The federal agency in charge of planning and managing the nation’s rail system is the Indian Railway Ministry. It was founded in 1924, and the minister of railroads is now in charge of it.
With more than 8,000 stations and over 67,000 kilometers of route, the Indian rail network is one of the biggest in the world. The first railway in India ran from Mumbai to Thane in 1853, making it one of the oldest as well. Since 1947, Indian Railways has seen 39 Railway Ministers of which John Mathai was the very first Railway Minister of India, and currently, Ashwini Vaishnaw is handling the railway ministry.
List of Railway Ministers of India
| S. No | Railway Minister | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | John Mathai | 15 August 1947 | 22 September 1948 |
| 2 | N. Gopalaswami Ayyangar | 22 September 1948 | 13 May 1952 |
| 3 | Lal Bahadur Shastri | 13 May 1952 | 7 December 1956 |
| 4 | Jagjivan Ram | 7 December 1956 | 10 April 1962 |
| 5 | Swaran Singh | 10 April 1962 | 21 September 1963 |
| 6 | H. C. Dasappa | 21 September 1963 | 8 June 1964 |
| 7 | S. K. Patil | 9 June 1964 | 12 March 1967 |
| 8 | C. M. Poonacha | 13 March 1967 | 14 February 1969 |
| 9 | Ram Subhag Singh | 14 February 1969 | 4 November 1969 |
| 10 | Panampilly Govinda Menon | 4 November 1969 | 18 February 1970 |
| 11 | Gulzarilal Nanda | 18 February 1970 | 17 March 1971 |
| 12 | K. Hanumanthaiah | 18 March 1971 | 22 July 1972 |
| 13 | T. A. Pai | 23 July 1972 | 4 February 1973 |
| 14 | Lalit Narayan Mishra | 5 February 1973 | 2 January 1975 |
| 15 | Kamalapati Tripathi | 11 February 1975 | 23 March 1977 |
| 16 | Madhu Dandavate | 26 March 1977 | 28 July 1979 |
| 17 | T. A. Pai | 30 July 1979 | 14 January 1980 |
| 18 | Kamalapati Tripathi | 14 January 1980 | 12 November 1980 |
| 19 | Kedar Pandey | 12 November 1980 | 14 January 1982 |
| 20 | Prakash Chandra Sethi | 15 January 1982 | 2 September 1982 |
| 21 | A. B. A. Ghani Khan Choudhury | 2 September 1982 | 31 December 1984 |
| 22 | Bansi Lal | 31 December 1984 | 24 June 1986 |
| 23 | Mohsina Kidwai | 24 June 1986 | 21 October 1986 |
| 24 | Madhavrao Scindia | 22 October 1986 | 2 December 1989 |
| 25 | George Fernandes | 2 December 1989 | 10 November 1990 |
| 26 | Janeshwar Mishra | 21 November 1990 | 21 June 1991 |
| 27 | C. K. Jaffer Sharief | 21 June 1991 | 17 October 1995 |
| 28 | Ram Vilas Paswan | 1 June 1996 | 19 March 1998 |
| 29 | Nitish Kumar | 19 March 1998 | 5 August 1999 |
| 30 | Ram Naik | 6 August 1999 | 13 October 1999 |
| 31 | Mamata Banerjee | 13 October 1999 | 15 March 2001 |
| 32 | Nitish Kumar | 20 March 2001 | 22 May 2004 |
| 33 | Lalu Prasad Yadav | 22 May 2004 | 22 May 2009 |
| 34 | Mamata Banerjee | 22 May 2009 | 19 May 2011 |
| 35 | Dinesh Trivedi | 12 July 2011 | 19 March 2012 |
| 36 | Mukul Roy | 20 March 2012 | 22 September 2012 |
| 37 | C. P. Joshi | 22 September 2012 | 28 October 2012 |
| 38 | Pawan Kumar Bansal | 29 October 2012 | 10 May 2013 |
| 39 | C. P. Joshi | 13 May 2013 | 14 June 2013 |
| 40 | Mallikarjun Kharge | 17 June 2013 | 26 May 2014 |
| 41 | D. V. Sadananda Gowda | 26 May 2014 | 9 November 2014 |
| 42 | Suresh Prabhu | 9 November 2014 | 3 September 2017 |
| 43 | Piyush Goyal | 3 September 2017 | 7 July 2021 |
| 44 | Ashwini Vaishnaw | 7 July 2021 | Incumbent |
Let’s check out all the 39 railway ministers of India in more detail:
John Mathai
Under the government of Jawaharlal Nehru, John Mathai was appointed as the 1st Railway Minister of India and served the nation for 1 year and 38 days from 15 August 1947 to 22 September 1948. Born on 10 January 1886 in Calicut, Madras Presidency, he was the son of Challiyal Thomas Matthai and Anna Thayyil. He took his graduate degree in Economics from the University of Madras. He served as India’s Finance Minister for two years, presenting two budgets, until resigning after the 1950 budget in dissatisfaction with the Planning Commission’s and P. C. Mahalanobis’ growing influence. When the State Bank of India was originally established in 1955, he presided as its first president. He was given the Padma Shri, the 4th civilian accolade in India, by the Indian government in 1954 in recognition of his services to civilization.
