The Minister of Education, formerly the Minister of Human Resources Development (1985–2020),is the head of the Ministry of Education and a member of the Union Cabinet and one of the portfolios of the union cabinet in the Government of India.

Cabinet ministers

  • Note: MoS, I/C – Minister of State (Independent Charge)
#PortraitMinister (Birth-Death) ConstituencyTerm of officePolitical partyMinistryPrime Minister
FromToPeriod
Minister of Education
1Maulana Abul Kalam Azad (1888–1958) MP for United Provinces (1947–1952) MP for Rampur (1952–1957)15 August 194713 May 19529 years, 245 daysIndian National CongressNehru IJawaharlal Nehru
13 May 195217 April 1957Nehru II
Minister of Education and Scientific Research
(1)Maulana Abul Kalam Azad (1888–1958) MP for Gurgaon17 April 195722 February 1958 [†]280 daysIndian National CongressNehru IIIJawaharlal Nehru
2K. L. Shrimali (1909–2000) Rajya Sabha MP for Rajasthan (MoS)22 February 195810 April 19624 years, 47 days
Minister of Education
(2)K. L. Shrimali (1909–2000) Rajya Sabha MP for Rajasthan10 April 196231 August 19631 year, 143 daysIndian National CongressNehru IVJawaharlal Nehru
3Humayun Kabir (1906–1969) MP for Basirhat31 August 196321 November 196382 days
4M. C. Chagla (1900–1981) Rajya Sabha MP for Maharashtra21 November 196327 May 19642 years, 357 days
27 May 19649 June 1964Nanda IGulzarilal Nanda (Acting)
9 June 196411 January 1966ShastriLal Bahadur Shastri
11 January 196624 January 1966Nanda IIGulzarilal Nanda (Acting)
24 January 196613 November 1966Indira IIndira Gandhi
5Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed (1905–1977) Rajya Sabha MP for Assam14 November 196613 March 1967119 days
6Triguna Sen (1905–1998) Rajya Sabha MP for Tripura16 March 196714 February 19691 year, 335 daysIndira II
Minister of Education and Youth Services
7V. K. R. V. Rao (1908–1991) MP for Bellary14 February 196918 March 19712 years, 32 daysIndian National Congress (R)Indira IIIndira Gandhi
Minister of Education and Culture
8Siddhartha Shankar Ray (1920–2010) MP for Raiganj18 March 197120 March 19721 year, 2 daysIndian National Congress (R)Indira IIIIndira Gandhi
9Saiyid Nurul Hasan (1921–1993) Rajya Sabha MP for Uttar Pradesh (MoS, I/C)24 March 197224 March 19775 years, 0 days
10Pratap Chandra Chunder (1919–2008) MP for Calcutta North East24 March 197728 July 19792 years, 126 daysJanata PartyDesaiMorarji Desai
11Karan Singh (born 1931) MP for Udhampur28 July 197914 January 1980170 daysIndian National Congress (Urs)Charan SinghCharan Singh
12B. Shankaranand (1925–2009) MP for Chikkodi14 January 198017 October 1980277 daysIndian National Congress (I)Indira IVIndira Gandhi
13Shankarrao Chavan (1920–2004) MP for Nanded17 October 19808 August 1981295 days
14Sheila Kaul (1915–2015) MP for Raebareli (MoS, I/C)8 August 198131 October 19843 years, 145 days
31 October 198431 December 1984Rajiv IRajiv Gandhi
Minister of Education
15K. C. Pant (1931–2012) MP for New Delhi31 December 198425 September 1985268 daysIndian National Congress (I)Rajiv IIRajiv Gandhi
Minister of Human Resource Development
16P. V. Narasimha Rao (1921–2004) MP for Ramtek25 September 198525 June 19882 years, 274 daysIndian National Congress (I)Rajiv IIRajiv Gandhi
16P. Shiv Shankar (1929–2017) Rajya Sabha MP for Gujarat25 June 19882 December 19891 year, 160 days
17V. P. Singh (1931–2008) MP for Fatehpur (Prime Minister)2 December 198910 November 1990343 daysJanata DalV. P. SinghV. P. Singh
18Raj Mangal Pande (1920–1993) MP for Deoria21 November 199021 June 1991212 daysSamajwadi Janata Party (Rashtriya)Chandra ShekharChandra Shekhar
19Arjun Singh (1930–2011) MP for Satna23 June 199124 December 19943 years, 184 daysIndian National Congress (I)RaoP. V. Narasimha Rao
20P. V. Narasimha Rao (1921–2004) MP for Nandyal (Prime Minister)24 December 19949 February 199547 days
21Madhavrao Scindia (1945–2001) MP for Gwalior9 February 199517 January 1996342 days
–P. V. Narasimha Rao (1921–2004) MP for Nandyal (Prime Minister)17 January 199616 May 1996120 days
22Atal Bihari Vajpayee (1924–2018) MP for Lucknow (Prime Minister)16 May 19961 June 199616 daysBharatiya Janata PartyVajpayee IAtal Bihari Vajpayee
23S. R. Bommai (1927–2007) Rajya Sabha MP for Odisha5 June 199621 April 19971 year, 286 daysJanata DalDeve GowdaH. D. Deve Gowda
21 April 199718 March 1998GujralInder Kumar Gujral
24Murli Manohar Joshi (born 1934) MP for Allahabad19 March 199813 October 19996 years, 64 daysBharatiya Janata PartyVajpayee IIAtal Bihari Vajpayee
13 October 199922 May 2004Vajpayee III
(19)Arjun Singh (1930–2011) Rajya Sabha MP for Madhya Pradesh23 May 200422 May 20094 years, 364 daysIndian National CongressManmohan IManmohan Singh
25Kapil Sibal (born 1948) MP for Chandni Chowk28 May 200928 October 20123 years, 153 daysManmohan II
26M. M. Pallam Raju (born 1962) MP for Kakinada28 October 201226 May 20141 year, 210 days
27Smriti Irani (born 1976) Rajya Sabha MP for Gujarat26 May 20145 July 20162 years, 39 daysBharatiya Janata PartyModi INarendra Modi
28Prakash Javadekar (born 1951) Rajya Sabha MP for Madhya Pradesh, till 2018 Rajya Sabha MP for Maharashtra, from 20185 July 201630 May 20192 years, 329 days
29Ramesh Pokhriyal (born 1959) MP for Haridwar31 May 201929 July 20201 year, 59 daysModi II
Minister of Education
(29)Ramesh Pokhriyal (born 1959) MP for Haridwar29 July 20207 July 2021343 daysBharatiya Janata PartyModi IINarendra Modi
30Dharmendra Pradhan (born 1969) MP for Sambalpur7 July 2021Incumbent4 years, 284 days
Modi III

