Minister of Road Transport and Highways

Minister of Road Transport and Highways
Saṛak Parivahan Aur Rajmārg Mantrī
Emblem of the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways
Incumbent
Nitin Gadkari
since 27 May 2014 (2014-05-27)
Ministry of Road Transport and Highways
Member ofCabinet of India
Reports toPresident of India
Prime Minister of India
Parliament of India
AppointerPresident of India
on the recommendation of the Prime Minister of India
Formation1947 (1947) (as Ministry of Transport)
7 November 2000 (2000-11-07) (current form)
First holderJohn Mathai (as Minister of Transport)
B. C. Khanduri (as Minister of Road Transport and Highways)

The Minister of Road Transport and Highways is the head of the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways 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 Nitin Gadkari who has been serving in office since 27 May 2014 and is currently assisted by V. K. Singh as the Minister of State for Road Transport and Highways.

Two past presidents- Neelam Sanjiva Reddy and Pranab Mukherjee served as ministers in the ministry. Reddy was Cabinet Minister of Transport and Civil Aviation from 1966 till 1967 while Mukherjee was Deputy Minister of Shipping and Transport in 1974. One past prime minister, Lal Bahadur Shastri served as Minister of Transport and Railways from 1952 till 1956 and as Minister of Transport and Communications from 1957 till 1958. Five prime ministers - Morarji Desai (in 1977), Rajiv Gandhi (in 1986), Chandra Shekhar (in 1991), Atal Bihari Vajpayee (in 1996 and in 2000) and Manmohan Singh (in 2013) held the charge of the ministry during their premierships. The current minister Nitin Gadkari holds the record of being the longest-serving minister in the ministry with a tenure of more than nine years.