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Minister of Road Transport and Highways

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(Redirected from Minister of Road Transport and Highways (India)) Cabinet-level public office in the Government of India

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)
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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.

Titles of office

The ministry has been subjected to various changes since its inception. The ministers have been known by the following titles from time to time:

  • 1947–1948: Minister of Transport
  • 1948–1957: Minister of Transport and Railways
  • 1957–1963: Minister of Transport and Communications
  • 1963–1966: Minister of Transport
  • 1966–1967: Minister of Transport and Aviation
  • 1967–1985: Minister of Shipping and Transport
  • 1985–1986: Minister of Transport
  • 1986–2000: Minister of Surface Transport
  • 2000–2004: Minister of Road Transport and Highways
  • 2004–2009: Minister of Shipping, Road Transport and Highways
  • 2009–present: Minister of Road Transport and Highways

History of office

The "Ministry of Transport" was created upon the nation's independence on 15 August 1947 with John Mathai being appointed as the inaugural minister. On 22 September 1948, the ministry was renamed as "Ministry of Transport and Railways" and N. Gopalaswamy Ayyangar was appointed as the minister on the same day. With the formation of the Third Nehru ministry on 17 April 1957, the Ministry of Transport and Railways was bifurcated into the "Ministry of Railways" and the "Ministry of Transport and Communications" with the merger of the Ministry of Communications with the transport ministry.

On 1 September 1963, the Department of Communications was separated from the ministry and the ministry was renamed as "Ministry of Transport". Upon Indira Gandhi's appointment as the Prime Minister on 24 January 1966, the Ministry of Civil Aviation was merged with the Ministry of Transport to form the "Ministry of Transport and Civil Aviation" which was short-lived and the Department of Civil Aviation was separated and merged to form the Ministry of Tourism and Civil Aviation. Meanwhile, the Department of Transport was renamed as "Ministry of Shipping and Transport".

On 25 September 1985, the Ministry of Railways, the Ministry of Shipping and Transport and the Department of Civil Aviation were merged to form the "Ministry of Transport" with constituent departments of Railways, Surface Transport and Civil Aviation. Bansi Lal was appointed as the minister of the bulk-ministry and was assisted by three ministers of state, Madhavrao Scindia for Railways, Rajesh Pilot for Surface Transport and Jagdish Tytler for Civil Aviation. Lal resigned on 4 June 1986 and was succeeded by Mohsina Kidwai. In a reshuffle of the union cabinet on 22 October 1986, the Ministry of Transport was bifurcated into the Ministry of Railways, the Ministry of Surface Transport and the Ministry of Civil Aviation. Three ministers of state of the constituent departments of the erstwhile transport ministry - Madhavrao Scindia, Rajesh Pilot, and Jagdish Tytler were appointed as the ministers of state with independent charge of the newly created three independent ministries.

The Ministry of Surface Transport existed from 1986 until 7 November 2000 when the ministry bifurcated into two separate ministries, viz. the "Ministry of Road Transport and Highways" and the "Ministry of Shipping". On 2 October 2004, the two ministries were re-united as the "Ministry of Shipping, Road Transport and Highways" and were re-bifurcated in May 2009 and has since then existed as two independent ministries. Nitin Gadkari served as the minister of both ministries between 2014 till 2019 and since 2019 has been heading the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways. The Ministry of Shipping was renamed as the "Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways" on 10 November 2020.

