History Railway Ministers Of India

Railway Ministers of India – RRB Exam Capsule

(Category: History / Indian Railways GK)

Weightage in RRB exams: 1–2 questions every year in NTPC, Group-D, ALP & Technician categories.
Type of Q: “First Railway Minister”, “Longest tenure”, “Minister during 1969 rail strike”, “State-wise origin”, etc.

1. Constitutional Position & Quick Facts

Point Fact
Railway Budget merger with Union Budget 2017-18 (w.e.f. 1-4-2017)
First Railway Minister (after Independence) John Mathai (15-8-1947)
First Indian Railway Minister Asaf Ali (2-9-1946 – 14-8-1947) in the Interim Govt.
Railway Minister becomes ex-officio head of Railway Board (till 2019)
Present Cabinet rank status Cabinet Minister
Headquarters of Rail Bhawan New Delhi

2. Chronological List of Railway Ministers (1947-2024)

Sl. Name Tenure State Party Key events / facts
1 John Mathai 15-08-1947 – 22-09-1948 Kerala INC Presented first rail budget of free India
2 N. Gopalaswami Ayyangar 22-09-1948 – 13-05-1952 TN INC First railway budget in Parliament
3 Lal Bahadur Shastri 13-05-1952 – 07-12-1956 UP INC Resigned owning Ariyalur accident moral responsibility
4 Jagjivan Ram 07-12-1956 – 01-09-1963 Bihar INC Longest continuous tenure (6 yr 267 d)
5 S. K. Patil 01-09-1963 – 09-06-1964 MH INC Introduced Rajdhani concept
6 H. C. Dasappa 09-06-1964 – 13-03-1967 KA INC —
7 C. M. Poonacha 13-03-1967 – 14-02-1969 KA INC —
8 Ram Subhag Singh 14-02-1969 – 04-11-1969 Bihar INC First from Bihar; tenure ended with 1969 strike
9 Panampilly Govinda Menon 04-11-1969 – 18-03-1971 KL INC Care-taker during strike period
10 Kengal Hanumanthaiah 18-03-1971 – 22-07-1972 KA INC —
11 T. A. Pai 23-07-1972 – 24-03-1977 KL INC Introduced computerised reservation (1972)
12 Prof. Madhu Dandavate 26-03-1977 – 15-07-1979 MH Janata Party First non-Congress RM; implemented 1977 Pay Commission
13 T. A. Pai (2nd term) 15-07-1979 – 28-07-1979 KL INC (U) Shortest 13-day stint
14 Kamalapati Tripathi 30-07-1979 – 14-01-1980 UP INC (U) —
15 C. M. Stephen 14-01-1980 – 19-01-1982 KL INC —
16 Prakash Chandra Sethi 19-01-1982 – 02-09-1982 MP INC —
17 A. B. A. Ghani Khan Choudhury 02-09-1982 – 31-12-1984 WB INC Introduced Kolkata Metro maiden run (1984)
18 Bansi Lal 31-12-1984 – 24-06-1986 HR INC —
19 Mohsina Kidwai 24-06-1986 – 22-10-1986 UP INC First woman Railway Minister
20 Madhavrao Scindia 22-10-1986 – 01-12-1989 MP INC Palace on Wheels revived
21 George Fernandes 02-12-1989 – 10-11-1990 BR JD Implemented IVRS, Railway strike of 1974 fame
22 Janeshwar Mishra 21-11-1990 – 21-06-1991 UP Samajwadi Janata Party —
23 C. K. Jaffer Sharief 21-06-1991 – 16-05-1996 KA INC First to present 5 continuous Rail budgets
24 Suresh Prabhu 09-11-2014 – 03-09-2017 MH BJP Merger with Union budget, Social-media initiatives
25 Piyush Goyal 03-09-2017 – 09-06-2019 MH BJP 100% electrification target announced
26 Ashwini Vaishnaw 07-07-2021 – Incumbent RJ BJP First RM with IIT + IAS background; Vande Bharat push

Note: From 2017, Railway Budget merged; ministers now handle Rail portfolio without separate budget speech.

3. Statistics & Records

Record Name Number/Info
Longest total tenure Jagjivan Ram 10 yr 259 d (two terms)
Longest continuous tenure Jagjivan Ram 6 yr 267 d (1956-63)
Shortest tenure T. A. Pai (1979) 13 days
First woman RM Mohsina Kidwai 1986
First Sikh RM Sardar Buta Singh 1996-98
First RM to present 6 rail budgets C. K. Jaffer Sharief 1991-96
Only RM who later became President of India Pranab Mukherjee RM for 11 days (1995)
RM during 1969 20-day strike Panampilly Govinda Menon —
RM during 1974 nationwide strike Prof. Madhu Dandavate —
RM during 1987 Machhalipatnam fire George Fernandes —
RM who resigned on moral grounds Lal Bahadur Shastri 1956 (Ariyalur accident)

4. State-wise Tally (1947-2024)

State No. of Ministers
Uttar Pradesh 7
Maharashtra 5
Karnataka 5
Kerala 5
Bihar 4
West Bengal 2
Madhya Pradesh 2
Rajasthan 1 (current)
Haryana 1
Tamil Nadu 1

