India operates under a parliamentary system where the Prime Minister leads the government. However, the Prime Minister doesn’t manage all departments single-handedly. He or she is supported by various ministers to fulfill their responsibilities. In this article, we’ll explore the current cabinet ministers of India, discuss what the Constitution stipulates about their roles, and explain why having these ministers is essential.
Who are Cabinet Ministers?
Cabinet ministers are the top-tier officials in the government, managing crucial departments like Finance, Defense, and Home Affairs. This elite group, led by the Prime Minister of India, serves as the Prime Minister’s chief advisors. They provide specialized knowledge in their respective areas to aid in the country’s governance. These cabinet ministers belong to the broader Union Council of Ministers, which includes both Cabinet Ministers and Ministers of State. The total number of ministers in the Union Council should not exceed 15% of the Lok Sabha’s total membership.
List of Cabinet ministers of India 2024
| Cabinet Ministers | Portfolio |
| Shri Raj Nath Singh | Minister of Defence |
| Shri Amit Shah | Minister of Home Affairs; and Minister of Cooperation |
| Shri Nitin Jairam Gadkari | Minister of Road Transport and Highways |
| Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman | Minister of Finance; and Minister of Corporate Affairs |
| Shri Arjun Munda | Minister of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare; and Tribal Affairs |
| Dr. Subrahmanyam Jaishankar | Minister of External Affairs |
| Smt. Smriti Zubin Irani | Minister of Women and Child Development; and Minister of Minority Affairs |
| Shri Piyush Goyal | Minister of Commerce and Industry; Minister of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution; and Minister of Textiles |
| Shri Dharmendra Pradhan | Minister of Education; and Minister of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship |
| Shri Pralhad Joshi | Minister of Parliamentary Affairs; Minister of Coal; and Minister of Mines |
| Shri Narayan Tatu Rane | Minister of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises |
| Shri Sarbananda Sonowal | Minister of AYUSH; Minister of Ports, Shipping and Waterways |
| Dr. Virendra Kumar | Minister of Social Justice and Empowerment |
| Shri Giriraj Singh | Minister of Rural Development; and Minister of Panchayati Raj |
| Shri Jyotiraditya M. Scindia | Minister of Civil Aviation; and Minister of Steel |
| Shri Ashwini Vaishnaw | Minister of Railways; Minister of Communications; and Minister of Electronics and Information Technology |
| Shri Pashu Pati Kumar Paras | Minister of Food Processing Industries |
| Shri Gajendra Singh Shekhawat | Minister of Jal Shakti |
| Shri Raj Kumar Singh | Minister of Power; and Minister of New and Renewable Energy |
| Shri Hardeep Singh Puri | Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas; and Minister of Housing and Urban Affairs |
| Shri Mansukh Mandaviya | Minister of Health and Family Welfare; and Minister of Chemicals and Fertilizers |
| Shri Bhupender Yadav | Minister of Environment, Forest and Climate Change; and Minister of Labour and Employment |
| Dr. Mahendra Nath Pandey | Minister of Heavy Industries & Public Enterprises |
| Shri Parshottam Rupala | Minister of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying |
| Shri G. Kishan Reddy | Minister of Culture; Minister of Tourism; and Minister of Development of North Eastern Region |
| Shri Anurag Singh Thakur | Minister of Information and Broadcasting; and Minister of Youth Affairs and Sports |
Also Read:- Governors of India 2024: A Comprehensive Overview
List of Minister of State (Independent Charge) 2024 along with their portfolios:
| Minister of State (Independent Charge) | Portfolios |
| Rao Inderjit Singh | Minister of State (Independent Charge) of the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation; Minister of State (Independent Charge) of the Ministry of Planning |
| Dr. Jitendra Singh | Minister of State (Independent Charge) of the Ministry of Science and Technology |
| Shri Arjun Ram Meghwal | Minister of State (Independent Charge) of the Ministry of Law and Justice |
| Shri Kiren Rijiju | Minister of State (Independent Charge) of the Ministry of Earth Sciences |
List of Ministers of State 2024 along with their portfolios:
| Minister of State | Portfolios |
| Shri Rao Inderjit Singh | Minister of State in the Ministry of Corporate Affairs |
| Dr. Jitendra Singh | Minister of State in the Prime Minister’s Office; Minister of State in the Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances; Minister of State in the Department of Atomic Energy; and Minister of State in the Department of Space |
| Shri Shripad Yesso Naik | Minister of State in the Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways; and Minister of State in the Ministry of Tourism |
| Shri Faggansingh Kulaste | Minister of State in the Ministry of Steel; and Minister of State in the Ministry of Rural Development |
| Shri Prahalad Singh Patel | Minister of State in the Ministry of Jal Shakti; and Minister of State in the Ministry of Food Processing Industries |
| Shri Ashwini Kumar Choubey | Minister of State in the Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution; and Minister of State in the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change |
| Shri Arjun Ram Meghwal | Minister of State in the Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs; and Minister of State in the Ministry of Culture |
| General (Retd.) V. K. Singh | Minister of State in the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways; and Minister of State in the Ministry of Civil Aviation |