Cabinet Ministers

  • Note: MoS, I/C – Minister of State (Independent Charge)
No. Portrait Minister
(Birth-Death)
Constituency
Term of office Political party Ministry Prime Minister
From To Period
Minister of Transport
1 John Mathai
(1886–1959)
15 August
1947
22 September
1948
1 year, 38 days Indian National Congress Nehru I Jawaharlal Nehru
Minister of Transport and Railways
2 N. Gopalaswamy Ayyangar
(1882–1953)
MP for Madras (Interim)
22 September
1948
13 May
1952
3 years, 234 days Indian National Congress Nehru I Jawaharlal Nehru
3 Lal Bahadur Shastri
(1904–1966)
Rajya Sabha MP for Uttar Pradesh
13 May
1952
7 December
1956
4 years, 208 days Nehru II
4 Jagjivan Ram
(1908–1986)
MP for Shahabad South
7 December
1956
17 April
1957
131 days
Minister of Transport and Communications
(3) Lal Bahadur Shastri
(1904–1966)
MP for Allahabad
17 April
1957
28 March
1958
345 days Indian National Congress Nehru III Jawaharlal Nehru
5 S. K. Patil
(1898–1981)
MP for Mumbai South
29 March
1958
24 August
1959
1 year, 148 days
Jawaharlal Nehru
(1889–1964)
MP for Phulpur
(Prime Minister)
24 August
1959
2 September
1959
9 days
6 P. Subbarayan
(1889–1962)
MP for Tiruchengode
2 September
1959
10 April
1962
2 years, 220 days
(4) Jagjivan Ram
(1908–1986)
MP for Sasaram
10 April
1962
31 August
1963
1 year, 143 days Nehru IV
Raj Bahadur
(1912–1990)
MP for Bharatpur
Minister of Shipping
10 April
1962
1 September
1963
1 year, 144 days
Minister of Transport
7 Raj Bahadur
(1912–1990)
MP for Bharatpur
(MoS until 1 September 1963)
1 September
1963
10 April
1964
2 years, 145 days Indian National Congress Nehru IV Jawaharlal Nehru
27 May
1964
9 June
1964
Nanda I Gulzarilal Nanda
9 June
1964
11 January
1966
Shastri Lal Bahadur Shastri
11 January
1966
24 January
1966
Nanda II Gulzarilal Nanda
Minister of Transport and Aviation
8 Neelam Sanjiva Reddy
(1913–1996)
Rajya Sabha MP for Andhra Pradesh
24 January
1966
13 March
1967
1 year, 48 days Indian National Congress Indira I Indira Gandhi
Minister of Shipping and Transport
9 V. K. R. V. Rao
(1908–1991)
/MP for Bellary
13 March
1967
14 February
1969
1 year, 338 days Indian National Congress Indira II Indira Gandhi
10 Kotha Raghuramaiah
(1912–1979)
MP for Guntur
14 February
1969
18 March
1971
2 years, 32 days Indian National Congress (R)
11 Raj Bahadur
(1912–1990)
MP for Bharatpur
18 March
1971
8 November
1973
2 years, 235 days Indira III
12 Kamalapati Tripathi
(1905–1990)
Rajya Sabha MP for Uttar Pradesh
8 November
1973
10 February
1975
1 year, 94 days
13 Uma Shankar Dikshit
(1901–1991)
Rajya Sabha MP for Uttar Pradesh
10 February
1975
1 December
1975
294 days
14 Gurdial Singh Dhillon
(1915–1992)
MP for Tarn Taran
1 December
1975
24 March
1977
1 year, 113 days
Morarji Desai
(1896–1995)
MP for Surat
(Prime Minister)
24 March
1977
7 June
1977
75 days Janata Party Desai Morarji Desai
(4) Jagjivan Ram
(1908–1986)
MP for Sasaram
(Deputy Prime Minister)
7 June
1977
17 June
1977
10 days
Morarji Desai
(1896–1995)
MP for Surat
(Prime Minister)
17 June
1977
14 August
1977
58 days
15 Chand Ram
(1923–2015)
MP for Sirsa
(MoS, I/C)
14 August
1977
28 July
1979
1 year, 348 days
16 Janeshwar Mishra
(1933–2010)
MP for Allahabad
(MoS, I/C)
30 July
1979
14 January
1980
168 days Janata Party (Secular) Charan Charan Singh
17 Anant Sharma
(1919–1988)
Rajya Sabha MP for Bihar
14 January
1980
19 October
1980
279 days Indian National Congress (I) Indira IV Indira Gandhi
18 Veerendra Patil
(1924–1997)
MP for Bagalkot
19 October
1980
2 September
1982
1 year, 318 days
19 C. M. Stephen
(1918–1984)
MP for Gulbarga
2 September
1982
2 February
1983
153 days
20 Kotla Vijaya Bhaskara Reddy
(1920–2001)
MP for Kurnool
2 February
1983
7 September
1984
1 year, 218 days
(18) Veerendra Patil