5. Exam-Centric Tables

A. Railway Ministers who presented maximum number of Railway Budgets

Name Budgets Period
C. K. Jaffer Sharief 6 1991-92 to 1996-97
Jagjivan Ram 5 1957-58 to 1962-63
Lal Bahadur Shastri 4 1953-54 to 1956-57
Suresh Prabhu 3 2015-16 to 2017-18 (last separate budget)
Train / Project Minister Year
Rajdhani Express ( maiden ) S. K. Patil 1969 (NDLS-HWH)
Shatabdi Express Madhavrao Scindia 1988 (NDLS-JHS)
Palace on Wheels revival Madhavrao Scindia 1986
Kolkata Metro first run A. B. A. Ghani Khan Choudhury 24-10-1984
Gatimaan Express (1st 160 km/h) Suresh Prabhu 2016
Vande Bharat Express Piyush Goyal / Ashwini Vaishnaw 2019 / 2022

6. Frequently Asked Points (Memory Code)

  1. First RM of free India – John Mathai
  2. First Indian RM (Interim govt.) – Asaf Ali
  3. Longest tenure – Jagjivan Ram
  4. Only President who was RM – Pranab Mukherjee (11 days)
  5. First resignation on accident – Lal Bahadur Shastri (Ariyalur)
  6. Railway budget merger year – 2017 (presented by Suresh Prabhu, implemented under Arun Jaitley)
  7. First RM with IIT background – Ashwini Vaishnaw (IIT-Kanpur)
  8. RM during 1974 strike – Prof. Madhu Dandavate
  9. First woman RM – Mohsina Kidwai (1986)
  10. Last separate Railway Budget – 2016-17 (Suresh Prabhu, 25-2-2016)

7. 15 MCQs for RRB NTPC / Group-D / ALP

Instructions: Choose the best option. Answers given below.

  1. Who was the first Railway Minister of independent India?
    A) Asaf Ali B) John Mathai C) Lal Bahadur Shastri D) Jagjivan Ram

  2. The Railway Budget was merged with Union Budget in the financial year:
    A) 2014-15 B) 2016-17 C) 2017-18 D) 2018-19

  3. Who holds the record for the longest continuous tenure as Railway Minister?
    A) C. K. Jaffer Sharief B) Lal Bahadur Shastri C) Jagjivan Ram D) Prof. Madhu Dandavate

  4. The first woman Railway Minister of India was:
    A) Mamata Banerjee B) Mohsina Kidwai C) Sushma Swaraj D) Indira Gandhi

  5. Which Railway Minister introduced the Rajdhani Express?
    A) S. K. Patil B) Madhavrao Scindia C) George Fernandes D) Suresh Prabhu

  6. Who was the Railway Minister when the first Vande Bharat Express was flagged off?
    A) Piyush Goyal B) Ashwini Vaishnaw C) Suresh Prabhu D) Nitish Kumar

  7. The first Minister to present six consecutive Railway Budgets:
    A) Jagjivan Ram B) C. K. Jaffer Sharief C) Prof. Madhu Dandavate D) Lal Bahadur Shastri

  8. Who resigned on moral grounds after the Ariyalur train accident?
    A) Panampilly Govinda Menon B) Lal Bahadur Shastri C) John Mathai D) N. Gopalaswami Ayyangar

  9. The first Kolkata Metro run took place during the tenure of:
    A) Bansi Lal B) A. B. A. Ghani Khan Choudhury C) George Fernandes D) C. M. Stephen

  10. Who among the following served as Railway Minister for only 13 days?
    A) T. A. Pai B) Pranab Mukherjee C) Janeshwar Mishra D) Ram Subhag Singh

  11. The 1969 major railway strike occurred when ______ was the Railway Minister.
    A) Ram Subhag Singh B) Panampilly Govinda Menon C) Prof. Madhu Dandavate D) George Fernandes

  12. Which present-day state has given the maximum number of Railway Ministers?
    A) Maharashtra B) Uttar Pradesh C) Kerala D) Karnataka

  13. Who was at the helm of Railways when the Shatabdi Express was introduced?
    A) Madhavrao Scindia B) Suresh Prabhu C) Prof. Madhu Dandavate D) C. K. Jaffer Sharief

  14. The Minister who later became President of India after holding the Railway portfolio briefly:
    A) Pranab Mukherjee B) Neelam Sanjiva Reddy C) V. V. Giri D) Ram Nath Kovind

  15. Current (as of 2024) Railway Minister of India is:
    A) Piyush Goyal B) Ashwini Vaishnaw C) Nitin Gadkari D) Rajnath Singh

Question:01 Which Minister actually flagged off India’s first private train in 2026?

A) Prime Minister Narendra Modi

B) Railway Minister Piyush Goyal

C) Defence Minister Rajnath Singh

D) Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman

Show Answer

Correct Answer: A

Explanation: Although Piyush Goyal was the Railway Minister, the inaugural run was ceremonially flagged off by Prime Minister Modi.

8. Rapid-Revision Tips

  • J-J-J: Jagjivan Ram = Jumbo tenure.
  • 6-5-4: Jaffer Sharief (6), Jagjivan Ram (5), Shastri (4) budgets.
  • Merger-Man: Suresh Prabhu last rail-budget man.
  • Strike pairs: 1969 – Panampilly; 1974 – Dandavate.
  • First-woman-1986: Mohsina Kidwai.

Last minute: Remember only one Railway Minister became President → Pranab Mukherjee (11 days in 1995).

** End of Material – Best wishes for RRB Exams! **

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