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The Ministry of Railways in India is in charge of the Indian Railways, an organisation that operates as a monopoly in rail transport in India. As of May 2011, the ministry is headed by the Minister of Railways Mamata Banerjee.

Notable people who have server as Minister of Railways

 * John Matthai
 * N. Gopalaswamy Ayyangar
 * Lal Bahadur Shastri
 * Madhu Dandavate
 * Panampilly Govinda Menon
 * Madhavrao Scindia
 * C K Jaffar Sharief
 * Jagjivan Ram
 * George Fernandes
 * Ram Vilas Paswan
 * Nitish Kumar
 * Lalu Prasad Yadav
 * Mamata Banerjee

Organizational Structure
There is one Union minister of Railways, and two Ministers of State for Railways. The Railway Board, which is the apex body of the Indian Railways reports in to the ministry of railways. The Railway Board comprises one Chairman, and several "members of the Railway Board." A number of directorates report to the Railway Board.

The ministry of Railways is housed inside Rail Bhavan in New Delhi.

The Railway Budget
Due to historical reasons, each year the Union Minister of Railways presents a budget separate from the general budget of India. The practice started in 1924. At the time, the railway budget formed about 70% of the country's budget. So separating it out allowed better focus on each budget's priorities. The Railway Budget now is less than 15% of India's national budget. The presentation of the Railway budget is of interest to the people, because the introduction of new train services, fare changes and tariffs are announced at this time. Each year, the 2011-12 Railway budget is made available for viewing.