N. Gopalaswami Ayyangar
Under the government of Jawaharlal Nehru, N. Gopalaswami Ayyangar was elected as the 2nd Railway Minister of India and he served the nation for 3 years and 234 days from 22 September 1948 to 13 May 1952. Born on 31 March 1882 in the Tanjore District of Madras, he completed his graduation in Law from Law college in Madras and then as a professional, he was elevated to Collector and District Magistrate in 1920 after acting as Deputy Collector from 1917 to 1919. After that, starting in 1921, he remained as the Auditor of Local Boards and Registrar-General of Panchayati raj institutions for 7 years. In addition, he governed the princely state of Jammu and Kashmir as a Prime Minister and then became a minister in India’s first national government. In 1948, Ayyangar became the head of the group that represented India at the UN in relation to the Kashmir issue. He was designated by Prime Minister Nehru in 1952 to lead India in the continuing meetings and meetings concerning Kashmir at the Geneva talks.
Lal Bahadur Shastri
Under the Government of Jawaharlal Nehru, Lal Bahadur Shastri was appointed as the 3rd Railway Minister of India and controlled the ministry of the railway for 4 years and 208 days from 13 May 1952 to 7 December 1956. Born on 2 October 1904 in Mughalsarai, he was the 2nd Prime Minister of India and also handled the Home Department in the Indian government from 1961 to 1963. After Jawaharlal Nehru became the prime minister in 1951, Shastri handled the All India Congress Committee by becoming its President. He was in charge of picking the contenders and supervising the political campaigning and marketing campaigns. He was crucial to the Congress Party’s resounding victories in the Indian General Elections in 1952, 1957, and 1962. He managed to run for the UP Vidhan Sabha in 1952 from the Soraon North/Phulpur West constituency and triumphed with more than 69% of the vote. He was expected to remain the UP’s home minister, but Nehru unexpectedly invited him to the center as a minister. On May 13, 1952, Shastri was appointed to the First Cabinet of the Republic of India as Minister of Railways and Transport. He was a supporter and promoter of the White and Green Revolution in India. Producing food grains increased as a result, particularly in the states of Punjab, Haryana, and Uttar Pradesh. He attended Harish Chandra High School and the East Central Railway Inter College before departing to participate in the non-cooperation movement. He gave up his surname, “Srivastava,” which was inherited from caste, and fought for the improvement of the Harijans in Muzaffarpur.
Jagjivan Ram
Under the government of Jawaharlal Nehru, Jagjivan Ram was appointed as the 4th Railway Minister of India and he served the nation for 5 years and 124 days from 7 December 1956 to 10 April 1962. Born on 5 April 1908 in Bihar, he was popular by his nickname Babuji in the state and played a major role in establishing the rural labor movement after becoming an MLA. He rose to the power of Labor Minister in the first cabinet of Nehru in 1946 and then remained a minister in several departments for the next 3 decades. He played a major role in the formation of Bangladesh as a Defence Minister of India during the Indo-Pak War. His two functions as Union Agricultural Minister during the Green Revolution in India and the modernization of Indian agriculture are well acknowledged, particularly during the 1974 monsoon following which he was requested to handle an added ministry to help with the food shortage. While the Emergency was in effect, he backed Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, but in 1977 he abandoned the Congress and entered the Janata Party coalition alongside his Congress for Democracy.
Swaran Singh
Under the government of Jawaharlal Nehru, Swaran Singh was elevated to the power of the Railway Minister of India and he managed the railway ministry for 1 year and 164 days from 10 April 1962 to 21 September 1963. Born on 19 August 1907 in Jalandhar, Punjab, he came from a Jat Sikh family and earned his graduate degree in Physics from a Government college in Lahore. After completion of his graduation, he chose to teach physics as a lecturer at Lyallpur Khalsa College. He made his political debut by joining Akali Dal in 1930 and within a few years, he came out to be a leading politician of the state. In the mid-1940s, he was a key player in the agreement reached between the Akali Dal and the Indian National Congress party. He joined Jawaharlal Nehru’s ministry in 1952 and was the only sole survivor of the ministry. He worked for the Indian government for 23 years as a high-ranking parliamentarian known as a skilled public speaker and diplomat.
H. C. Dasappa
Under the national cabinet of Jawaharlal Nehru, H. C. Dasappa was chosen as the 6th Railway Minister of India and he controlled the railway ministry for 261 days from 21 September 1963 to 8 June 1964. Born on 5 December 1894 in Coorg, British India (Present day Karnataka), his spouse’s name is Yashodhara Dasappa and he had 3 children from her, 2 sons and 1 daughter. He was selected as a member of parliament in the Lok Sabha election of 1957 and 1962 under the flag of the Indian National Congress.