(1924–1997)
MP for Bagalkot
7 September
1984
31 October
1984
54 days
4 November
1984
31 December
1984
57 days Rajiv I Rajiv Gandhi
21 Ziaur Rahman Ansari
(1925–1992)
MP for Unnao
(MoS, I/C)
31 December
1984
25 September
1985
268 days Rajiv II
Minister of Transport
22 Bansi Lal
(1927–2006)
MP for Bhiwani
25 September
1985
4 June
1986
252 days Indian National Congress (I) Rajiv II Rajiv Gandhi
Rajiv Gandhi
(1944–1991)
MP for Amethi
(Prime Minister)
4 June
1986
24 June
1986
20 days
23 Mohsina Kidwai
(born 1932)
MP for Meerut
24 June
1986
22 October
1986
120 days
Minister of Surface Transport
24 Rajesh Pilot
(1945–2000)
MP for Dausa
(MoS, I/C)
22 October
1986
2 December
1989
3 years, 41 days Indian National Congress (I) Rajiv II Rajiv Gandhi
25 K. P. Unnikrishnan
(born 1936)
MP for Vatakara
6 December
1989
10 November
1990
339 days Janata Dal Vishwanath V. P. Singh
26 Manubhai Kotadia
(1936–2003)
MP for Amreli
21 November
1990
26 April
1991
156 days Samajwadi Janata Party (Rashtriya) Chandra Shekhar Chandra Shekhar
Chandra Shekhar
(1927–2007)
MP for Ballia
(Prime Minister)
26 April
1991
21 June
1991
56 days
27 Jagdish Tytler
(born 1944)
MP for Delhi Sadar
(MoS, I/C)
21 June
1991
15 September
1995
4 years, 86 days Indian National Congress (I) Rao P. V. Narasimha Rao
28 M. Rajasekara Murthy
(1922–2010)
MP for Mysore
(MoS, I/C)
15 September
1995
16 May
1996
244 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
29 T. G. Venkatraman
(1931–2013)
MP for Tindivanam
1 June
1996
21 April
1997
324 days Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam Deve Gowda H. D. Deve Gowda
21 April
1997
19 March
1998
Gujral Inder Kumar Gujral
30 Sedapatti Muthiah
(1945–2022)
MP for Periyakulam
19 March
1998
8 April
1998
20 days All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam Vajpayee II Atal Bihari Vajpayee
31 M. Thambidurai
(born 1947)
MP for Karur
8 April
1998
8 April
1999
1 year, 0 days
32 Nitish Kumar
(born 1951)
MP for Barh
8 April
1999
5 August
1999
119 days Samata Party
33 Jaswant Singh
(1938–2020)
Rajya Sabha MP for Rajasthan
5 August
1999
13 October
1999
69 days Bharatiya Janata Party
(32) Nitish Kumar
(born 1951)
MP for Barh
13 October
1999
22 November
1999
40 days Samata Party Vajpayee III
34 Rajnath Singh
(born 1951)
Rajya Sabha MP for Uttar Pradesh
22 November
1999
25 October
2000
338 days Bharatiya Janata Party
Atal Bihari Vajpayee
(1924–2018)
MP for Lucknow
(Prime Minister)
25 October
2000
7 November
2000
13 days
Minister of Road Transport and Highways
35 Major General
B. C. Khanduri (Retd.) AVSM
(born 1934)
MP for Garhwal
(MoS, I/C until 24 May 2003)
7 November
2000
22 May
2004
3 years, 197 days Bharatiya Janata Party Vajpayee III Atal Bihari Vajpayee
36 T. R. Baalu
(born 1941)
MP for Chennai South
23 May
2004
2 October
2004
132 days Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam Manmohan I Manmohan Singh
Minister of Shipping, Road Transport and Highways
(36) T. R. Baalu
(born 1941)
MP for Chennai South
2 October
2004
22 May
2009
4 years, 232 days Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam Manmohan I Manmohan Singh
Minister of Road Transport and Highways
37 Kamal Nath
(born 1946)
MP for Chhindwara
28 May
2009
19 January
2011
1 year, 235 days Indian National Congress Manmohan II Manmohan Singh
38 C. P. Joshi
(born 1950)
MP for Bhilwara
19 January
2011
15 June
2013
2 years, 147 days
Manmohan Singh
(born 1932)
Rajya Sabha MP for Assam
(Prime Minister)
15 June
2013
17 June
2013
2 days
39 Oscar Fernandes
(1941–2021)
Rajya Sabha MP for Karnataka
17 June
2013
26 May
2014
343 days
40 Nitin Gadkari
(born 1957)
MP for Nagpur
27 May
2014
Incumbent 10 years, 207 days Bharatiya Janata Party Modi I Narendra Modi
Modi II
Modi III

