister of Steel |
| 26 | Pashupati Kumar Paras | Minister of Food Processing Industries |
| 27 | Raj Kumar Singh | Minister of Power, Minister of New and Renewable Energy |
| 28 | Hardeep Singh Puri | Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas, Minister of Housing and Urban Affairs |
| 29 | Kishan Reddy | Minister of Culture, Minister of Tourism. Minister of Development of North Eastern Region |
| 30 | Anurag Thakur | Minister of Information and Broadcasting, Minister of Youth Affairs and Sports |
| Sr.No. | Minister | Portfolio |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Darshana Jardosh, Raosaheb Danve | Minister of State in the Ministry of Railways |
| 2 | Darshana Jardosh | Minister of State in the Ministry of Textiles |
| 3 | Faggan Singh Kulaste | Minister of State in the Ministry of Steel |
| 4 | Faggan Singh Kulaste, Sadhvi Niranjan Jyoti | Minister of State in the Ministry of Rural Development |
| 5 | Dr. Bharati Pravin Pawar | Minister of State in the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare |
| 6 | V. Muraleedharan, Arjun Ram Meghwal | Minister of State in the Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs |
| 7 | V. Muraleedharan, Meenakshi Lekhi, Dr. Rajkumar Ranjan Singh | Minister of State in the Ministry of External Affairs |
| 8 | Arjun Ram Meghwal, Meenakshi Lekhi | Minister of State in the Ministry of Culture |
| 9 | General (Retd.) V. K. Singh | Minister of State in the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways, Minister of State in the Ministty of Civil Aviation |
| 10 | Ramdas Athawale, Abbaiah Narayanaswamy, Pratima Bhoumik | Minister of State in the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment |
| 11 | Ashwini Kumar Choubey, Sadhvi Niranjan Jyoti | Minister of State in the Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution |
| 12 | Ashwini Kumar Choubey | Minister of State in the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change |
| 13 | Nityanand Rai Yadav, Ajay Kumar Mishra, Nisith Pramanik | Minister of State in the Ministry of Home Affairs |
| 14 | Shobha Karandlaje, Kailash Choudhary | Minister of State in the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare |
| 15 | Dr. L. Murugan, Sanjeev Kumar Balyan | Minister of State in the Ministry of Animal Husbandry, Dairying and Fisheries |
| 16 | Dr. L. Murugan | Minister of State in the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting |
| 17 | Annpurna Devi Yadav, Dr. Rajkumar Ranjan Singh, Dr. Subhas Sarkar | Minister of State in the Ministry of Education |
| 18 | Renuka Singh, Bishweswar Tudu | Minister of State in the Ministry of Tribal Affairs |
| 19 | Som Parkash, Anupriya Patel | Minister of State in the Ministry of Commerce and Industry |
| 20 | Rameswar Teli | Minister of State in the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas, Minister of State in the Ministry of Labour and Employment |
| 21 | Dr. Mahendra Munjapara | Minister of State in the Ministry of Women and Child Development, Minister of State in the Ministry of AYUSH |
| 22 | Dr. Bhagwat Kishanrao Karad, Pankaj Choudhary | Minister of State in the Ministry of Finance |
| 23 | S. P. Singh Baghel | Minister of State in the Ministry of Law and Justice |
| 24 | Ajay Bhatt, Shripad Naik | Minister of State in the Ministry of Tourism |
| 25 | Ajay Bhatt | Minister of State in the Ministry of Defence |
| 26 | B. L. Verma | Minister of State in the Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region, Minister of State in the Ministry of Co-operation |
| 27 | Bhagwanth Khuba | Minister of State in the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy, Minister of State in the Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilizers |
| 28 | Bhanu Pratap Singh Verma | Minister of State in the Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises |
| 29 | Bishweswar Tudu, Prahlad Singh Patel | Minister of State in the Ministry of Jal Shakti |
| 30 | Raosaheb Danve | Minister of State in the Ministry of Coal, Minister of State in the Ministry of Mines |
| 31 | Devusinh Jesingbhai Chauhan | Minister of State in the Ministry of Communications |
| 32 | John Barla | Minister of State in the Ministry of Minority Affairs |
| 33 | Kapil Patil | Minister of State in the Ministry of Panchayati Raj |
| 34 | Kaushal Kishore | Minister of State in the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs |
| 35 | Krishan Pal | Minister of State in the Ministry of Power, Minister of State in the Ministry of Heavy Industries and Public Enterprises |
| 36 | Prahlad Singh Patel | Minister of State in the Ministry of Food Processing Industries |
| 37 | Rajeev Chandrasekhar | Minister of State in the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship, Minister of State in the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology |
| 38 | Shripad Naik, Shantanu Thakur | Minister of State in the Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways |
| 39 | Nisith Pramanik | Minister of State in the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports |
| 1 | Rao Inderjit Singh | Minister of State (Independent Charge) of Statistics and Programme Implementation, Minister of State (Independent Charge) of Planning, Minister of State in the Ministry of Corporate Affairs |
|---|---|---|
| 2 | Jitendra Singh | Minister of State (Independent Charge) of Ministry of Science and Technology, Minister of State (Independent Charge) of Ministry of Earth Sciences, Minister of State in the Prime Minister's Office, Minister of State in the Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions, Minister of State in the Department of Atomic Energy, Minister of State in the Department of Space |
Prime Minister Narendra Modi's cabinet is slightly smaller in size than that of his predecessor Manmohan Singh's 77. Modi's council of ministers include 66 ministers, including 28 cabinet ministers, the Prime Minister, 39 Ministers of State and Minister of State (Independent charge) combined. The top members of the cabinet ministers are Rajnath Singh who has got Home Ministry, Sushma Swaraj who has been handed External Affairs Ministry and Arun Jaitley who is going to oversee Finance and Corporate Affairs.