S. K. Patil
Under the cabinet of Lal Bahadur Shastri and Indira Gandhi, S. K. Patil was raised to the power of the Railway Minister who held the railway ministry for 2 years and 276 days from 9 June 1964 to 12 March 1967. Born on 14 August 1898 in the Bombay Presidency, He was an accomplished reporter, philosopher, and speaker as well as a seasoned civil rights activist. He was referred to as “the uncrowned monarch of Bombay” and was three times elected mayor of Bombay. In his early life, he moved to Bombay to work in the legal firm of lawyer Velingkar after completing his legal studies in Poona. While Bombay was indeed a component of only one Bombay State, he acted as the city’s representative in parliament. Under the administrations of Jawaharlal Nehru, Lal Bahadur Shashtri, and Indira Gandhi, he functioned as a union minister. In the 4th Lok Sabha election in 1967, he faced defeat from the south Mumbai seat against his opponent George Fernandes. Patil advocated that Bombay be incorporated as an independent entity during the Lok Sabha proceedings on the States Reorganisation Joint statement on November 15, 1955, praising its multicultural nature. Nevertheless, the province of Bombay (today known as Mumbai) came out to be the capital of Maharashtra after the territory of Bombay was divided into the modern states of Gujarat and Maharashtra in 1960.
C. M. Poonacha
Under the government of Indira Gandhi, C. M. Poonacha was appointed as the 8th Railway Minister of India and he served the nation as a railway minister for 1 year and 338 days from 13 March 1967 to 14 February 1969. Born on 26 September 1910 in Attur, Coorg Province, he was a prominent freedom fighter and a politician who served Coorg as a Chief Minister. He also held the position of minister in Mysore state and served Madhya Pradesh and Orissa as a governor. He sat on the chair of MP in both Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha. When the Salt Satyagraha was running in 1932 and 1933, he received two jail sentences during the Independence Struggle. In addition, he was raised to the power of President of the Coorg District Board in 1941 and was appointed to the Coorg Legislative Council in 1945. He oversaw the Federal Minister for Railways and the Department for Steel and Heavy Engineering while he functioned as an MP for the Mangalore Lok Sabha seat.
Ram Subhag Singh
Under the cabinet ministry of Indira Gandhi, Ram Subhag Singh was raised to the power of the 9th Railway Minister of India and he handled the administration of the railway ministry for 263 days from 14 February 1969 to 4 November 1969. Born on 7 July 1917 in Bhojpur district in Bihar, he got his higher secondary education from Kashi Vidyapeeth and then entered Missouri School of Journalism for getting a Ph.D. in Journalism. He was an active member of the Quit India Movement along with Mahatma Gandhi, and a close friend of Jawaharlal Nehru. In the first Lok Sabha election in 1952, Singh stood from the Sasaram seat under the flag of INC and became a member of parliament. In India’s Bihar state, he represented Bikramganj and Buxar in the third and fourth Lok Sabhas, consecutively, from 1962 to 1967. Apart from being Railway Minister, he also handled union ministries Communications and Information Technology, and Social Security & Cottage Industries.
Panampilly Govinda Menon
Under the government of Indira Gandhi, Panampilly Govinda Menon was elected as the 10th Railway Minister of India and he controlled the ministry of the railway for 106 days from 4 November 1969 to 18 February 1970. Born on 1 October 1906 in Kakkad village of Kerala, he completed his graduation from St Thomas College. He proceeded to thrive in many areas and consistently won university contests in a variety of events including English speechmaking and Malayalam public speaking, among others. He then enrolled at Madras Law College to further his legal education, where he earned a degree in law. He began practicing law as Adv. M. C. Joseph’s understudy before moving his office to Ernakulam. He rose to prominence in the politics of Cochin subsequently in the 1930s, and in 1947 he temporarily held the position of Prime Minister of Cochin state. Between 1969 and 1970, he was appointed Union Minister of Law and Railways, as well as Minister of State for Food and Agriculture. Panampilly Govinda Menon’s birth centennial festivities were launched in 2006 by A. P. J. Abdul Kalam, who was India’s president at the time.
Gulzarilal Nanda
Under the union cabinet of Indira Gandhi, Gulzarilal Nanda was elected as the 11th Railway Minister of India and he controlled the management of the railway ministry for 1 year and 27 days from 18 February 1970 to 17 March 1971. Born on 4 July 1898 in Sialkot, Punjab, he was a prominent politician who received his education while staying in Lahore, Amritsar, Agra, and Allahabad. He was an economist whose major focus was on labor-related problems. In 1997, the Indian Government paid him the highest respect by providing him with the Bharat Ratna Award. He was also sentenced to prison for participating in the Satyagraha movement. After conducting studies on labor issues at Allahabad University, Nanda accepted a position as an economics lecturer at National College in Bombay (Mumbai) in 1921.