Ministers of State

No. Portrait Minister
(Birth-Death)
Constituency
Term of office Political party Ministry Prime Minister
From To Period
Minister of State for Transport and Railways
1 K. Santhanam
(1895–1980)
MP for Madras (Constituent Assembly)
1 October
1948
17 April
1952
3 years, 199 days Indian National Congress Nehru I Jawaharlal Nehru
Minister of State for Transport and Communications
2 Humayun Kabir
(1906–1969)
Rajya Sabha MP for West Bengal
17 April
1957
10 April
1958
358 days Indian National Congress Nehru III Jawaharlal Nehru
3 Raj Bahadur
(1912–1990)
MP for Bharatpur
17 April
1957
10 April
1962
4 years, 358 days
Minister of State for Transport and Civil Aviation
4 C. M. Poonacha
(1910–1990)
Rajya Sabha MP for Mysore
24 January
1966
13 March
1967
1 year, 48 days Indian National Congress Indira I Indira Gandhi
Minister of State for Shipping and Transport
5 Om Mehta
(1927–1995)
Rajya Sabha MP for Jammu and Kashmir
2 May
1971
5 February
1973
1 year, 279 days Indian National Congress (R) Indira III Indira Gandhi
6 Mansinhji Bhasaheb Rana
MP for Broach
5 February
1973
11 January
1974
340 days
7 H. M. Trivedi
Rajya Sabha MP for Gujarat
17 October
1974
24 March
1977
2 years, 158 days
8 Buta Singh
(1934–2021)
MP for Ropar
8 June
1980
15 January
1982
1 year, 221 days Indian National Congress (I) Indira IV Indira Gandhi
9 Sitaram Kesri
(1919–2000)
Rajya Sabha MP for Bihar
15 January
1982
29 January
1983
1 year, 14 days
10 Ziaur Rahman Ansari
(1925–1992)
MP for Unnao
29 January
1983
31 October
1984
54 days
4 November
1984
31 December
1984
57 days Rajiv I Rajiv Gandhi
Minister of State for Transport
Minister of State in the Department of Railways 25 September
1985
22 October
1986
1 year, 27 days Indian National Congress Rajiv II Rajiv Gandhi
11A Madhavrao Scindia
(1945–2001)
MP for Gwalior
Minister of State in the Department of Surface Transport
11B Rajesh Pilot
(1945–2000)
MP for Dausa
Minister of State in the Department of Civil Aviation
11C Jagdish Tytler
(born 1944)
MP for Delhi Sadar
Minister of State for Surface Transport
12 Debendra Pradhan
(born 1941)
MP for Deogarh
19 March
1998
13 October
1999
2 years, 69 days Bharatiya Janata Party Vajpayee II Atal Bihari Vajpayee
13 October
1999
27 May
2000
Vajpayee III
13 Hukmdev Narayan Yadav
(born 1939)
MP for Madhubani
27 May
2000
2 November
2001
1 year, 159 days
Minister of State for Road Transport and Highways
14 Shripad Naik
(born 1952)
MP for Panaji
24 May
2003
8 September
2003
107 days Bharatiya Janata Party Vajpayee III Atal Bihari Vajpayee
15 Pon Radhakrishnan
(born 1952)
MP for Kanniyakumari
8 September
2003
22 May
2004
257 days
16 K. H. Muniyappa
(born 1948)
MP for Kolar
23 May
2004
22 May
2009
4 years, 364 days Indian National Congress Manmohan I Manmohan Singh
17 Mahadeo Singh Khandela
(born 1943)
MP for Sikar
28 May
2009
27 October
2012
3 years, 152 days Manmohan II
18 R. P. N. Singh
(born 1964)
MP for Kushi Nagar
28 May
2009
19 January
2011
1 year, 236 days
19 Jitin Prasada
(born 1973)
MP for Dhaurahra
19 January
2011
28 October
2012
1 year, 283 days
20 Tushar Amarsinh Chaudhary
(born 1965)
MP for Bardoli
19 January
2011
26 May
2014
3 years, 127 days
21 Sarve Satyanarayana
(born 1954)
MP for Malkajgiri
28 October
2012
26 May
2014
1 year, 149 days
22 Krishan Pal Gurjar
(born 1957)
MP for Faridabad
27 May
2014
9 November
2014
167 days Bharatiya Janata Party Modi I Narendra Modi
(15) Pon Radhakrishnan
(born 1952)
MP for Kanniyakumari
9 November
2014
3 September
2017
2 years, 298 days
25 Mansukh Mandaviya
(born 1972)
Rajya Sabha MP for Gujarat
5 July
2016
30 May
2019
2 years, 329 days
26 General
V. K. Singh (Retd.)
PVSM AVSM YSM ADC
(born 1950)
MP for Ghaziabad
31 May
2019
9 June
2024
5 years, 4 days Modi II
27 Ajay Tamta
(born 1972)
MP for Almora
10 June
2024
Incumbent 193 days Modi III
28 Harsh Malhotra
MP for East Delhi

