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List of Education Ministers of India: A Complete guide (1947-2023), Current Education Minister and Contact Details

Nikita Parmar

Updated on 21st December, 2023 , 6 min read

The Minister of Education, originally the Minister of Human Resources Development (MHRD) is the head of the Ministry of Education and one of the Government of India's Cabinet Ministers. Dharmendra Pradhan is India's current Education Minister of India. 

New Education Minister of India 2023 Overview

Since India's independence, a lot has changed in the education system. Education Ministers play an important role in the Education Ministry since they are the ones who plan and deal with the demands of the public based on their needs and then give solutions to their issues. Our Education Ministers have always fought to ensure that people have a brighter future. Literacy rates have risen to 75% in the years after independence. 

Who is the Current Education Minister of India 2023?

Current Education Minister of India is Mr. Dharmendra Pradhan.He is a member of the Council of Ministers. Dharmendra Pradhan is an Indian politician who is the Minister of Education and the Minister of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship in the Indian government. He has also served as Steel Minister and Petroleum and Natural Gas Minister. Pradhan was named Cabinet Minister on September 3, 2017, and he now serves as a Member of Parliament for Madhya Pradesh in the Rajya Sabha. He formerly served in the 14th Lok Sabha, once in Bihar and once in Madhya Pradesh. He became an A.B.V.P. activist as an upper secondary student at Talcher College and finally became the president of the Talcher College Student Union. Pradhan began his political career in 1983 as a member of the Akhil Bhartiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP). He was then chosen secretary of the group.

Background Information of Mr. Dharmendra Pradhan:-

Personal Details of Current Education Minister of India

Full Name 

Dharmendra Pradhan

Born Date

26th June 1969

Age

53 years

Place of Birth 

Talcher, Odisha, India

Nationality 

Indian 

Residence(s)

Odisha

Parents

Debendra Pradhan & Basanta Manjari Pradhan 

Spouse(s)

Mridula Pradhan

Children

Occupation

Politician 

Shri Dharmendra Pradhan's Personal and Political Life

Dharmendra Pradhan is the son of Debendra Pradhan, who served as a cabinet member in the Vajpayee administration from 1999 to 2004. He was born on June 26, 1969. During his upper secondary studies at Talcher College, Dharmendra Pradhan became an Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad activist and ultimately became the student union president. He earned his MA in Anthropology from Talcher College in Odisha. Pradhan began his political career as an ABVP volunteer in 1983, subsequently becoming its secretary. He was also elected to the Rajya Sabha representing Bihar and Madhya Pradesh twice.

Education Minister of India

Dharmendra Pradhan also holds the following posts- 

Positions 

Service Period 

Minister of Education

July 2021 to Present

Member of Parliament (Rajya Sabha), MP

April 2018 in BJP to Present

Member of Parliament (Rajya Sabha), Bihar

2012 to 2018

Bharatiya Janata Party All India General Secretary

2010 to present 

Bharatiya Janata Party: National Secretary

2007 to 2010

In-charge Chhattisgarh

2007 to 2010

Member of Parliament (Lok Sabha)

2004 to 2009

National Secretary of ABVP

1995

First Education Minister of India: Abul Kalam Azad

Abul Kalam Azad was Independent India's first Education Minister. Maulana Sayyid Abul Kalam Ghulam Muhiyuddin Ahmed bin Khairuddin Al-Hussaini Azad was his full name. He was an Indian National Congress senior politician, an Indian independence struggle leader, an Islamic theologian, and a writer. The title Maulana means "Our Master," and he wrote under the pen name Azad. His contribution to the formation of India's educational foundation is recognized by the country's commemoration of his birthday as National Education Day. As a journalist, he rose to prominence by producing works critical of the British Raj and campaigning for Indian nationalist movements. Azad was committed to Gandhi's beliefs, including the promotion of Swadeshi (indigenous) products and the cause of Swaraj (Indian self-rule). In 1923, at the age of 35, he became the Indian National Congress's youngest President. 

Click Here: To know more about the First Education Minister of India.

Aims and Objectives of the Education Ministry

Some of the Ministry of Education's primary goals and objectives are as follows-

  1. The major aims of the Ministry are to design the National Education Policy and ensure that it is followed to the word and spirit.
  2. The projected development includes expanding access to education and improving the quality of educational institutions throughout the country, even in locations where people do not have easy access to it.
  3. Disadvantaged people, such as the poor, women, and minorities, receive special attention.
  4. Scholarships, loan subsidies, and other types of financial support should be made available to deserving students from underprivileged communities.
  5. Encourage worldwide educational cooperation, particularly partnership with UNESCO, other governments, and institutions, in order to strengthen the country's educational opportunities.