He also advocated for a reduction in excessive consumption among both public servants and the broader population due to the country’s escalating dishonesty. Since he believed that the dictatorship rendered the sacrifices made to establish democracy in India useless, he had indeed condemned Indira Gandhi’s Emergency.
K. Hanumanthaiah
Under the government of Indira Gandhi, K. Hanumanthaiah was raised to the power of the 12th Railway Minister of India and he governed the nation as a railway minister for 1 year and 126 days from 18 March 1971 to 22 July 1972. Born on 14 February 1908 in the Mallappanahalli district of Karnataka, he served Karnataka (Then Mysore) as the 2nd Chief Minister. He completed his graduation in Arts from Maharaja College in Mysore and then enrolled at Poona Law College in order to obtain his law degree. Hanumanthaiah embraced the liberation fight and was involved in the then-Mysore Congress thanks to Tandon and Gandhi’s influence. He was detained in prison more than seven times during the revolution. At the Mysore Assembly in 1948, he was overwhelmingly chosen to serve as the Parliamentary Party arm of the Congress Party chairman. He provided feedback about decentralization while serving on the Committee for the Development of a Model Constitution for the Indian States. From 1962 through 1977, he was repeatedly elected to the House of Representatives to represent Bangalore City. During this time, he also served as a minister in the Union cabinet, where he oversaw a variety of responsibilities including railroads and industries.
T. A. Pai
Under the cabinet of Indira Gandhi, T. A. Pai was elected as the 13th Railway Minister of India and he served the nation as a railway minister for 364 days in two terms between 1972 and 1980. In his second term, he rose to the power of the Railway Minister under the government of Charan Singh and controlled the ministry of the railway for 168 days from 30 July 1979 to 14 January 1980. Born on 17 January 1922, he was a successful banker who contributed a significant role in the uprising of Syndicate Bank and also laid the foundation of T. A. Pai Management Institute. In addition, he also holds the record of serving the Indian Institute of Management, Bangalore as its first Chairperson. In 1972, he was picked to act as the Union Minister for Railways after being voted to the Rajya Sabha. He was assigned oversight of the recently founded Ministry of Heavy Industries in 1973 and later received an increased burden for the Ministry of Steel and Mines.
Lalit Narayan Mishra
Under the government of Indira Gandhi, Lalit Narayan Mishra was appointed as the 14th Railway Minister of India and he served the nation as a railway minister for 1 year and 331 days from 5 February 1973 to 2 January 1975. Born on 2 February 1923 in the Supaul District of Bihar, he came from a Maithili Brahmin family and completed his Master of Arts from Patna University. He made his political debut by entering the Indian National Congress and then was elected as MP in the 1st, 2nd, and 5th Lok Sabha elections. In his capacity as Minister of Foreign Trade, he saw Dr. Manmohan Singh’s ability and employed him as a personal counselor at the Ministry of International Trade. On January 2, 1975, he traveled to Samastipur in his role as Minister of Railways to formally launch the wide-scale railroad between Samastipur and Darbhanga. On the podium, a bomb exploded, gravely hurting him. He was sent to the Danapur Railway Hospital where he passed away the next day.
Kamalapati Tripathi
Under the leadership of Indira Gandhi, Kamalapati Tripathi was appointed as the 15th Chief Minister of India and he handled the ministry of the railway for 3 years and 43 days in two terms between 11 February 1975 and 12 November 1980. Born on 3 September 1905 in Benares, he belonged to a Saryupareen Brahmin. He was not only an Indian politician but also an author, journalist, and freedom warrior. He remained in the post of Deputy Chief Minister of UP and then became Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh. He was an active participant in the non-cooperation movement and civil disobedience movement and because of this, he was sent to prison many times. Some of his remarkable achievements in the field of railways include the inauguration of the railway network between Telapur-Patanchera and the opening of the Diesel Loco Shed in Pune.
Madhu Dandavate
Under the national cabinet of Morarji Desai, Madhu Dandavate was appointed as the 16th Railway Minister of India who managed the railway ministry for 2 years and 124 days from 26 March 1977 to 28 July 1979. Born on 21 January 1924 in Ahmednagar, he came from a Marathi Brahmin family and earned his master’s degree in Physics from the Royal Institute of Science, Bombay. Apart from being Railway Minister, he also performed as a Finance Minister under the cabinet of V P Singh. He was elected to the Indian parliament in 1971 and served as a member of parliament for Rajapur, Maharashtra, from 1971 to 1991. He was also imprisoned for his protests against the Emergency. He implemented a variety of reforms while sitting as the Railway Minister from 1977 to 1979, more famously giving second-class travelers better cushy cushioned seating, a move that “aided Hundreds of millions of individuals.”