Ministers of state

#PortraitMinister (Birth-Death) ConstituencyTerm of officePolitical partyMinistryPrime Minister
FromToPeriod
Minister of State for Education and Scientific Research
1K. L. Shrimali (1909–2000) Rajya Sabha MP for Rajasthan (MoS)17 April 195722 February 1958280 daysIndian National CongressNehru IIIJawaharlal Nehru
Minister of State for Education
2Ramchandra Martand Hajarnavis (1908–1976) MP for Bhandara (Minister of Cultural Affairs)13 June 196429 October 19651 year, 138 daysIndian National CongressShastriLal Bahadur Shastri
3Sher Singh Kadyan (1917–2009) MP for Rohtak13 March 196714 February 19691 year, 338 daysIndira IIIndira Gandhi
4Bhagwat Jha Azad (1922–2011) MP for Bhagalpur
Minister of State for Education and Youth Services
5Bhakt Darshan (1912–1991) MP for Garhwal18 February 196918 March 19712 years, 28 daysIndian National Congress (R)Indira IIIndira Gandhi
Minister of State for Education and Culture
6Saiyid Nurul Hasan (1921–1993) Rajya Sabha MP for Uttar Pradesh4 October 197124 March 1972172 daysIndian National Congress (R)Indira IIIIndira Gandhi
7Dhanna Singh Gulshan MP for Bathinda14 August 197728 July 19791 year, 348 daysJanata PartyDesaiMorarji Desai
8Renuka Devi Barkataki (1932–2017) MP for Gauhati16 August 19771 year, 346 days
9Rashida Haque Choudhury MP for Silchar30 July 197914 January 1980168 daysJanata Party (Secular)Charan SinghCharan Singh
10Sheila Kaul (1915–2015) MP for Raebareli24 November 19808 August 1981257 daysIndian National Congress (I)Indira IVIndira Gandhi
Minister of State for Human Resource Development
11Margaret Alva (born 1942) Rajya Sabha MP for Karnataka (Women and Child Development, Youth Affairs and Sports)25 September 19852 December 19894 years, 68 daysIndian National Congress (I)Rajiv IIRajiv Gandhi
12Sushila Rohatgi (1921–2011) Rajya Sabha MP for Uttar Pradesh (Education and Culture)12 May 1986229 days
13Krishna Sahi (born 1931) MP for Begusarai (Education and Culture, until 1988; Culture, from 1988)12 May 19862 December 19893 years, 204 days
14Laliteshwar Prasad Shahi (1920–2018) MP for Muzaffarpur (Education and Culture, until 1989; Education, from 1989)14 February 19881 year, 291 days
15M. G. K. Menon (1928–2016) Rajya Sabha MP for Rajasthan (Education)20 January 199023 April 199093 daysJanata DalV. P. SinghV. P. Singh
16Chimanbhai Mehta (1925–2010) Rajya Sabha MP for Gujarat23 April 199010 November 1990201 days
17Bhagey Gobardhan (1934–1993) MP for Mayurbhanj21 November 199020 February 199191 daysSamajwadi Janata Party (Rashtriya)Chandra ShekharChandra Shekhar
18Mamata Banerjee (born 1955) MP for Calcutta South (Youth Affairs and Sports; Women and Child Development)21 June 199117 January 19931 year, 210 daysIndian National Congress (I)RaoP. V. Narasimha Rao
19Mukul Wasnik (born 1959) MP for Buldhana (Youth Affairs and Sports)18 January 199316 May 19963 years, 119 days
20Basavarajeshwari (1921–2008) MP for Bellary19 January 199315 September 19952 years, 239 days
21Selja Kumari (born 1962) MP for Sirsa (Education and Culture)15 September 199516 May 1996244 days
22Krupasindhu Bhoi (born 1942) MP for Sambalpur (Education)
23Vimla Verma (1929–2019) MP for Seoni (Women and Child Development)
24Kanti Singh (born 1957) MP for Bikramganj1 June 199629 June 199628 daysJanata DalDeve GowdaH. D. Deve Gowda
