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{{Short description|Union Council of Ministers headed by Jawaharlal Nehru}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2020}}
{{Use Indian English|date=November 2018}}
{{Infobox government cabinet
| cabinet_name = First Jawaharlal Nehru ministry
| cabinet_number = First
| cabinet_type= ministry
| jurisdiction = the [[Dominion of India]] and later the [[Republic of India]]
| flag = Flag of India.svg
| flag_border = true
| incumbent =
| image = The first Cabinet of independent India.jpg
| image_size =
| caption = The cabinet of India on 31 January 1950, along with the newly appointed President [[Rajendra Prasad]].
| date_formed = {{Start date|df=yes|1947|08|15}}
| date_dissolved = {{Start date|df=yes|1952|04|15}}
| government_head_history =
| deputy_government_head = [[Vallabhbhai Patel]] (until 15 December 1950)
|state_head_title = [[List of heads of state of India|Head of State]]
|state_head = [[George VI]] (1947–50) [[Rajendra Prasad]] (1950–52)
|governor_general_title = [[Governor-General of India|Governor-General]]
|governor_general = {{Plainlist|
* [[Louis Mountbatten, 1st Earl Mountbatten of Burma|The Viscount Mountbatten of Burma]] (1947–48)
* [[C. Rajagopalachari|Chakravarti Rajagopalachari]] (1948–50)
}}
|government_head_title = Prime minister
|government_head = [[Jawaharlal Nehru]]
| members_number =37
| former_members_number =
| total_number =
| political_party = {{Color box|{{party color|Indian National Congress}}|border=darkgray}} [[Indian National Congress]]
| legislature_status = [[Majority government|Majority]]
| opposition_cabinet =
| opposition_party = ''None''
| opposition_leader = ''None''
| election = [[1946 Indian Constituent Assembly election]]
| last_election = [[1945 Indian general election]]
| legislature_term = [[Constituent Assembly of India]]
| budget =
| advice_and_consent1 =
| advice_and_consent2 =

| incoming_formation =
| outgoing_formation =
| previous = ''[[Interim Government of India#Cabinet of the Interim Government of India|Interim]]''
| successor = [[Second Nehru ministry]]
}}

After power transformation, on 15 August 1947, [[Jawaharlal Nehru]] assumed office as the first [[Prime Minister of India]] and chose fifteen ministers to form the '''First Nehru ministry'''.

==Background==
The [[Constituent Assembly of India|Constituent Assembly]] was set up while India was still under [[British Raj|British rule]], following negotiations between Indian leaders and members of the [[1946 Cabinet Mission to India]] from the United Kingdom. The [[1946 Indian provincial elections|provincial assembly elections]] had been conducted early in 1946. The Constituent Assembly members were elected to it indirectly by the members of these newly elected provincial assemblies, and initially included representatives for those provinces which came to form part of [[Pakistan]], some of which are now within [[Bangladesh]]. The Constituent Assembly had 299 representatives, including nine women.

The [[Interim Government of India]] was formed on 2 September 1946 from the newly elected Constituent Assembly. The Indian National Congress held a large majority in the Assembly, with 69 percent of all of the seats, while the Muslim League held almost all of the seats reserved in the Assembly for Muslims. There were also some members from smaller parties, such as the [[Scheduled Caste Federation]], the [[Communist Party of India]], and the [[Unionist Party (Punjab)|Unionist Party]]. In June 1947, the delegations from the provinces of [[Sindh]], [[East Bengal]], [[Baluchistan (Chief Commissioners Province)|Baluchistan]], [[Punjab, Pakistan|West Punjab]], and the [[North-West Frontier Province (1901–1955)|North West Frontier Province]] withdrew, to form the [[Constituent Assembly of Pakistan]], meeting in [[Karachi]]. On 15 August 1947, the [[Dominion of India]] and [[Dominion of Pakistan]] became independent nations, and the members of the Constituent Assembly who had not withdrawn to Karachi became [[Parliament of India|India's Parliament]]. Only 28 members of the Muslim League finally joined the Indian Assembly. Later, 93 members were nominated from the [[List of Indian Princely States|princely states]]. The Congress thus secured a majority of 82%

Jawaharlal Nehru took charge as the first [[Prime Minister of India]] on 15 August 1947, and chose 15 other members for his cabinet. Vallabhbhai Patel served as the first [[Deputy Prime Minister of India|Deputy Prime Minister]] until his death on 15 December 1950. [[Lord Mountbatten]], and later [[C. Rajagopalachari]], served as [[Governor-General of India|Governor-General]] until 26 January 1950, when [[Rajendra Prasad]] was elected as the first [[President of India]].<ref name=indiasinceind>{{cite book|last=Krishna|first=Ananth V.|title=India Since Independence: Making Sense Of Indian Politics|year=2011|publisher=Pearson Education India|location=India|isbn=9788131734650|pages=34–36|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=8v7Vr2iQUHkC&pg=PA28|access-date=27 May 2014}}</ref>
<ref name="GR">Ramachandra Guha, [http://www.waterstones.com/waterstonesweb/products/ramachandra+guha/india+after+gandhi/5902941/ "India After Gandhi"], Picador India, 2007. {{ISBN|978-0-330-39610-3}}</ref>