Kedar Pandey
Under the government of Indira Gandhi, Kedar Pandey was elected as the 17th Railway Minister of India and he served the nation as a railway minister for 1 year and 63 days from 12 November 1980 to 14 January 1982. Born on 14 June 1920 in Taulaha Village, he earned his M.Sc and LL.B from Banaras Hindu University. He was not only a freedom fighter but also a prominent leader of the Indian National Congress who served Bihar as a Chief Minister in 1972. He ran for and secured the Bihar Vidhan Sabha’s Bagaha legislative seat in the first national elections, which were conducted in 1957. From 1957 and 1962, he handled deputy ministerial positions, including those of home affairs, law, agriculture, and electricity. In the Nautan seat, he was once again voted to the Bihar Vidhan Sabha, where he served from 1967 to 1977, carrying cabinet posts including agricultural and industrial affairs. From September 27, 1973, to April 11, 1975, he worked as Bihar’s Health Minister in the Abdul Gafoor administration.
Prakash Chandra Sethi
Under the national cabinet of Indira Gandhi, Prakash Chandra Sethi was elected as the 18th Railway Minister of India and he served the nation while remaining at the same designation for 230 days from 15 January 1982 to 2 September 1982. Born on 19 October 1919 in Jhalrapatan, Jhalawar State, he held the position of Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh two times in his political career. From an ethical perspective, he has always valued individuals notably Mahesh Dutt Mishra, Guru Radha Kishan, Shankar Dayal Sharma, and Ravi Shankar Shukla. Despite being so powerful, he rarely pushed anyone to use their position. While nothing is known regarding his career as a politician, he belonged to the selflessness mentality and was approachable to the general population. The residents of Indore and the country held PC Sethi, as he was more often known, in high regard for his contributions to society.
A. B. A. Ghani Khan Choudhury
Under the government of Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi, A. B. A. Ghani Khan Choudhury was appointed as the 19th Railway Minister of India who held the ministry of railways for 2 years and 120 days from 2 September 1982 to 31 December 1984. Born on 1 November 1927 in West Bengal, Ghani Khan Choudhury was elected to serve in the West Bengal state legislative assembly as an MLA in 1957 for the first time. He later retained that position in 1962, 1967, 1971, and 1972. He was initially chosen from Malda to serve in the 7th Lok Sabha in 1980, and he was re-elected to the same position in 1984, 1989, 1991, 1996, 1998, 1999, and 2004. His main achievement as railway minister in the Indira and Rajiv governments was the establishment of the Malda Town railway station as well as the installation of the Kolkata Metro Railway and Circular Railways in the Kolkata metropolitan area.
Bansi Lal
Under the national cabinet of Rajiv Gandhi, Bansi Lal was chosen to serve as the 20th Railway Minister of India and he held the same position for 1 year and 175 days from 31 December 1984 to 24 June 1986. Born on 26 August 1927 in Golagarh village of Punjab, he was related to the Jat community and completed his graduation in Arts, then earned his Law degree from the Punjab University Law College in Jalandhar. In addition, he had quite a short tenure as a Minister without any ministry in the Union cabinet in 1975. He also functioned as India’s Defense Minister from December 1975 to March 1977. After cutting ties with the Indian National Congress in 1996, he launched the Haryana Vikas Party. He was restored back to Congress in 2004 and contributed to its victory in the 2005 Assembly elections.
Mohsina Kidwai
Under the government of Rajiv Gandhi, Mohsina Kidwai was elected as the 21st Railway Minister of India and he remained at the same designation for 119 days from 24 June 1986 to 21 October 1986. Born on 1 January 1932 in Barabanki, Uttar Pradesh, she comes from the India National Congress and currently serves as a representative of Chhattisgarh in Rajya Sabha. Mohsina Kidwai has served in a variety of cabinet positions in the governments of India and Uttar Pradesh. Kidwai has operated in a number of executive capacities inside the Congress party, most notably as the AICC’s General Secretary. Kidwai is well noted for being close to Sonia Gandhi, the head of the Congress Party. She also functions as the project coordinator of the Assamese and Punjabi Ideology Implementation Committees and is a participant of the Congress Working Committee.
Madhavrao Scindia
Under the national cabinet of Rajiv Gandhi, Madhawrao Scindia was raised to the power of Railway Minister and he served the nation as a railway minister for 3 years and 41 days from 22 October 1986 to 2 December 1989. Born on 10 March 1945 in Gwalior, he came from a Royal family of Gwalior and his father was King Jivajirao Scindia. He completed his education at Scindia School in Gwalior before continuing his higher education at Winchester College and New College in Oxford. Scindia entered politics after his homecoming from the UK, continuing the political future left by his mom Vijaya Raje Scindia. On a Bharatiya Jana Sangh ticket, he was voted to the Lok Sabha in 1971 from the Guna seat. When the Emergency was imposed by Indira Gandhi, Scindia kept himself away from all these issues and ran away to the UK. On his return, he gave up Bhartiya Jan Sangh and stood as an independent candidate from the Guna seat and achieved victory for the second time. He later joined Indian National Congress and after some years in 1996 left it, and then rejoined.
