 Branch of Government of India | |
 Ministry of Defence | |
 | |
| Ministry overview | |
|---|---|
| Formed | 15 August 1947; 78 years ago (1947-08-15) |
| Preceding Ministry |
|
| Jurisdiction | Government of India |
| Headquarters | Secretariat Building Raisina Hill,New Delhi 28°36′50″N77°12′32″E / 28.61389°N 77.20889°E /28.61389; 77.20889 |
| Employees | 1,400,000[1][2] (active personnel)(2023) 700,000[3] (reserve personnel)(2023) |
| Annual budget | ₹7.86lakhcrore (US$93 billion)(2025)[5] |
| Minister responsible | |
| Deputy Minister responsible |
|
| Child agencies |
|
| Website | mod.gov.in |
TheMinistry of Defence (abbreviated asMoD;ISO:Rakṣā Mantrālaya[a]) is charged with coordinating and supervising all agencies and functions of the government relating directly tonational security and theIndian Armed Forces. ThePresident of India is the ceremonialcommander-in-chief of the armed forces of the country. The Ministry of Defence provides policy framework and resources to the armed forces to discharge their responsibility in the context of the country's defence. TheIndian Armed Forces (including theIndian Army, theIndian Air Force, theIndian Navy) and theIndian Coast Guard under the Ministry of Defence are primarily responsible for ensuring the territorial integrity ofIndia.
As perStatista, MoD is thelargest employer in the world[6] with 29.2lakh (2.92 million) employees.[7][8][9]
At present, the new creation ofNational Defence University, for the training of military officials and concerned civilian officials, will be administered and overseen by the Ministry. The Ministry organises and runsRepublic Day celebrations andparade every year in January atRajpath, hosting achief guest. The Ministry has the largest budget among the federal departments of India and currently standsthird in military expenditure in the world,[10][11][12] among countries of the world.[13]
TheParliamentary Standing Committee on Defence, consisting of elected members from both theLok Sabha and theRajya Sabha, is tasked with this ministry's legislative oversight.
A Military Department was created in the Supreme Government of theEnglish East India Company atCalcutta in the year 1776, having the main function to sift and record orders relating to the Army issued by various Departments of the Government of East India Company. The Military Department initially functioned as a branch of the Public Department and maintained a list of Army personnel.[14]
With theCharter Act 1833, the Secretariat of the Government of the East India Company was reorganised into four departments, each headed by a secretary to the Government.[14] The armies in the presidencies ofBengal,Bombay andMadras functioned as the respectivepresidency armies until April 1895, when the presidency armies were unified into a single Indian Army. For administrative convenience, it was divided into four commands:Punjab (including theNorth West Frontier),Bengal (includingBurma),Madras andBombay (includingSindh,Quetta andAden).[14]
The supreme authority over the Indian Army was vested in theGovernor General-in-Council, subject to the control ofthe Crown, which was exercised by theSecretary of State for India. Two members of the council were responsible for military affairs. One was the Military Member, who supervised all administrative and financial matters. The other was the commander-in-chief who was responsible for all operational matters.[14] The Military Department was abolished in March 1906 and replaced by two separate departments; the Army and the Military Supply departments. In April 1909 the Military Supply Department was abolished and the Army Department took over its functions. The Army Department was redesignated as the Defence Department in January 1938. The Department of Defence became the Ministry of Defence under a cabinet minister in August 1947.[14]
BeforePartition of India, in 1946,Iskander Mirza was elevated asJoint Secretary to the Government of India[15] at the Ministry of Defence in New Delhi,[15] who later went onto become 1stPresident of Pakistan.[15][16] Notable officers included -Philip Mason,Ambrose Dundas,[17]Richard Tottenham,[b]Charles Ogilvie.
Prior to partition ofIndian subcontinent, there was unified defense system for the entire subcontinent. However, with the creation of two separate nations, the Ministry of Defence in New Delhi was split and a newMinistry of Defence (Pakistan) was created inPakistan. The separation of the defense ministries was part of the larger administrative and bureaucratic split that saw Indian military assets, personnel, and infrastructure divided between the two nations.
The responsibility for national defence "rests with the Cabinet, which is discharged through the Ministry of Defence, which provides the policy framework and wherewithal to the Armed Forces to discharge their responsibilities in the context of the defence of the country. The Raksha Mantri (Defence Minister) is the head of the Ministry of Defence."[14]
The Defence Ministry is responsible for "obtaining policy directions of the Government on all defence and security related matters" and communicating these directions to "Services Headquarters, Inter-Services Organisations, Production Establishments and Research and Development Organisations".[14] The MoD works closely with theNational Security Council,Ministry of External Affairs and theMinistry of Home Affairs.
