The minister of communications () is the head of the Ministry of Communications and a senior member of the union council of ministers of the Government of India. The portfolio is usually held by a minister with cabinet rank who is a senior member of the council of ministers and is often assisted by one or two junior ministers or the ministers of state.
The current minister is Jyotiraditya Scindia who has been serving in office since 10 June 2024 and is currently assisted by Dr. Chandra Sekhar Pemmasani as the minister of state for communications.
One former president - Shankar Dayal Sharma served as minister in the ministry. Sharma was Cabinet minister for communications from 1974 until 1977. Two former prime ministers, Lal Bahadur Shastri and Inder Kumar Gujral also served as ministers in the ministry. Shastri was Cabinet minister for transport and communications from 1957 until 1958, while Gujral was minister of state for communications from 1967 until 1971.
History The Ministry of Communications came into existence soon after India's independence in the First Nehru ministry formed on 15 August 1947. Rafi Ahmed Kidwai was appointed as the first minister of communications and served until 1951. The ministry was merged with the Ministry of Transport to form the "Ministry of Transport and Communications" on 17 April 1957 in the Third Nehru ministry. Lal Bahadur Shastri was appointed as the minister in the newly-formed ministry. The ministry was bifurcated on 31 August 1963 into the Ministry of Transport and the Department of Posts and Telegraphs. The "Department of Posts and Telegraphs" became the Ministry of Communications on 13 May 1964.
On 22 December 2001, the Ministry of Communications and the Ministry of Information Technology were merged to form the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology. The ministry was further bifurcated on 5 July 2016 into the Ministry of Communications and the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology. The two ministries have since then existed independently.
Agencies India Post Payments Bank
Cabinet ministers
PortraitMinisterTerm of officePolitical party Ministry Prime Minister From To Period Minister of Communications (19471957) Rafi Ahmed Kidwai 15 August1947 2 August1951 Indian National Congress Nehru I Jawaharlal Nehru Amrit Kaur 2 August1951 13 May1952 Jagjivan Ram 13 May1952 7 December1956 Nehru II Raj Bahadur(Minister of State) 7 December1956 17 April1957 Minister of Posts and Telegraph (19631964) Ashoke Kumar Sen 1 September1963 13 May1964 Indian National Congress Nehru IV Jawaharlal Nehru Minister of Communications (19642001) Ashoke Kumar Sen 13 May1964 27 May1964 Indian National Congress Nehru IV Jawaharlal Nehru 27 May1964 9 June1964 Nanda I Gulzarilal Nanda 9 June1964 13 June1964 Shastri Lal Bahadur Shastri Satya Narayan Sinha 13 June1964 11 January1966 11 January1966 24 January1966 Nanda II Gulzarilal Nanda 24 January1966 13 March1967 Indira I Indira Gandhi Ram Subhag Singh 13 March1967 14 February1969 Indira II Satya Narayan Sinha 14 February1969 8 March1971 Indian National Congress (R) Indira Gandhi(Prime Minister) 8 March1971 18 March1971 Sher Singh Kadyan(Minister of State) 18 March1971 2 May1971 Indira III Hemwati Nandan Bahuguna(Minister of State) 2 May1971 8 November1973 Raj Bahadur 8 November1973 11 January1974 Kasu Brahmananda Reddy 11 January1974 10 October1974 Shankar Dayal Sharma 10 October1974 24 March1977 Morarji Desai(Prime Minister) 24 March1977 26 March1977 Janata Party Desai Morarji Desai Parkash Singh Badal 26 March1977 27 March1977 Shiromani Akali