George Fernandes
Under the national cabinet of V. P. Singh, George Fernandes was appointed as the 23rd Railway Minister of India and he served the nation as a railway minister for 343 days from 2 December 1989 to 10 November 1990. Born on 3 June 1930 in Mangalore, he was a multi talented personality as a trade unionist, statesman, and journalist. He also served as the 22nd defense minister of India. He laid the foundation of the Samata Party and also played a major role in the political assignments of the Janata Dal. Beginning in Bombay (modern-day Mumbai) in 1967 and serving in the Lok Sabha till 2009, he mostly represented Bihar seats. Throughout his time as railway minister from 1989 to 1990, he was the strongest factor behind the Konkan Railway project. As India and Pakistan fought in the Kargil War and India launched its nuclear tests at Pokhran, he stood as the defense minister. Being a seasoned socialist, Fernandes has survived a number of controversies, such as the Tehelka incident and the Barak Missile Affair.
Janeshwar Mishra
Under the national cabinet of Chandra Shekhar, Janeshwar Mishra was selected as the 24th Railway Minister of India and he held the position for 212 days from 21 November 1990 to 21 June 1991. Born on 5 August 1933 in Ballia, he was a BA and LLB holder and came from the Samajwadi Party. Because of his dedication to socialist ideals and in honor of Ram Manohar Lohia, he was nicknamed Chhote Lohia. He functioned as a union minister in the administrations of I K Gujral, Chaudhary Charan Singh, Chandrashekhar, V P Singh, Morarji Desai, and Chandrashekhar. Moreover, he had portfolios for power, shipping and transport, telecommunications, railroads, water supplies, pharmaceuticals, and fertilizers, as well as petroleum.
C. K. Jaffer Sharief
Under the national cabinet of P. V. Narasimha Rao, C. K. Jaffer Sharief was appointed as the 25th Railway Minister of India and he served the nation as a railway minister for 4 years and 118 days from 21 June 1991 to 17 October 1995. Born on 3 November 1933 in Mysore, he was a prominent leader of the Indian National Congress, and while remaining at the post of Railway Minister, he played a key role in the state’s railroads converting all or the majority of its various dimensions of tracks to wide gauges, conserving the railways a significant amount of money. Sharief was absolved of accusations by the Supreme Court in 2012 pertaining to money spent on a London visit for hospital care. The court determined that Sharief’s decision to bring along a number of government agencies was lawful. Inquiries of fraud were made against him while he was the minister of transportation.
Ram Vilas Paswan
Ram Vilas Paswan, a leader of the Janata Dal, was appointed as the 26th Railway Minister of India under the national cabinet of H. D. Deve Gowda and I. K. Gujral. He worked as a Railway Minister for a period of 1 year and 291 days from 1 June 1996 to 19 March 1998. Born on 5 July 1946 in Bihar, he belonged to a Dalit family. He graduated in Law from Kosi College, Khagaria, and then went on to Patna University to earn his M.Sc. He also performed the role of a DSP in the Police Department of Bihar in 1969. He also worked as a cabinet minister of Modi’s government in the sector of Consumer Affairs, Food, and Public Distribution. He made his political debut by entering the Samyukta Socialist Party and then in 1969, he became a Member of the Bihar Legislative Assembly. In 2021, he received the Padma Bhushan, the third-highest citizen honor in India, posthumously. He was regarded as the Indian political meteorologist and held ministerial roles in seven different regimes.
Nitish Kumar
Under the government of Atal Bihari Vajpayee, Nitish Kumar was raised to the power of the 27th Railway Minister and he controlled the ministry for 4 years and 202 days in two terms from 19 March 1998 to 5 August 1999. Born on 1 March 1951 in Bakhtiarpur, Bihar, he went on to Bihar College of Engineering to earn a degree in Electrical Engineering and after the completion of his B.E, he worked in the Bihar State Electricity Board. When he made his political debut, he was very close to Ram Manohar Lohia, S. N. Sinha, Karpuri Thakur, and V. P. Singh. He was friends with Ram Manohar Lohia, S. N. Sinha, Karpuri Thakur, and V. P. Singh throughout his initial political career. From 1974 to 1977, Kumar decided to take part in Jayaprakash Narayan’s agitation before joining Satyendra Narain Sinha’s Janata party. In 1985, Kumar challenged Harnaut for the state assembly seat and for the inaugural time defeated him. Lalu Prasad Yadav was first supported by Kumar when he served as the opposition party’s leader in the Bihar Assembly in 1989, but after securing his maiden Member of Parliament seat from Barh in 1996, Kumar eventually turned his allegiance to the BJP. During his brief tenure as railway minister, he established a variety of noteworthy innovations, including an internet ticket purchasing option in 2002, the installation of a massive number of train ticket booths, and the tatkal system for immediate booking.
