Minister of Communications (India)

The minister of communications (Hindi: संचार मंत्री) 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.

Minister of Communications
Sañcār Mantrī
Emblem of the Ministry of Communications
Incumbent Jyotiraditya Scindia since 10 June 2024 (2024-06-10)
Ministry of Communications
Member of	Cabinet of India
Reports to	Prime Minister of India Parliament of India
Appointer	President of India on the recommendation of the Prime Minister of India
Formation	1947 (1947) (as Ministry of Communications) 5 July 2016 (2016-07-05) (current form)
First holder	Rafi Ahmed Kidwai

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.^[1] 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

^[2]

Portrait		Minister (Birth-Death) Constituency	Term of office			Political party	Ministry	Prime Minister
			From	To	Period
Minister of Communications (1947–1957)
		Rafi Ahmed Kidwai (1894–1954)	15 August 1947	2 August 1951	3 years, 352 days	Indian National Congress	Nehru I		Jawaharlal Nehru
		Amrit Kaur (1887–1964)	2 August 1951	13 May 1952	285 days
		Jagjivan Ram (1908–1986) MP for Shahabad South	13 May 1952	7 December 1956	4 years, 208 days		Nehru II
		Raj Bahadur (1912–1990) MP for Jaipur–Sawai Madhopur (Minister of State)	7 December 1956	17 April 1957	131 days
Ministry disestablished during this interval[a]
Minister of Posts and Telegraph (1963–1964)
		Ashoke Kumar Sen (1913–1996) MP for Calcutta North West	1 September 1963	13 May 1964	255 days	Indian National Congress	Nehru IV		Jawaharlal Nehru
Minister of Communications (1964–2001)
		Ashoke Kumar Sen (1913–1996) MP for Calcutta North West	13 May 1964	27 May 1964	31 days	Indian National Congress	Nehru IV		Jawaharlal Nehru
			27 May 1964	9 June 1964			Nanda I		Gulzarilal Nanda
			9 June 1964	13 June 1964			Shastri		Lal Bahadur Shastri
		Satya Narayan Sinha (1900–1983) MP for Samastipur	13 June 1964	11 January 1966	2 years, 273 days
			11 January 1966	24 January 1966			Nanda II		Gulzarilal Nanda
			24 January 1966	13 March 1967			Indira I		Indira Gandhi
		Ram Subhag Singh (1917–1980) MP for Buxar	13 March 1967	14 February 1969	1 year, 338 days		Indira II
		Satya Narayan Sinha (1900–1983) MP for Darbhanga	14 February 1969	8 March 1971	2 years, 22 days	Indian National Congress (R)
		Indira Gandhi (1917–1984) MP for Raebareli (Prime Minister)	8 March 1971	18 March 1971	10 days
		Sher Singh Kadyan (1917–2009) MP for Rohtak (Minister of State)	18 March 1971	2 May 1971	45 days		Indira III
		Hemwati Nandan Bahuguna (1919–1989) MP for Allahabad (Minister of State)	2 May 1971	8 November 1973	2 years, 190 days
		Raj Bahadur (1912–1990) MP for Bharatpur	8 November 1973	11 January 1974	64 days
		Kasu Brahmananda Reddy (1909–1994) Rajya Sabha MP for Andhra Pradesh	11 January 1974	10 October 1974	272 days
		Shankar Dayal Sharma (1918–1999) MP for Bhopal	10 October 1974	24 March 1977	2 years, 165 days
		Morarji Desai (1896–1995) MP for Surat (Prime Minister)	24 March 1977	26 March 1977	2 days	Janata Party	Desai		Morarji Desai
		Parkash Singh Badal (1927–2023) MP for Faridkot	26 March 1977	27 March 1977	1 day	Shiromani Akali Dal
		George Fernandes (1930–2019) MP for Muzaffarpur	27 March 1977	6 July 1977	101 days	Janata Party
		Brij Lal Varma (1916–1987) MP for Mahasamund	6 July 1977	28 July 1979	2 years, 22 days
		Charan Singh (1902–1987) MP for Baghpat (Prime Minister)	28 July 1979	30 July 1979	2 days	Janata Party (Secular)	Charan		Charan Singh
		Zulfiquarullah MP for Sultanpur (Minister of State)	30 July 1979	27 November 1979	120 days
		Charan Singh (1902–1987) MP for Baghpat (Prime Minister)	27 November 1979	7 December 1979	10 days
		Shyam Nandan Prasad Mishra (1920–2004) MP for Begusarai	7 December 1979	14 January 1980	38 days
		Indira Gandhi (1917–1984) MP for Medak (Prime Minister)	14 January 1980	16 January 1980	2 days	Indian National Congress (I)	Indira IV		Indira Gandhi
		Bhishma Narain Singh (1933–2018) Rajya Sabha MP for Bihar	16 January 1980	3 March 1980	47 days
		C. M. Stephen (1918–1984) MP for Gulbarga	3 March 1980	2 September 1982	2 years, 183 days
		Anant Sharma (1919–1988) Rajya Sabha MP for Bihar	2 September 1982	14 February 1983	165 days
		Indira Gandhi (1917–1984) MP for Medak (Prime Minister)	14 February 1983	31 October 1984 (died in office)	1 year, 260 days
		Rajiv Gandhi (1944–1991) MP for Amethi (Prime Minister)	31 October 1984	4 November 1984	4 days		Rajiv I		Rajiv Gandhi
		Ram Niwas Mirdha (1924–2010) MP for Barmer	31 December 1984	22 October 1986	1 year, 295 days		Rajiv II
