 | It has been suggested that this article be merged into Ministry of Railways (India). (Discuss) Proposed since August 2024. |
| India Minister of Railways | |
|---|---|
| Rail Mantrī | |
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| Ministry of Railways | |
| Member of | Cabinet of India |
| Reports to | President of India Prime Minister of India Parliament of India |
| Appointer | President of India on the recommendation of the Prime Minister of India |
| Formation | 1947 |
| First holder | John Matthai (as Minister of Transport) |
| Deputy | Minister of State for Railways |
| This article is part of a series on the |
| Politics of India |
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 India portal |
The Minister of Railways (Hindi:Rail Mantrī) is the head of the Ministry of Railways and a member of the union council of ministers of India. The position of the Minister of Railways is usually held by a minister of cabinet rank and is often assisted by one or two junior Ministers of State.[1]
John Mathai was the first Minister of Railways.[2] Lal Bahadur Shastri who served as the Minister of Railways and Transport from 1952 until 1956 became the second Prime Minister of India in 1964.[3] Four prime ministers, namely Rajiv Gandhi, P. V. Narasimha Rao, Atal Bihari Vajpayee (twice) and Manmohan Singh (twice) have briefly held the portfolio of the Minister of Railways during their premiership.[4] Mohsina Kidwai was the first female to hold the charge of the ministry (as Minister of Surface Transport) while Mamata Banerjee is the first female to have served as the Minister of Railways.[4] Madhavrao Scindia and Ram Naik are the only people to have served as Ministers of State for Railways with an Independent charge. Lalit Narayan Mishra is the only cabinet minister to die in office after being assassinated in a bomb blast in 1975,[5] while Suresh Angadi is the only minister of state to die in office.[6]
The current Minister of Railways is Ashwini Vaishnaw of the Bharatiya Janata Party who has been in office since 7 July 2021 while V. Somanna and Ravneet Singh are the ministers of state for railways.[7]
- ^ Organization Chart (PDF) (Report). Indian Railways. Archived (PDF) from the original on 12 December 2022. Retrieved 1 December 2023.
- ^ "Budget 2024: How India's Railway Budget has changed over the years". Business Standard. 20 December 2023. Archived from the original on 18 May 2024. Retrieved 1 June 2024.
- ^ "Lal Bahadur Shastri". Government of India. Archived from the original on 17 June 2019. Retrieved 1 December 2023.
- ^ a b List of Ministers of Railways (PDF) (Report). Indian Railways. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2 April 2023. Retrieved 1 June 2024.
- ^ "Family wants Union Minister's assassination to be reinvestigated". The Sunday Guardian. 31 December 2023. Archived from the original on 12 January 2024. Retrieved 1 June 2024.
- ^ "India Mos Railways Suresh Angadi dies of Covid-19". Guwahati Plus. 23 September 2020. Archived from the original on 22 September 2024. Retrieved 1 June 2024.
- ^ "Portfolios of the Union Council of Ministers" (PDF). Government of India. 10 June 2024. Archived (PDF) from the original on 11 June 2024. Retrieved 1 June 2024.