The functions of MoD which in 1947 was mainly logistic support to the armed forces, have undergone far-reaching changes. In November 1962, following the 1962 war, a Department of Defence Production was set up to deal with research, development and production of defence equipment. In November 1965, the Department of Defence Supplies was created for planning and execution of schemes for import substitution of requirements for defence purposes. These two Departments were later merged to form the Department of Defence Production and Supplies.
In 1980, the Department of Defence Research and Development was created. In January 2004, the Department of Defence Production and Supplies was renamed the Department of Defence Production. A Scientific Adviser to the Defence Minister was appointed to advise on scientific aspects of military equipment and the research and design of defence forces equipment. The Department of Ex-Servicemen Welfare was created in 2004.[citation needed]
The Ministry of Defence is one of India’s largest landowners, owning over 17.99 lakh acres of land across India,[18] and the largest landowner among all ministries of the Government of India. This is managed by Defence Estates Organisation under the Ministry of Defence.
The current headquarters of the Ministry of Defence is inSecretariat Building, New Delhi. Under theCentral Vista Redevelopment Project, the Ministry will be relocated into a Defence Enclave inside the Common Central Secretariat. The Defence Enclave will be housed within specific blocks of the Central Vista Secretariat, currently identified as CCS‑6, CCS‑7, and CCS‑8.
The Ministry of Defence consists of five departments; the Department of Defence (DoD), the Department of Military Affairs (DMA), the Department of Defence Production (DDP), the Department of Defence Research and Development (DRDO), and the Department of Ex-Servicemen Welfare (DESW). TheDefence Secretary of India functions as head of the Department of Defence,[19][20] and is additionally responsible for coordinating the activities of the departments in the ministry.[19][20]
The principal functions of all the departments are as follows:
The Finance Division of the Ministry of Defence is headed by the Financial Adviser (Defence Services). The financial advisor exercises financial control over proposals involving expenditure from the Defence Budget and is responsible for theinternal audit and accounting of defence expenditure. In the latter tasks, the financial advisor is assisted by theController General of Defence Accounts.
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Source:[20]
To ensure a high degree of synergy between the Armed forces, the Government has set up theIntegrated Defence Staff, headed by theChief of Integrated Defence Staff as the chairman. It was created on 1 October 2001 based on the recommendations of the Group of Ministers which was set up in 2000 (post theKargil War) to review India's defence management.[29] It acts as the point organisation for integration of policy, doctrine, war-fighting and procurement by employing best management practices. The chairman of Integrated Defences Staff is a 4-star General (or his equivalent in the Air Force or the Navy).
The firstChief of Defence Staff wasGeneralBipin Rawat, who took over on 1 January 2020.[30]
"Chiefs of Staff are the authority for advising the Defence Minister and normally through him theCabinet Committee on Political Affairs on all military matters which require ministerial consideration". The Integrated Defence Staff is '"the principal arm and Secretariat to the Chiefs of Staff Committee".[31][32]
The Chiefs of Staff Committee is composed of: (a)Chief of the Army Staff (COAS); (b)Chief of the Naval Staff (CNS); (c)Chief of the Air Staff (CAS); and (d)Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) (non-voting member). The Scientific Adviser to the Minister of Defence is invited to attend whenever needed.[31]
The senior-most member of the COSC is appointed itschairperson.GeneralBipin Rawat was the last head of COSC.[33]
The position of COSC has ceased to exist with the creation ofChief of Defence Staff.
General Bipin Rawat was appointed the first Chief of Defence Staff in 2019. He died in a helicopter crash on 8 December 2021.
MoD is headed by theDefence Minister of India, who is supported by one, or more than one, minister of state.[14]
| Minister | Designation | Portfolio |
|---|---|---|
| Rajnath Singh | Minister of Defence | Overall responsibility. |
| Sanjay Seth | Minister of State for Defence | Charter of duties includes secondary logistic and administrative functions. |
There are about 400,000 defence civilians, under the MOD includingMinistry of Finance personnel attached to MOD. In 2015–16 Defence pension bill was₹54,500crore (equivalent to₹780 billion or US$9.3 billion in 2023) of which about 36 per cent was on account of defence civilians.[66]
The ministers are supported by several civilian, scientific and military advisers.
TheDefence Secretary as head of the Department of Defence,[19] is thesenior most civil servant in the ministry and is responsible for coordinating the activities of the five departments in the ministry.[19] His/her role is to ensure that the MoD operates effectively as a department of the government.[34][35][19] Defence Secretary is assisted byadditional secretaries andjoint secretaries to Government of India posted in the ministry. The Defence Secretary, generally, is an officer from theIndian Administrative Service, apart from the Defence Secretary, there are three othersecretary-level posts in the Ministry of Defence.