HRD or Education Minister of India since Independence (1947-2023)

The following is the list of Education Ministers of India since Independence-

Name of Education Ministers of India

Tenure

Maulana Abul Kalam Azad

15th August 1947-22nd January 1958

Dr. K. L. Shrimali (Minister of State)

22nd January 1958-31st August 1963

Shri Humayun Kabir

1st September 1963-21st November 1963

Shri. M. C. Chagla

21st November 1963-13th November 1966

Shri. Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed

14th November 1966-13th March 1967

Dr. Triguna Sen

16th March 1967-14th February 1969

Dr. V. K. R. V. Rao

14th February 1969-18th March 1971

Shri. Siddhartha Shankar Ray

18th March 1971-20th March 1972

Prof. S. Nurul Hasan (as Minister of State)

24th March 1972-24th March 1977

Prof. Pratap Chandra Chunder

26th March 1977-28th July 1979

Dr. Karan Singh

30th July 1979-14th January 1980

Shri. B. Shankaranand

14th January 1980-17th October 1980

Shri. S.B. Chavan

17th October 1980-8th August 1981

Smt. Sheila Kaul (as Minister of State)

10th August 1981-31st December 1984

Shri. K. C. Pant

31st December 1984-25th September 1985

Shri. P.V. Narasimha Rao (as a Prime Minister)

25th September 1985-25th June 1988,

25th December 1994-9th February 1995,

17th January 1996-16th May 1996

Shri. P.Shiv Shankar

25th June 1988-2ndDecember 1989

Shri. V.P. Singh (as Prime Minister)

2nd December 1989-10th November 1990

Shri. Rajmangal Pandey

21st November 1990-21st June 1991

Shri. Arjun Singh

23rd June 1991-24th December 1994,

22nd May 2004-22nd May 2009

Shri. Madhavrao Scindia

10th February 1995-17th January 1996

Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee (as Prime Minister)

16th May 1996-1st June 1996

Shri. S.R. Bommai

5th June 1996-19th March 1998

Dr. Murali Manohar Joshi

19th March 1998-21st May 2004

Shri Kapil Sibal

22nd May 2009-28th October 2012

Shri. M. M. Pallam Raju

29th October 2012-25th May 2014

Smt. Smriti Irani

26th May 2014-5thJuly 2016

Shri. Prakash Javdekar

5th July 2016 (evening)-31 May 2019

Ramesh Pokhriyal

31 May 2019 – 21-June 2021

Dharmendra Pradhan (new education minister of India) 

21 June 2021 – Till Now

Current Ministry of Education in India (2023)

Education has an important and corrective function in balancing the country's socio-economic fabric. Mr. Dharmendra Pradhan will be India's Education Minister in 2023. The Indian education system is regarded as more difficult than the American system since the Indian education system works on every part of the information supplied around the globe for their advancement. There have been 30 Education Ministers up to this point.  

There are two departments in the Ministry of Education of India that contribute to providing students with the finest education possible, they are as follows-

  1. The School Education and Literacy Department.
  2. The higher education department.

This department oversees programs like as Rashtriya Madhyamik Shiksha Abhiyan, Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan, and Nationwide Elementary Education, among others.

Related Articles:

Education Minister of Rajasthan

Education Minister of Haryana

Women Education In India 

Education Minister of Maharashtra

Kerala Ministers

Education Minister of Kerala

Education Minister of Tamil Nadu

Maharashtra Education

Education Minister of Telangana

The Ministry of Higher Education

The department of higher education is primarily responsible for enhancing and providing access to everyone in the country's secondary and post-secondary education systems. The agency has the authority to award funds to academies and universities that it deems deserving. The UGC (University Grants Commission) aims to improve educational quality in higher education institutions and has just two responsibilities: providing finances and coordination, and determining and maintaining standards in the organization. Shri Dharmendra Pradhan is India's current education minister. In 1983, he began his political career as an Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad activist. In India, the Minister of Human Resource Development, or HRD Minister, is referred to as the Honourable Minister of Education. 

Contact Information for Education Ministry of India 

The following table shows the contact details for Education Ministers of India-

Ministers of Education

Contact Information

Shri Dharmendra Pradhan (Hon'ble Education Minister)

+91-11-23782698/23782387

+91-11-23382365 (FAX)

Office of Education Ministers

Dr. Ajay Kumar (PS to Hon'ble Education Minister)

+91-11-23782698 (O)

+91-11-23382365 (Fax)

Ministers of State for Education

Smt. Annapurna Devi (Hon'ble Minister of State for Education)

+91-11-23384073/23386163 (O)

+91-11-23385112 (FAX)

Dr. Subhas Sarkar (Hon'ble Minister of State for Education)

+91-11-23384327/23381302 (O)

+91-11-23782052 (FAX)

Dr. Rajkumar Ranjan Singh (Hon'ble Minister of State for Education)

+91-11-23070739 (O)

Frequently Asked Questions

Who was India's first Education Minister?

Ans. India's first education minister was Maulana Abul Kalam Azad.

Who is the education minister of India in 2022?

Ans. Dharmendra Pradhan is the education minister of India in 2022.

What is the full meaning of MHRD?

Ans. The full name is the MINISTRY OF HUMAN RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT.

Who was India's first Prime Minister?

Ans. India has had 15 prime ministers since 1947. India’s first prime minister was Jawaharlal Nehru.

Who is India's current Prime Minister?

Ans. Shri Narendra Modi is India’s current Prime Minister, serving his second term.

Who is in charge of a ministry?

Ans. A minister is a politician in charge of a certain ministry.

How many women have served as Education Ministers?

Ans. 26 women have served as Education Ministers.

What is the Education Minister’s job, and who elects them?

Ans. The education minister’s responsibility is to give quality education and resources to the populace to help the country flourish. The President of India appoints Education Ministers at the suggestion of the Prime Minister.

Who was the first Education Minister of India?

India’s first Education Minister after independence was Maulana Abul Kalam Azad. Every year on the 11th of November, which is his birthday, is celebrated as 'National Education Day.' He was a renowned advocate, a freedom fighter, a politician, and a journalist.

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