Deputy Ministers

No. Portrait Minister
(Birth-Death)
Constituency
Term of office Political party Ministry Prime Minister
From To Period
Deputy Minister of Transport and Communications
1 Mohiuddin Ahmed
(1898–?)
MP for Secunderabad
(Civil Aviation)
2 April
1958
10 April
1962
4 years, 8 days Indian National Congress Nehru III Jawaharlal Nehru
(1) Mohiuddin Ahmed
(1898–?)
MP for Secunderabad
16 April
1962
1 September
1963
1 year, 138 days Nehru IV
2 Bijoy Chandra Bhagavati
(1905–1997)
MP for Tezpur
8 May
1962
1 September
1963
1 year, 116 days
Deputy Minister of Transport
(1) Mohiuddin Ahmed
(1898–?)
MP for Secunderabad
1 September
1963
27 May
1964
2 years, 126 days Indian National Congress Nehru IV Jawaharlal Nehru
27 May
1964
9 June
1964
Nanda I Gulzarilal Nanda
15 June
1964
5 January
1966
Shastri Lal Bahadur Shastri
Deputy Minister of Transport and Civil Aviation
3 Jahanara Jaipal Singh
(1923–2004)
Rajya Sabha MP for Bihar
15 February
1966
13 March
1967
1 year, 26 days Indian National Congress Indira I Indira Gandhi
Deputy Minister of Shipping and Transport
4 Bhakt Darshan
(1912–1991)
MP for Garhwal
18 March
1967
18 February
1969
1 year, 337 days Indian National Congress Indira II Indira Gandhi
5 Sardar Iqbal Singh
(1923–1988)
MP for Fazilka
14 February
1969
18 March
1971
2 years, 32 days Indian National Congress (R)
6 Pranab Mukherjee
(1935–2020)
Rajya Sabha MP for West Bengal
11 January
1974
10 October
1974
272 days Indian National Congress (R) Indira II
7 Chaudhary Dalbir Singh
(1926–1987)
MP for Sirsa
1 December
1975
24 March
1977
1 year, 113 days
Deputy Minister of Surface Transport
8 P. Namgyal
(1937–2020)
MP for Ladakh
15 February
1988
4 July
1989
1 year, 139 days Indian National Congress (I) Rajiv II Rajiv Gandhi
Position not in use since 4 July 1989

References

  1. "Organization History of Ministry of Shipping". Retrieved 27 August 2023.
  2. "Ministry of Shipping renamed as Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways". NewsBharati.com. 10 November 2020.
  3. ^ "Portfolios of Manmohan Singh Cabinet announced". The New Indian Express. 28 May 2009. Retrieved 27 August 2023.
  4. "Oscar Fernandes appointed new MoRTH Minister". Construction Week. 18 June 2023.
  5. "Shri Nitin Gadkari Has Taken Charge as the Minister for Road Transport, Highways and Shipping". Press Information Bureau. 29 May 2014. Retrieved 27 August 2023.

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