The Scientific Adviser to the Defence Minister plays a key role in the formulation of research and development policies and in promoting self-reliance in Indian defence industries.
| Name | Designation |
|---|---|
| Rajesh Kumar Singh,IAS | Defence Secretary |
| Sanjeev Kumar,IAS | Secretary (Defence Production) |
| Sukriti Likhi ,IAS | Secretary (Ex-servicemen Welfare) |
| Sameer V. Kamat | Secretary (Defence Research and Development) and Chairman,DRDO |
| Mayank Sharma,IDAS | Financial Adviser |
In 1955, the title of Commander-in-Chief was abolished and the three service chiefs were designated as theChief of the Army Staff, theChief of the Naval Staff and theChief of the Air Staff. The heads of the three services ofIndian Armed Forces are:
| S.No. | Name of service | Group |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Indian Naval Material Management Service | A |
| 2 | Border Roads Engineering Service | A |
| 3 | Defence Aeronautical Quality Assurance Service | A |
| 4 | Defence Quality Assurance Service | A |
| 5 | Defence Research and Development Service | A |
| 6 | Indian Defence Accounts Service | A |
| 7 | Indian Defence Contract Management Service | A |
| 8 | Indian Defence Estates Service | A |
| 9 | Indian Defence Service of Engineers | A |
| 10 | Indian Naval Armament Service | A |
| 11 | Indian Ordnance Factories Service | A |
| 12 | Indian Ordnance Factories Health Service | A |
| 13 | Armed Forces Headquarters Civil Services | B |
The SRIJAN is a portal launched by MoD to take up the products imported for indigenisation. According to Ministry; it displays defence products that have been imported recently and will tag with the DefencePublic sector undertakings, Ordinance Factory Board and others to push for its domestic manufacturing for exports in future.[40]
The Ministry of Defence owns and oversees several Public Sector Undertakings (PSUs) that play a vital role in India’s defence production ecosystem. These Defence Public Sector Undertakings (DPSUs) are tasked with the design, development, and manufacturing of defence equipment and technologies, including arms, ammunition, ships, aircraft, and electronics, to meet the strategic requirements of the Indian Armed Forces.
The DPSUs operate under the Department of Defence Production.
The Ministry of Defence has overseen all major military actions involving the Indian Armed Forces since independence. Under its authority, India has fought four full-scale wars—1947–48, 1965, 1971, and 1999—each involving coordinated tri-service operations.
Apart from full-scale wars, the MoD has directed or approved around five to six limited border conflicts, including standoffs with China at Nathu La, Sumdorong Chu, Doklam, and Galwan. It has also overseen two to three cross-border strikes, notably the 2016 surgical strikes and the 2019 Balakot air strike.
Counter-insurgency operations have been a continuous MoD-led effort, with more than ten long-term missions in regions like Jammu and Kashmir, Assam, and Manipur. India’s participation in about five to six UN peacekeeping missions has also been managed by the MoD.
In addition, the MoD has led over ten humanitarian and disaster relief operations, both domestically and abroad, using military assets. While covert operations remain classified, many are believed to involve MoD-level oversight when military resources are deployed.
India andUnited States have together signedfoundational agreement as defence partners. The following pacts are - General Security of Military Information Agreement (2002), Logistics Exchange Memorandum of Agreement (2016), Communications Compatibility and Security Agreement (2018), Basic Exchange and Cooperation Agreement (2020), Indo-U.S. Defense Framework Agreement (2005), India-U.S. Defense Trade and Technology Initiative,Quadrilateral Security Dialogue.
In 2016, the United States designated India as a Major Defense Partner and was elevated to Strategic Trade Authorization tier 1 status.[41]
India andUnited Kingdom have together signed India-UK Defense Cooperation Agreement (2006), Joint Statement on Strengthening India-UK Strategic Partnership (2010). The United Kingdom on February 2025 announced the formal launch of “Defence Partnership–India”, or DP-I, a dedicated cell within theMinistry of Defence (United Kingdom) for deepening cooperation with India.[42] The UK has also supported India’s efforts to join theNuclear Suppliers Group.
India andIsrael have together signed India-Israel Defense Cooperation Agreement (2003).
India andAustralia have together signed India-Australia Comprehensive Strategic Partnership (2020), Cooperation in Defense and Security (2009).
India has signed defense pacts and strategic partnerships with more than 18 countries includingRussia,France,Japan,Bangladesh,Saudi Arabia,Brazil.
The legislation related to India's Ministry of Defence includes the foundational Acts for each service branch: the Army Act, 1950, the Navy Act, 1957, and the Air Force Act, 1950. The other key laws include the Indian Territorial Army Act, 1948, the National Cadet Corps Act, 1948, the Civil Defence Act, 1968, and the Defence of India Act, 1971, which was used during the Indo-Pak war.
Modern policy-focused legislation includes the Defence Acquisition Procedure (DAP) 2020, promoting indigenous production and self-reliance.
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