Minister of Defence (India)

Minister of Defence
Rakṣhā Mantrī
Emblem of the Ministry of Defence
Incumbent Rajnath Singh since 30 May 2019
Style	The Honourable
Member of	Union Council of Ministers
Reports to	President of India Prime Minister of India Parliament of India
Residence	17, Akbar Road, New Delhi
Seat	Room No. 104, South Block, New Delhi
Appointer	President of India on the advice of the Prime Minister
Term length	5 years
Constituting instrument	Constitution of India
Formation	15 August 1947
First holder	Baldev Singh
Deputy	Sanjay Seth, MoS
Salary	₹124,000 (US$1,500) monthly
Website	mod.gov.in

Politics of India


Constitution Amendment Basic structure doctrine Fundamental Rights, Directive Principles, and Fundamental Duties Human rights Judicial review Taxation
Government President of India (List) Droupadi Murmu Vice President of India (List) C. P. Radhakrishnan Prime Minister of India (List) Narendra Modi Cabinet Secretary T. V. Somanathan Ministries Ministers Departments and Agencies Secretaries
Parliament Lok Sabha (18th) Speaker Om Birla Deputy Speaker Vacant Leader of the House Narendra Modi (BJP) Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi (INC) Secretary General Utpal Kumar Singh Rajya Sabha (Members) Chairman C. P. Radhakrishnan Deputy Speaker Harivansh Narayan Singh Leader of the House Jagat Prakash Nadda (BJP) Leader of the Opposition Mallikarjun Kharge (INC) Secretary General Pramod Chandra Mody Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs Cabinet Minister Kiren Rijiju Minister of State Arjun Ram Meghwal L. Murugan
Law and judiciary Law of India Indian criminal law Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam Code of Civil Procedure Supreme Court of India Chief Justice (List) Surya Kant Judges Bar Association Bar Council District Court List Gram Nyayalaya High Court Chief Justices Judges Lok Adalat Nyaya Panchayat Pendency of court cases Other tribunals Ministry of Law and Justice Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal Attorney-General R. Venkataramani Solicitor General Tushar Mehta Additional Solicitor General Law Commission National Judicial Appointments Commission National Legal Services Authority Advocates General of the States
Elections and politics Election Commission Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu Vivek Joshi State Election Commission Elections Democracy Electoral College Electronic voting Presidential elections 2012 2017 2022 Vice Presidential elections 2017 2022 2025 Lok Sabha elections (Constituencies) 2014 2019 2024 Rajya Sabha elections 2023 2024 2025 State Assembly elections 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025 National coalitions NDA INDIA Political parties National parties State parties
Administrative divisions States and union territories (Capitals) States Andhra Pradesh Arunachal Pradesh Assam Bihar Chhattisgarh Goa Gujarat Haryana Himachal Pradesh Jharkhand Karnataka Kerala Madhya Pradesh Maharashtra Manipur Meghalaya Mizoram Nagaland Odisha Punjab Rajasthan Sikkim Tamil Nadu Telangana Tripura Uttar Pradesh Uttarakhand West Bengal Union territories Andaman and Nicobar Chandigarh Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu Delhi Jammu and Kashmir Ladakh Lakshadweep Puducherry Proposed states and union territories Autonomous Divisions Divisions Districts Sub-districts Community Development Block Metropolitan Areas Urban Agglomerations
Federalism Executive Governor List Lieutenant Governor/Administrator List Chief Minister List Deputy Chief Minister List Ministries Legislative Legislative Council Legislative Assembly Speaker List List Local Government Municipal Governance Municipal Corporation Municipality Town Panchayat Panchayati Raj District Panchayat Block Panchayat Gram Panchayat
Foreign relations Ministry of External Affairs Cabinet Minister S. Jaishankar Minister of State Kirti Vardhan Singh Pabitra Margherita Foreign Secretary Vinay Mohan Kwatra Diplomatic missions of / in India Ambassadors and High Commissioners of India / to India Nationality law Overseas Citizenship Passports Visa policy Visa requirements Foreign Relations 2+2 BIMSTEC BBIN BRICS Commonwealth G4 G20 IBSA IONS IORA MGC Non-Aligned Movement SAARC SCO United Nations QUAD Africa East Asia European Union Latin America Pacific Islands Diaspora History Extradition Treaties Foreign aid by India / to India Sanctions State Visits by Indian Prime Ministers State Visits to India Kashmir Conflict Indo-Pakistani Wars Sino-Indian Disputes Disputes with Nepal Foreign Policy ITEC Look East policy Pan-African e-Network project Indira Gandhi Narendra Modi
India portal Other countries

The Minister of Defence or the Defence Minister (ISO: Rakṣhā Mantrī), is the head of the Ministry of Defence and a high-ranking minister in the Union Council of Ministers of the Government of India. The defence minister additionally serves as president of the Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses, and as the chancellor of the Defence Institute of Advanced Technology and the National Defence University. The minister is usually a member of the Cabinet Committee on Security, and the National Security Council. The defence minister is assisted by a minister of state and, less commonly by a deputy minister.

The first defence minister of independent India was Baldev Singh of the Indian National Congress, who served in the First Nehru ministry from 1947 to 1952. A. K. Antony of the Congress has had the longest tenure, serving for seven years and 212 days from 26 October 2006 till 26 May 2014. Rajnath Singh of the Bharatiya Janata Party is the incumbent defence minister, serving since 30 May 2019.