Dal George Fernandes 27 March1977 6 July1977 Janata Party Brij Lal Varma 6 July1977 28 July1979 Charan Singh(Prime Minister) 28 July1979 30 July1979 Janata Party (Secular) Charan Charan Singh Zulfiquarullah(Minister of State) 30 July1979 27 November1979 Charan Singh(Prime Minister) 27 November1979 7 December1979 Shyam Nandan Prasad Mishra 7 December1979 14 January1980 Indira Gandhi(Prime Minister) 14 January1980 16 January1980 Indian National Congress (I) Indira IV Indira Gandhi Bhishma Narain Singh 16 January1980 3 March1980 C. M. Stephen 3 March1980 2 September1982 Anant Sharma 2 September1982 14 February1983 Indira Gandhi(Prime Minister) 14 February1983 31 October1984 Rajiv Gandhi(Prime Minister) 31 October1984 4 November1984 Rajiv I Rajiv Gandhi Ram Niwas Mirdha 31 December1984 22 October1986 Rajiv II Arjun Singh 22 October1986 14 February1988 Vasant Sathe 14 February1988 25 June1988 Bir Bahadur Singh 25 June1988 30 May1989 Rajiv Gandhi(Prime Minister) 31 May1989 4 July1989 Giridhar Gamang(Minister of State, I/C) 4 July1989 2 December1989 Vishwanath Pratap Singh(Prime Minister) 2 December1989 6 December1989 Janata Dal Vishwanath Vishwanath Pratap Singh K. P. Unnikrishnan 6 December1989 23 April1990 Janeshwar Mishra(Minister of State, I/C) 23 April1990 5 November1990 Vishwanath Pratap Singh(Prime Minister) 6 November1990 10 November1990 Chandra Shekhar(Prime Minister) 10 November1990 21 November1990 Samajwadi Janata Party (Rashtriya) Chandra Shekhar Chandra Shekhar Sanjaya Sinh(Minister of State, I/C) 21 November1990 21 June1991 Rajesh Pilot(Minister of State, I/C) 21 June1991 18 January1993 Indian National Congress (I) Rao P. V. Narasimha Rao Sukh Ram(Minister of State, I/C) 18 January1993 16 May1996 Atal Bihari Vajpayee(Prime Minister) 16 May1996 1 June1996 Bharatiya Janata Party Vajpayee I Atal Bihari Vajpayee H. D. Deve Gowda(Prime Minister) 1 June1996 29 June1996 Janata Dal Deve Gowda H. D. Deve Gowda Beni Prasad Verma(Minister of State, I/C until 10 July 1996) 29 June1996 21 April1997 Samajwadi Party 21 April1997 19 March1998 Gujral Inder Kumar Gujral Buta Singh 19 March1998 20 April1998 Independent Vajpayee II Atal Bihari Vajpayee Sushma Swaraj 20 April1998 11 October1998 Bharatiya Janata Party Atal Bihari Vajpayee(Prime Minister) 11 October1998 5 December1998 Jagmohan 5 December1998 8 June1999 Atal Bihari Vajpayee(Prime Minister) 8 June1999 13 October1999 Ram Vilas Paswan 13 October1999 1 September2001 Janata Dal (United) Vajpayee III Lok Janshakti Party Pramod Mahajan 1 September2001 22 December2001 Bharatiya Janata Party Minister of Communications and Information Technology (20012016) Pramod Mahajan 22 December2001 29 January2003 Bharatiya Janata Party Vajpayee III Atal Bihari Vajpayee Arun Shourie 29 January2003 22 May2004 Dayanidhi Maran 23 May2004 15 May2007 Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam Manmohan I Manmohan Singh A. Raja 15 May2007 22 May2009 Manmohan Singh(Prime Minister) 22 May2009 28 May2009 Indian National Congress Manmohan II A. Raja 28 May2009 15 November2010 Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam Kapil Sibal 15 November2010 26 May2014 Indian National Congress Ravi Shankar Prasad 27 May2014 5 July2016 Bharatiya Janata Party Modi I Narendra Modi Minister of Communications (2016present) Manoj Sinha(Minister of State, I/C) 5 July2016 30 May2019 Bharatiya Janata Party Modi I Narendra Modi Ravi Shankar Prasad 31 May2019 7 July2021 Modi II Ashwini Vaishnaw 7 July2021 9 June2024 Jyotiraditya Scindia 9 June2024 Incumbent Modi III
