List of ministries and departments of the Government of India

The Government of India exercises its executive authority through a number of government ministries or departments of state. A ministry is composed of employed officials, known as civil servants, and is politically accountable through a minister. Most major ministries are headed by a Cabinet Minister, who sits in the Union Council of Ministers, and is typically supported by a team of junior ministers called the Ministers of State. A union minister also known as cabinet minister.

Some ministries have subdivisions called departments. For example, the Ministry of Communications has two departments - the Department of Telecommunications and Department of Posts.

Current Ministries
There are 54 Union ministries and 93 departments in India.

Departments
These are independent departments working under the direct supervision of the Prime Minister's Office.


 * Department of Atomic Energy
 * Department of Space

Former ministries
The following ministries once functioned, but have since become defunct, generally because of a merger with another ministry or division into new ministries.