25Muhi Ram Saikia (1923–2007) MP for Nowgong (Education)29 June 199621 April 1997296 daysAsom Gana Parishad
26R. Dhanuskodi Athithan (born 1953) MP for Tiruchendur (Youth Affairs and Sports)Tamil Maanila Congress (Moopanar)
(25)Muhi Ram Saikia (1923–2007) MP for Nowgong (Education)21 April 199719 March 1998332 daysAsom Gana ParishadGujralInder Kumar Gujral
(26)R. Dhanuskodi Athithan (born 1953) MP for Tiruchendur (Youth Affairs and Sports)1 May 1997322 daysTamil Maanila Congress (Moopanar)
27Uma Bharti (born 1959) MP for Khajuraho19 March 199813 October 19991 year, 208 daysBharatiya Janata PartyVajpayee IIAtal Bihari Vajpayee
28Sumitra Mahajan (born 1943) MP for Indore13 October 19991 July 20022 years, 261 daysVajpayee III
29Jaisingrao Gaikwad Patil (born 1949) MP for Beed27 May 2000227 days
30Syed Shahnawaz Hussain (born 1968) MP for Kishanganj30 September 20008 February 2001131 days
31Rita Verma (born 1953) MP for Dhanbad1 September 200129 January 20031 year, 150 days
32Jaskaur Meena (born 1947) MP for Dausa29 January 200322 May 20041 year, 114 days
33Ashok Kumar Pradhan (born 1953) MP for Khurja29 January 200324 May 2003115 days
34Vallabhbhai Kathiria (born 1954) MP for Rajkot30 January 20039 January 2004344 days
35Sanjay Paswan (born 1962) MP for Nawada24 May 200322 May 2004364 days
36Mohammad Ali Ashraf Fatmi (born 1956) MP for Darbhanga (School Education and Literacy)23 May 200422 May 20094 years, 364 daysRashtriya Janata DalManmohan IManmohan Singh
(24)Kanti Singh (born 1957) MP for Arrah (Higher Education)23 May 200429 January 20061 year, 251 days
37Daggubati Purandeswari (born 1959) MP for Bapatla (till 2009) MP for Visakhapatnam (from 2009) (Higher Education)29 January 200622 May 20093 years, 113 daysIndian National Congress
28 May 200928 October 20123 years, 153 daysManmohan II
38E. Ahamed (1938–2017) MP for Malappuram (School Education and Literacy)12 July 20111 year, 108 daysIndian Union Muslim League
39Jitin Prasada (born 1973) MP for Dhaurahra28 October 201226 May 20141 year, 210 daysIndian National Congress
40Shashi Tharoor (born 1956) MP for Thiruvananthapuram
41Upendra Kushwaha (born 1960) MP for Karakat (School Education and Literacy)9 November 201411 December 20184 years, 32 daysRashtriya Lok Samta PartyModi INarendra Modi
42Ram Shankar Katheria (born 1964) MP for Agra (Higher Education)5 July 20161 year, 239 daysBharatiya Janata Party
43Mahendra Nath Pandey (born 1957) MP for Chandauli (Higher Education)5 July 20173 September 201760 days
44Satya Pal Singh (born 1955) MP for Baghpat (Higher Education)3 September 201730 May 20191 year, 269 days
45Sanjay Shamrao Dhotre (born 1959) MP for Akola31 May 201929 July 20201 year, 59 daysModi II
Minister of State for Education
45Sanjay Shamrao Dhotre (born 1959) MP for Akola29 July 20207 July 2021343 daysBharatiya Janata PartyModi IINarendra Modi
46Annpurna Devi (born 1970) MP for Kodarma (School Education and Literacy)7 July 20219 June 20242 years, 338 days
47Subhas Sarkar (born 1953) MP for Bankura (Higher Education)
48Rajkumar Ranjan Singh (born 1952) MP for Inner Manipur (Higher Education)
49Sukanta Majumdar (born 1979) MP for Balurghat (Higher Education)10 June 2024Incumbent1 year, 311 daysModi III
50Jayant Chaudhary (born 1978) Rajya Sabha MP for Uttar Pradesh (Higher Education)10 June 2024Incumbent1 year, 311 daysRashtriya Lok Dal

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