		Arjun Singh (1930–2011) MP for South Delhi	22 October 1986	14 February 1988	1 year, 115 days
		Vasant Sathe (1925–2011) MP for Wardha	14 February 1988	25 June 1988	132 days
		Bir Bahadur Singh (1935–1989) Rajya Sabha MP for Uttar Pradesh	25 June 1988	30 May 1989 (died in office)	339 days
		Rajiv Gandhi (1944–1991) MP for Amethi (Prime Minister)	31 May 1989	4 July 1989	34 days
		Giridhar Gamang (born 1943) MP for Koraput (Minister of State, I/C)	4 July 1989	2 December 1989	151 days
		Vishwanath Pratap Singh (1931–2008) MP for Fatehpur (Prime Minister)	2 December 1989	6 December 1989	4 days	Janata Dal	Vishwanath		Vishwanath Pratap Singh
		K. P. Unnikrishnan (born 1936) MP for Vatakara	6 December 1989	23 April 1990	138 days
		Janeshwar Mishra (1933–2010) MP for Allahabad (Minister of State, I/C)	23 April 1990	5 November 1990	196 days
		Vishwanath Pratap Singh (1931–2008) MP for Fatehpur (Prime Minister)	6 November 1990	10 November 1990	4 days
		Chandra Shekhar (1927–2007) MP for Ballia (Prime Minister)	10 November 1990	21 November 1990	11 days	Samajwadi Janata Party (Rashtriya)	Chandra Shekhar		Chandra Shekhar
		Sanjaya Sinh (born 1951) Rajya Sabha MP for Uttar Pradesh (Minister of State, I/C)	21 November 1990	21 June 1991	212 days
		Rajesh Pilot (1945–2000) MP for Dausa (Minister of State, I/C)	21 June 1991	18 January 1993	1 year, 211 days	Indian National Congress (I)	Rao		P. V. Narasimha Rao
		Sukh Ram (1927–2022) MP for Mandi (Minister of State, I/C)	18 January 1993	16 May 1996	3 years, 119 days
		Atal Bihari Vajpayee (1924–2018) MP for Lucknow (Prime Minister)	16 May 1996	1 June 1996	16 days	Bharatiya Janata Party	Vajpayee I		Atal Bihari Vajpayee
		H. D. Deve Gowda (born 1933) Unelected (Prime Minister)	1 June 1996	29 June 1996	28 days	Janata Dal	Deve Gowda		H. D. Deve Gowda
		Beni Prasad Verma (1941–2020) MP for Kaiserganj (Minister of State, I/C until 10 July 1996)	29 June 1996	21 April 1997	1 year, 263 days	Samajwadi Party
			21 April 1997	19 March 1998			Gujral		Inder Kumar Gujral
		Buta Singh (1934–2021) MP for Jalore	19 March 1998	20 April 1998	32 days	Independent	Vajpayee II		Atal Bihari Vajpayee
		Sushma Swaraj (1952–2019) MP for South Delhi	20 April 1998	11 October 1998	174 days	Bharatiya Janata Party
		Atal Bihari Vajpayee (1924–2018) MP for Lucknow (Prime Minister)	11 October 1998	5 December 1998	55 days
		Jagmohan (1927–2021) MP for New Delhi	5 December 1998	8 June 1999	185 days
		Atal Bihari Vajpayee (1924–2018) MP for Lucknow (Prime Minister)	8 June 1999	13 October 1999	127 days
		Ram Vilas Paswan (1946–2020) MP for Hajipur	13 October 1999	1 September 2001	1 year, 323 days	Janata Dal (United)	Vajpayee III
						Lok Janshakti Party
		Pramod Mahajan (1949–2006) Rajya Sabha MP for Maharashtra	1 September 2001	22 December 2001	112 days	Bharatiya Janata Party
Minister of Communications and Information Technology (2001–2016)
		Pramod Mahajan (1949–2006) Rajya Sabha MP for Maharashtra	22 December 2001	29 January 2003	1 year, 38 days	Bharatiya Janata Party	Vajpayee III		Atal Bihari Vajpayee
		Arun Shourie (born 1941) Rajya Sabha MP for Uttar Pradesh	29 January 2003	22 May 2004	1 year, 114 days
		Dayanidhi Maran (born 1966) MP for Chennai Central	23 May 2004	15 May 2007	2 years, 357 days	Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam	Manmohan I		Manmohan Singh
		A. Raja (born 1963) MP for Perambalur	15 May 2007	22 May 2009	2 years, 7 days
		Manmohan Singh (born 1932) Rajya Sabha MP for Assam (Prime Minister)	22 May 2009	28 May 2009	6 days	Indian National Congress	Manmohan II
		A. Raja (born 1963) MP for Nilgiris	28 May 2009	15 November 2010	1 year, 171 days	Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam
		Kapil Sibal (born 1948) MP for Chandni Chowk	15 November 2010	26 May 2014	3 years, 192 days	Indian National Congress
		Ravi Shankar Prasad (born 1954) Rajya Sabha MP for Bihar	27 May 2014	5 July 2016	2 years, 39 days	Bharatiya Janata Party	Modi I		Narendra Modi
Minister of Communications (2016–present)
		Manoj Sinha (born 1959) MP for Ghazipur (Minister of State, I/C)	5 July 2016	30 May 2019	2 years, 329 days	Bharatiya Janata Party	Modi I		Narendra Modi
		Ravi Shankar Prasad (born 1954) MP for Patna Sahib	31 May 2019	7 July 2021	2 years, 37 days		Modi II
		Ashwini Vaishnaw (born 1970) Rajya Sabha MP for Odisha	7 July 2021	9 June 2024	2 years, 338 days
		Jyotiraditya Scindia (born 1971) MP for Guna	12 June 2024	Incumbent	327 days		Modi III