Ram Naik
Under the government of Atal Bihari Vajpayee, Ram Naik was appointed as the 28th Railway Minister of India and he held the ministry for a short duration of 69 days from 6 August 1999 to 13 October 1999. Born on 16 April 1934 in Sangli, Maharashtra, he is a senior leader of the BJP who has functioned as a governor of UP. He also performed as a minister of Oil and Natural Gas when Atal Bihari Vajpayee was the Prime Minister in 1999. He contributed a major effort in the establishment of the Members of Parliament Local Area Development Scheme. In 1964, he made his political debut by joining the Bharatiya Jana Sangh and helping to organize a group of Mumbai train passengers.
Mamata Banerjee
Mamata Banerjee, a leader from the TMC, was chosen for the position of the Railway Minister of India for two terms from 13 October 1999 to 19 May 2011. She became Railway Minister for the first time under the government of Atal Bihari Vajpayee for 1 year and 153 days, then when Mammohan Singh became the Prime Minister of India, she was again raised to the power of Railway Minister for 1 year and 362 days in the second term. Born on 5 January 1955 in West Bengal, she completed her bachelor’s degree in History subject from Jogamaya Devi College, then she went on to study Islamic Study and got a master’s degree from the University of Calcutta. Since May 20, 2011, she has been in the position of chief minister of West Bengal, becoming the first woman to do so. After exiting the Indian National Congress, she launched the All India Trinamool Congress (AITC or TMC) in 1998, serving as its inaugural chairman.
She is the sole female politician to have spent two sessions as railway minister. She has also functioned in the Indian government’s ministry as the minister of mining, human resources development, youth affairs and sports, and women and child advancement.
Lalu Prasad Yadav
Lalu Prasad Yadav, a prominent politician of the Rashtriya Janata Dal, was appointed as the 30th Railway Minister of India and he held that position for 5 years from 22 May 2004 to 22 May 2009. Born on 11 June 1948 in a Phulwariya village in Bihar, he joined Patna University and earned his bachelor’s degree in Law and then master’s degree in Political Science from there. Lalu made his political debut by entering student politics at Patna University and eventually turned out to be the president of it. He has served as the Chief Minister of Bihar, and also held the position of member of parliament in the Lok Sabha.
In his role as railway minister, Lalu Yadav did not alter customer tariffs and concentrated instead on finding new income streams for the railroads. To increase jobs in rural regions, he outlawed the utilization of disposable cups when serving tea at train stops and substituted Kulhars. The Indian Railways was a losing enterprise when he seized command, but under his direction, it generated a net annual profit of $38,000 crore.
Dinesh Trivedi
Under the leadership of Manmohan Singh, Dinesh Trivedi was appointed as the 31st Railway Minister of India and held control of the railway ministry for 251 days from 12 July 2011 to 19 March 2012. Born on 4 June 1950 in New Delhi, he completed his graduate degree in commerce from St. Xavier’s College, Calcutta and later went on to The University of Texas at Austin to earn an MBA. He came from TMC political party and has worked in both Rajya Sabha and Lok Sabha as a member of parliament in the past. Trivedi was acknowledged during a ceremony in Parliament’s main chamber for receiving the Outstanding Parliamentarian Award for the 2016–2017 session. Together with leading other parliamentary discussion boards, he is the president of the Indo-European Union Parliamentary Forum (IEUPF). Trivedi announced his resignation from the Trinamool Congress and his decision to vacate his Rajya Sabha membership on February 12, 2021.
Mukul Roy
Under the government of Manmohan Singh, Mukul Roy was elected as the 32nd Railway Minister of India and he held the ministry of the railway for 186 days from 20 March 2012 to 22 September 2012. Born on 17 April 1954 in a district of West Bengal, he earned his graduate degree in Science from Calcutta University and then went on to Madurai Kamaraj University in order to pursue MBA in public administration. Before the establishment of TMC, he was a politician of the Indian National Congress, he also switched to BJP between 2017 to 2021 and eventually returned to TMC. Roy was given extra responsibility for the Ministry of Railways after Mamata Banerjee stepped down as the Railway Minister to take over as Chief Minister of West Bengal. Mamata demonstrated her wish for her group to keep the Ministry of Railways and individually advised Roy to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.
C. P. Joshi
Under the national cabinet of Manmohan Singh, C. P. Joshi was elected as the 33rd Chief Minister of India and he held the office of the railway ministry for 68 days in two terms between 2012 and 2013. Born on 29 July 1950 in Nathdwara, Rajasthan, he completed his graduation in Law from the University College of Social Sciences & Humanities in Udaipur and then received his master’s degree and Ph.D. in Psychology. Joshi’s societal contributions were appreciated by Mohan Lal Sukhadia, the man who gave rise to contemporary Mewar, who also pushed him to get involved in politics. Currently, he is holding the position of Speaker of the Rajasthan Legislative Assembly. He formerly functioned as the Bhilwara representative in the 15th Lok Sabha of India. Despite having never been a member of the Lok Sabha, he was among the first 19 officials of India’s cabinet reshuffle to be brought in on May 22, 2009. In the Second Manmohan Singh cabinet, Joshi functioned as a federal minister in charge of important departments including transportation and infrastructure, agricultural production, and gram sabha.