| Shri Krishan Pal | Minister of State in the Ministry of Power; and Minister of State in the Ministry of Heavy Industries & Public Enterprises |
| Shri Danve Raosaheb Dadarao | Minister of State in the Ministry of Railways; Minister of State in the Ministry of Coal; and Minister of State in the Ministry of Mines |
| Shri Ramdas Athawale | Minister of State in the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment |
| Sadhvi Niranjan Jyoti | Minister of State in the Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution; and Minister of State in the Ministry of Rural Development |
| Dr. Sanjeev Kumar Balyan | Minister of State in the Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying |
| Shri Nityanand Rai | Minister of State in the Ministry of Home Affairs |
| Shri Pankaj Choudhary | Minister of State in the Ministry of Finance |
| Smt. Anupriya Singh Patel | Minister of State in the Ministry of Commerce and Industry |
| Prof. S. P. Singh Baghel | Minister of State in the Ministry of Law and Justice |
| Shri Rajeev Chandrasekhar | Minister of State in the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship; and Minister of State in the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology |
| Sushri Shobha Karandlaje | Minister of State in the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare |
| Shri Bhanu Pratap Singh Verma | Minister of State in the Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises |
| Smt. Darshana Vikram Jardosh | Minister of State in the Ministry of Textiles; and Minister of State in the Ministry of Railways |
| Shri V. Muraleedharan | Minister of State in the Ministry of External Affairs; and Minister of State in the Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs |
| Smt. Meenakashi Lekhi | Minister of State in the Ministry of External Affairs; and Minister of State in the Ministry of Culture |
| Shri Som Parkash | Minister of State in the Ministry of Commerce and Industry |
| Smt. Renuka Singh Saruta | Minister of State in the Ministry of Tribal Affairs |
| Shri Rameswar Teli | Minister of State in the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas; and Minister of State in the Ministry of Labour and Employment |
| Shri Kailash Choudhary | Minister of State in the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare |
| Smt. Annpurna Devi Yadav | Minister of State in the Ministry of Education |
| Shri A. Narayanaswamy | Minister of State in the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment |
| Shri Kaushal Kishore | Minister of State in the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs |
| Shri Ajay Bhatt | Minister of State in the Ministry of Defence; and Minister of State in the Ministry of Tourism |
| Shri B. L. Verma | Minister of State in the Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region; and Minister of State in the Ministry of Cooperation |
| Shri Ajay Kumar Mishra | Minister of State in the Ministry of Home Affairs |
| Shri Devusinh Chauhan | Minister of State in the Ministry of Communications |
| Shri Bhagwanth Khuba | Minister of State in the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy; and Minister of State in the Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilizers |
| Shri Kapil Moreshwar Patil | Minister of State in the Ministry of Panchayati Raj |
| Sushri Pratima Bhoumik | Minister of State in the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment |
| Dr. Subhas Sarkar | Minister of State in the Ministry of Education |
| Dr. Bhagwat Kishanrao Karad | Minister of State in the Ministry of Finance |
| Dr. Rajkumar Ranjan Singh | Minister of State in the Ministry of External Affairs; and Minister of State in the Ministry of Education |
| Dr. Bharati Pravin Pawar | Minister of State in the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare |
| Shri Bishweswar Tudu | Minister of State in the Ministry of Tribal Affairs; and Minister of State in the Ministry of Jal Shakti |
| Shri Shantanu Thakur | Minister of State in the Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways |
| Dr. Mahendra Munjapara | Minister of State in the Ministry of Women and Child Development; and Minister of State in the Ministry of AYUSH |
| Shri John Barla | Minister of State in the Ministry of Minority Affairs |
| Dr. L. Murugan | Minister of State in the Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying; and Minister of State in the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting |
| Shri Nisith Pramanik | Minister of State in the Ministry of Home Affairs; and Minister of State in the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports |
How to become Cabinet Minister?
To become a Cabinet Minister in India, one must be eligible to be a Member of Parliament (MP). If an individual is already an MP at the time of their appointment, they can serve without any issue. However, if the appointee is not a member of either house of Parliament (Lok Sabha or Rajya Sabha) at the time of their appointment, they must secure membership in either house within six months to continue serving as a Cabinet Minister. Failure to do so will require them to vacate their position.
Conclusion
The Cabinet Ministers of India in 2024 form the primary decision-making body that steers the country’s governance, making crucial decisions that shape the nation’s future. Holding a cabinet ministerial position carries significant responsibility. With the upcoming Lok Sabha elections in 2024, we can expect some changes in ministerial portfolios and possibly the inclusion of new ministers.