1. The ministry's competences were transferred to the Ministry of Transport and Communications.

Ministers of state

No.	Portrait		Minister (Birth-Death) Constituency	Term of office			Political party	Ministry	Prime Minister
				From	To	Period
Minister of State of Communications
1			Raj Bahadur (1912–1990) MP for Jaipur–Sawai Madhopur	14 February 1956	7 December 1956	297 days	Indian National Congress	Nehru II		Jawaharlal Nehru
Ministry disestablished during this interval
Minister of State of Communications
2			Jagannath Rao (1909–?) MP for Chatrapur	14 February 1966	13 March 1967	1 year, 27 days	Indian National Congress	Indira I		Indira Gandhi
5			Inder Kumar Gujral (1919–2012) Rajya Sabha MP for Punjab	18 March 1967	18 March 1971	4 years, 0 days		Indira II
							Indian National Congress (R)
6			Sher Singh Kadyan (1917–2009) MP for Rohtak	14 February 1969	18 March 1971	2 years, 32 days
(6)			Sher Singh Kadyan (1917–2009) MP for Rohtak	12 January 1974	10 October 1974	271 days	Indian National Congress (R)	Indira III
7			Narhari Prasad Sai (1929–1999) MP for Raigarh	14 August 1977	28 July 1979	1 year, 348 days	Janata Party	Desai		Morarji Desai
8			Narsingh Yadav MP for Chandauli	30 July 1979	14 January 1980	168 days	Janata Party (Secular)	Charan		Charan Singh
9			Tukaram Shrangare (1937–2011) MP for Osmanabad	31 July 1979	14 January 1980	167 days
10			Kartik Oraon (1924–1981) MP for Lohardaga	8 June 1980	8 December 1981 (died in office)	1 year, 183 days	Indian National Congress (I)	Indira IV		Indira Gandhi
11			Yogendra Makwana (born 1933) Rajya Sabha MP for Gujarat	15 January 1982	29 January 1983	1 year, 14 days
12			Vitthalrao Gadgil (1928–2001) MP for Pune	29 January 1983	31 October 1984	1 year, 332 days
				4 November 1984	31 December 1984			Rajiv I		Rajiv Gandhi
13			Giridhar Gamang (born 1943) MP for Koraput	25 June 1988	4 July 1989	1 year, 9 days	Indian National Congress (I)	Rajiv II
14			Beni Prasad Verma (1941–2020) MP for Kaiserganj	1 June 1996	29 June 1996	28 days	Samajwadi Party	Deve Gowda		H. D. Deve Gowda
15			Kabindra Purkayastha (born 1931) MP for Silchar	20 March 1998	13 October 1999	1 year, 207 days	Bharatiya Janata Party	Vajpayee II		Atal Bihari Vajpayee
16			Tapan Sikdar (1944–2014) MP for Dum Dum	13 October 1999	22 December 2001	2 years, 70 days		Vajpayee III
Minister of State of Communications and Information Technology
(16)			Tapan Sikdar (1944–2014) MP for Dum Dum	22 December 2001	1 July 2002	191 days	Bharatiya Janata Party	Vajpayee III		Atal Bihari Vajpayee
17			Sumitra Mahajan (born 1943) MP for Indore	1 July 2002	24 May 2003	327 days
18			Sanjay Paswan (born 1962) MP for Nawada	1 July 2002	29 January 2003	212 days
18			Su. Thirunavukkarasar (born 1949) MP for Pudukkottai	29 January 2003	22 May 2004	1 year, 114 days
19			Ashok Kumar Pradhan (born 1953) MP for Khurja	24 May 2003	22 May 2004	364 days
20			Shakeel Ahmad (born 1956) MP for Madhubani	23 May 2004	6 April 2008	3 years, 319 days	Indian National Congress	Manmohan I		Manmohan Singh
21			Jyotiraditya Scindia (born 1971) MP for Guna	6 April 2008	22 May 2009	1 year, 46 days
22			Gurudas Kamat (1954–2018) MP for Mumbai North West	28 May 2009	19 January 2011	1 year, 236 days		Manmohan II
23			Sachin Pilot (born 1977) MP for Dausa	28 May 2009	28 October 2012	3 years, 153 days
(22)			Gurudas Kamat (1954–2018) MP for Mumbai North West	21 January 2011	12 July 2011	172 days
24			Milind Deora (born 1976) MP for Mumbai South	12 July 2011	26 May 2014	2 years, 318 days
25			Killi Krupa Rani (born 1965) MP for Srikakulam	28 October 2012	26 May 2014	1 year, 210 days
Minister of State of Communications
26			Sanjay Shamrao Dhotre (born 1959) MP for Akola	31 May 2019	7 July 2021	2 years, 37 days	Bharatiya Janata Party	Modi II		Narendra Modi
27			Devusinh Jesingbhai Chauhan (born 1964) MP for Kheda	7 July 2021	9 June 2024	2 years, 338 days
28			Chandra Sekhar Pemmasani (born 1976) MP for Guntur	10 June 2024	Incumbent	329 days	Telugu Desam Party	Modi III