Pawan Kumar Bansal
Pawan Kumar Bansal, a politician from the Indian National Congress, was raised to the power of th 34th Railway Minister under the national cabinet of Manmohan Singh. He held the position of Railway Minister for 194 days from 29 October 2012 to 10 May 2013. Born on 16 July 1948 in Punjab, he earned his graduate degree in Science from a government college in Chandigarh and then went on to Panjab University, Chandigarh for getting his LLB. Bansal has become an MP for Chandigarh in the 10th, 13th, 14th, and 15th Lok Sabhas. In the Second Manmohan Singh administration, he was in charge of the Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs and the Minister of Water Supplies. In the first Manmohan Singh Ministry, he also became the Secretary of State for Finance and Parliamentary Affairs. He was appointed Railway Minister, the first member of his group to assume that role since 1996. He quickly authorized a hike in tariffs, which had remained constant for the previous 15 years, to enable the Indian Railways to be lucrative.
Mallikarjun Kharge
Under the national cabinet of Manmohan Singh, Mallikarjun Kharge was appointed as the 35th Railway Minister of India and he controlled the ministry for 343 days from 17 June 2013 to 26 May 2014. Born on 21 July 1942 in Varawatti, Karnataka, he received his graduate degree in Arts from a government college in Gulbarga and then joined Seth Shankarlal Lahoti Law College in order to get his Law degree. Currently, he is serving as the President of the Indian National Congress and MP in Rajya Sabha representing Karnataka. After 24 years, he was elected party president, becoming the first non-member of the Nehru-Gandhi family to hold the position.
D. V. Sadananda Gowda
Under the national cabinet of Narendra Modi, D. V. Sadananda Gowda was appointed as the 36th Railway Minister of India and he held the office of the railway ministry for 167 days from 26 May 2014 to 9 November 2014. Born on 18 March 1953 in Mandekolu village of Sulya taluk in Karnataka, he belongs to a family of Tulu Gowda and he is a science graduate who completed his law degree from Udupi’s Vaikunta Baliga College of Law. In addition to serving in the railway ministry, he also held the position of federal minister of chemicals and fertilizers during the second Modi administration. He also was the minister in charge of Statistics and Plan Implementation of India in the First Modi cabinet. He also served the state of Karnataka as the 20th Chief Minister.
Suresh Prabhu
Under the national cabinet of Narendra Modi, Suresh Prabhu was raised to the power of the 37th Railway Minister of India and he controlled the ministry for 2 years and 298 days from 9 November 2014 to 3 September 2017. Born on 11 July 1953 in Bombay, he graduated in Commerce with honors from M. L. Dahanukar College and also holds a Law degree. Suresh Prabhu was a member of the Shiv Sena political party but later broke up with Shiv Sena and joined Bharatiya Janata Party in 2014. He developed one of the most affordable transportation insurance coverage in the history of the globe during his tenure as a minister of railways, and it is now completely free. ‘VIKALP’, Alternative Train Accommodation System (ATAS) introduced with the purpose to give guaranteed accommodation to waitlisted travelers. He introduced free Wi-Fi at more than 140 stations along with an integrated mobile app for all services linked to the railway. He did a lot of actions on behalf of Divyangs: Braille signage, accessible restrooms, an E-wheelchair, battery-powered vehicles, and a rule allowing Divyangs to take advantage of a discount even when traveling alone Janani Sewa was established to help expectant moms.
Piyush Goyal
Under the government of Narendra Modi, Piyush Goyal was appointed as the 28th Railway Minister of India and he held the position of railway minister for 3 years and 307 days from 3 September 2017 to 7 July 2021. Born on 13 June 1964 in Mumbai, he belonged to a political family in which his mother served as a BJP MLA in Maharashtra and his father was a union minister in the cabinet of Atal Bihari Vajpayee. During his tenure as a railway minister, he created “Plan Bee,” a strategy to keep elephants away from the rail tracks. Elephants are protected against train accidents by installing gadgets that mimic the buzzing sound of bees near railroad tracks. Between Delhi and Varanasi, he introduced the first domestic semi-high-speed railway, the Vande Bharata Express. In an effort to provide travelers a chance to take in the landscape of the high terrains, Goyal launched Vista-Dome carriages throughout all the mountain train regions of the nation.
Ashwini Vaishnaw
Under the national cabinet of Narendra Modi, Ashwini Vaishnaw was elected as the 39th Railway Minister of India and currently, he is serving the nation as a railway minister. Born on 18 July 1970 in Rajasthan, he earned a gold medal in electronic and communications engineering when he studied at MBM Engineering College (JNVU) Jodhpur in 1991. After earning his M.Tech from IIT Kanpur, he was selected for the Indian Administrative Services in 1994 with an all-India rank of 27. Vaishnaw presently serves as the Rajya Sabha representative for the state of Odisha in the Indian Parliament. Members of the Biju Janata Dal from Odisha assisted him in winning the Rajya Sabha election without resistance.