The Narendra Modi government effected its first cabinet ministers' reshuffle since taking office on 5 July, 2016 and then on September 3, 2017. The key changes made during the last reshuffle was the elevation of Nirmala Sitharaman to Cabinet rank with the responsibility of Defence portfolio. Minister Suresh Prabhu was moved to Commerce and Industry from his earlier ministry i.e. Railways. Piyush Goyal was handed the ministery of Railways instead. HRD Minister Smriti Irani has been shifted to Textiles. Babul Supriyo, the Union Minister of State for Urban Planning has been shifted to Heavy Industries. Minorities' Affairs Minister Najma Heptullah put in her papers to pave way for her deputy Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi.
According to the Constitution of India, in the everyday administration the Prime Minister is assisted by the Council of Ministers, which consists of the Cabinet Ministers, Deputy Ministers, Ministers of State with independent charge, Ministers of State working with the Cabinet Ministers and others. The Prime Minister is the Chairperson of the Cabinet. The core Council of Ministers is called the Cabinet, ministers of which are decided by the PM. The various departments are allotted to various ministers by the PM. The PM presides over Cabinet meetings and oversees the important functions of the Cabinet. Ministers are removed from departments if the PM does not approve of the performance of the minister.
The Prime Minister of India is the Head of the Union Government. Unlike the President who is the Head of the State, the PM is the Chief of government at the Centre In other words, he is the real head of the executive branch of the Union Government. He is the Leader of the House of Parliament to which he belongs.
As India follows the Westminster Model of constitutional democracy, it is the Prime Minister who oversees the day-to-day functioning of the Indian administration. He is also the Chief adviser to the President. The PM has many functions and powers. The PM holds the power to form his/her Council of Ministers, choosing members of his/her party for particular ministries within the working of the country.
The PM also oversees defence-related issues of the country. He makes all important policies and schemes of the government. He has to devote attention to all judicial appointments, appointments to State Administrative Tribunals, Central Administrative Tribunal, UPSC, Election Commission. The PM is solely in-charge of certain departments or ministries like Ministry of Planning, Department of Atomic Energy, Department of Space and Ministry of Personal, Public Grievances and Pensions.
There are three categories of ministers within the Council of Ministers - Cabinet, Ministers of State with independent charges and Ministers of State working with the Cabinet Ministers.
Roles and Responsibilities of Cabinet Ministers of India
The Cabinet of India is the core of the Council of Ministers of the Union Government, and the collective decision-making body. All the important portfolios of the Central Government together comprise the Cabinet. Some of the most important ministries are Ministry of Home Affairs, Ministry of External Affairs, Ministry of Defence, Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Commerce and Industry and others.
The role of the Cabinet ranges from advising the Council of Ministers and provide assistance to them, attend Cabinet meetings called by either the Prime Minister or any one of the Cabinet ministers to discuss issues related to his ministry. More importantly, it is the role of the Cabinet primarily to keep the confidence of the Houses of Parliament during the party's tenure in the Union government. It is the collective responsibility of the Cabinet to be accountable to the two Houses of Parliament, for its policies and schemes.
Roles and Responsibilities of Ministers of State with independent charges
The Ministers of State with independent charges are the second category of ministers in the Council of Ministers. They are not as important in their role as the Cabinet. There is no overseeing Cabinet Minister for the portfolio of the Minister of state with independent charges.
Roles and Responsibilities of Ministers of State
Ministers of State working with the Cabinet Ministers are the third rank of ministers. These are junior ministers who assist the Cabinet Minister in the particular portfolio. These junior ministers look after one or two aspects of the Cabinet portfolio, and not the whole ministry as such.
| Know about the Cabinets of Indian States | |
|---|---|
| Andhra Pradesh | Maharashtra |
| Arunachal Pradesh | Manipur |
| Assam | Meghalaya |
| Bihar | Mizoram |
| Chhattisgarh | Nagaland |
| Delhi | Odissa |
| Goa | Pondicherry |
| Gujarat | Punjab |
| Haryana | Rajasthan |
| Himachal Pradesh | Sikkim |
| Jammu and Kashmir | Tamil Nadu |
| Jharkhand | Telangana |
| Karnataka | Tripura |
| Kerala | Uttar Pradesh |
| Madhya Pradesh | Uttarakhand |