Deputy ministers

No.	Portrait		Minister (Birth-Death) Constituency	Term of office			Political party	Ministry	Prime Minister
				From	To	Period
Deputy Minister of Communications
1			Khurshed Lal (1903–1951) MCA for United Provinces	1 October 1948	29 January 1951	2 years, 120 days	Indian National Congress	Nehru I		Jawaharlal Nehru
2			Raj Bahadur (1912–1990) MCA for Rajputana MP for Jaipur–Sawai Madhopur	29 January 1951	13 May 1952	1 year, 105 days
(2)			Raj Bahadur (1912–1990) MCA for Rajputana MP for Jaipur–Sawai Madhopur	4 June 1952	14 February 1956	3 years, 255 days	Indian National Congress	Nehru II
Deputy Minister of Posts and Telegraphs
3			Bijoy Chandra Bhagavati (1905–1997) MP for Tezpur	1 September 1963	13 May 1964	255 days	Indian National Congress	Nehru IV		Jawaharlal Nehru
Deputy Minister of Communications
(3)			Bijoy Chandra Bhagavati (1905–1997) MP for Tezpur	13 May 1964	27 May 1964	1 year, 250 days	Indian National Congress	Nehru IV		Jawaharlal Nehru
				27 May 1964	9 June 1964			Nanda I		Gulzarilal Nanda
				15 June 1964	11 January 1966			Shastri		Lal Bahadur Shastri
				11 January 1966	24 January 1966			Nanda II		Gulzarilal Nanda
4			Vidya Charan Shukla (1929–2013) MP for Mahasamund	24 January 1966	14 February 1966	21 days		Indira I		Indira Gandhi
5			Jagannath Pahadia (1932–1991) MP for Bayana	22 July 1972	23 December 1976	4 years, 154 days	Indian National Congress (R)	Indira III
6			Balgovind Verma (1923–1980) MP for Kheri	23 December 1976	24 March 1977	91 days
7			Vijaykumar Naval Patil (born 1942) MP for Dhule	19 October 1980	31 October 1984	4 years, 68 days	Indian National Congress (I)	Indira IV		Indira Gandhi
				4 November 1984	31 December 1984			Rajiv I		Rajiv Gandhi
8			Jai Parkash (born 1954) MP for Hisar	7 December 1990	21 June 1991	196 days	Samajwadi Janata Party (Rashtriya)	Chandra Shekhar		Chandra Shekhar
9			P. V. Rangayya Naidu (born 1933) MP for Khammam	21 June 1991	18 January 1993	1 year, 211 days	Indian National Congress (I)	Rao		P. V. Narasimha Rao