Ministers of state PortraitMinisterTerm of officePolitical party Ministry Prime Minister From To PeriodMinister of State of Communications Raj Bahadur 14 February1956 7 December1956 Indian National Congress Nehru II Jawaharlal NehruMinister of State of Communications Jagannath Rao 14 February1966 13 March1967 Indian National Congress Indira I Indira Gandhi Inder Kumar Gujral 18 March1967 18 March1971 Indira II Indian National Congress (R) Sher Singh Kadyan 14 February1969 18 March1971 Sher Singh Kadyan 12 January1974 10 October1974 Indian National Congress (R) Indira III Narhari Prasad Sai 14 August1977 28 July1979 Janata Party Desai Morarji Desai Narsingh Yadav 30 July1979 14 January1980 Janata Party (Secular) Charan Charan Singh Tukaram Shrangare 31 July1979 14 January1980 Kartik Oraon 8 June1980 8 December1981 Indian National Congress (I) Indira IV Indira Gandhi Yogendra Makwana 15 January1982 29 January1983 Vitthalrao Gadgil 29 January1983 31 October1984 4 November1984 31 December1984 Rajiv I Rajiv Gandhi Giridhar Gamang 25 June1988 4 July1989 Indian National Congress (I) Rajiv II Beni Prasad Verma 1 June1996 29 June1996 Samajwadi Party Deve Gowda H. D. Deve Gowda Kabindra Purkayastha 20 March1998 13 October1999 Bharatiya Janata Party Vajpayee II Atal Bihari Vajpayee Tapan Sikdar 13 October1999 22 December2001 Vajpayee IIIMinister of State of Communications and Information Technology Tapan Sikdar 22 December2001 1 July2002 Bharatiya Janata Party Vajpayee III Atal Bihari Vajpayee Sumitra Mahajan 1 July2002 24 May2003 Sanjay Paswan 1 July2002 29 January2003 Su. Thirunavukkarasar 29 January2003 22 May2004 Ashok Kumar Pradhan 24 May2003 22 May2004 Shakeel Ahmad 23 May2004 6 April2008 Indian National Congress Manmohan I Manmohan Singh Jyotiraditya Scindia 6 April2008 22 May2009 Gurudas Kamat 28 May2009 19 January2011 Manmohan II Sachin Pilot 28 May2009 28 October2012 Gurudas Kamat 21 January2011 12 July2011 Milind Deora 12 July2011 26 May2014 Killi Krupa Rani 28 October2012 26 May2014 Minister of State of Communications Sanjay Shamrao Dhotre 31 May2019 7 July2021 Bharatiya Janata Party Modi II Narendra Modi Devusinh Jesingbhai Chauhan 7 July2021 9 June2024 Chandra Sekhar Pemmasani 10 June2024 Incumbent Telugu Desam Party Modi III
Deputy ministers PortraitMinisterTerm of officePolitical party Ministry Prime Minister From To PeriodDeputy Minister of Communications Khurshed Lal 1 October1948 29 January1951 Indian National Congress Nehru I Jawaharlal Nehru Raj Bahadur 29 January1951 13 May1952 Raj Bahadur 4 June1952 14 February1956 Indian National Congress Nehru IIDeputy Minister of Posts and Telegraphs Bijoy Chandra Bhagavati 1 September1963 13 May1964 Indian National Congress Nehru IV Jawaharlal NehruDeputy Minister of Communications Bijoy Chandra Bhagavati 13 May1964 27 May1964 Indian National Congress Nehru IV Jawaharlal Nehru 27 May1964 9 June1964 Nanda I Gulzarilal Nanda 15 June1964 11 January1966 Shastri Lal Bahadur Shastri 11 January1966 24 January1966 Nanda II Gulzarilal Nanda Vidya Charan Shukla 24 January1966 14 February1966 Indira I Indira Gandhi Jagannath Pahadia 22 July1972 23 December1976 Indian National Congress (R) Indira III Balgovind Verma 23 December1976 24 March1977 Vijaykumar Naval Patil 19 October1980 31 October1984 Indian National Congress (I) Indira IV Indira Gandhi 4 November1984 31 December1984 Rajiv I Rajiv Gandhi Jai Parkash 7 December1990 21 June1991 Samajwadi Janata Party (Rashtriya) Chandra Shekhar Chandra Shekhar P. V. Rangayya Naidu 21 June1991 18 January1993 Indian National Congress (I) Rao P. V. Narasimha Rao
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