== Cabinet members ==
[[File:Lord Mountbatten swears in Jawaharlal Nehru as the first Prime Minister of free India on Aug 15, 1947.jpg|thumb|Lord Mountbatten swears in Jawaharlal Nehru as the first Prime Minister of India on 15 August 1947.]]
There were members from [[Hindu]], [[Muslim]], [[Christians|Christian]], [[Sikh]] and [[Parsi]] communities represented in India's first ministry. There were two members from the [[Dalit]] community represented as well.<ref>{{cite news|title=The New Cabinet|url=http://www.sanjayhumania.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/15-Aug-1947.jpg|access-date=19 August 2011|newspaper=Hindustan Times|date=15 August 1947|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120330232513/http://www.sanjayhumania.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/15-Aug-1947.jpg|archive-date=30 March 2012|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=New Cabinet of India|url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshowpics/9552701.cms|access-date=19 August 2011|newspaper=The Times of India|date=15 August 1947|page=1}}</ref> [[Rajkumari Amrit Kaur]] was the only female Cabinet minister. The following is a list of the ministers in the first Cabinet.<ref name=indiasinceind/>

;Key
* {{note label|†|†|†}} Died in office
* {{note label|RES|RES|RES}} Resigned
{{Cabinet table start|hiderefcol=y}}
{{Cabinet table minister
| title = [[Prime Minister of India|Prime Minister]] [[Minister of External Affairs (India)|Minister of External Affairs and Commonwealth Relations]] [[Ministry of Science and Technology (India)|Minister of Scientific Research]]
| minister1 = [[Jawaharlal Nehru]]
| minister1_termstart = 15 August 1947
| minister1_termend = [[Second Nehru ministry]]
| minister1_party = Indian National Congress
}}
{{Cabinet table minister
| title = [[Deputy Prime Minister of India|Deputy Prime Minister]]
| minister1 = [[Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel]]
| minister1_termstart = 15 August 1947
| minister1_termend = 15 December 1950{{ref label|†|†|†}}
| minister1_party = Indian National Congress
}}
{{Cabinet table minister
| title = [[Minister of Home Affairs (India)|Minister of Home Affairs and States]]
| minister1 = [[Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel]]
| minister1_termstart = 15 August 1947
| minister1_termend = 15 December 1950{{ref label|†|†|†}}
| minister1_party = Indian National Congress
| minister2 = [[C. Rajagopalachari]]<ref name="livemint.com">{{cite web|author=Sidin Vadukut |url=https://www.livemint.com/Opinion/BDGqZmHMQlGbEuUT7jdObK/Dj-View--The-Chetty-affair.html |title=Déjà View | The Chetty Affair | Mint |publisher=Livemint.com |date=2014-11-08 |accessdate=2022-04-19}}</ref>
| minister2_termstart = 26 December 1950
| minister2_termend = 25 October 1951{{ref label|RES|RES|RES}}
| minister2_party = Indian National Congress
| minister3 = [[Kailash Nath Katju]]
| minister3_termstart = 1951
| minister3_termend = Second Nehru ministry
| minister3_party = Indian National Congress
}}
{{Cabinet table minister
| title = [[Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (India)|Minister of Information and Broadcasting]]
| minister1 = [[Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel]]
| minister1_termstart = 15 August 1947
| minister1_termend = 1 April 1949
| minister1_party = Indian National Congress
| minister2 = [[R. R. Diwakar]]<ref>{{cite web|title=Rajya Sabha Members, Biographical Sketches, 1952 – 2003: D |url=http://rajyasabha.nic.in/rsnew/pre_member/1952_2003/d.pdf }}</ref>
| minister2_termstart = 1 April 1949
| minister2_termend = 15 April 1952
| minister2_party = Indian National Congress
}}
{{Cabinet table minister
| title = [[Minister of Finance (India)|Minister of Finance]]
| minister1 = [[R. K. Shanmukham Chetty]]
| minister1_termstart = 15 August 1947
| minister1_termend = 1948
| minister1_party = [[Justice Party (India)|Justice Party]]
| minister2 = [[John Matthai]]
| minister2_termstart = 6 May 1950
| minister2_termend = 1950{{ref label|RES|RES|RES}}
| minister2_party = Independent
| minister3 = [[C. D. Deshmukh]]
| minister3_termstart = 1950
| minister3_termend = Second Nehru ministry
| minister3_party = Indian National Congress
}}
{{Cabinet table minister
| title = [[Minister of Law and Justice|Minister of Law and Justice]]
| minister1 = [[B. R. Ambedkar]]<ref name="livemint.com" />
| minister1_termstart = 15 August 1947
| minister1_termend = 6 October 1951{{ref label|RES|RES|RES}}
| minister1_party = Scheduled Castes Federation
}}
{{Cabinet table minister
| title = [[Minister of Defence (India)|Minister of Defence]]
| minister1 = [[Baldev Singh]]
| minister1_termstart = 15 August 1947
| minister1_termend = Second Nehru ministry
| minister1_party = Panthic Party
}}
{{Cabinet table minister
| title = [[Minister of Railways (India)|Minister of Railways]] and [[Minister of Road Transport and Highways (India)|Minister of Transport]]
| minister1 = [[John Matthai]]
| minister1_termstart = 15 August 1947
| minister1_termend = 22 September 1948
| minister1_party = Indian National Congress
| minister2 = [[N. Gopalaswami Ayyangar]]
| minister2_termstart = 22 September 1948
| minister2_termend = Second Nehru ministry
| minister2_party = Indian National Congress
}}
{{Cabinet table minister
| title = [[Minister of Human Resource Development (India)|Minister of Education]]
| minister1 = [[Maulana Abul Kalam Azad]]
| minister1_termstart = 15 August 1947
| minister1_termend = Second Nehru ministry
| minister1_party = Indian National Congress
}}
{{Cabinet table minister
| title = [[Minister of Agriculture (India)|Minister of Food and Agriculture]]
| minister1 = [[Rajendra Prasad]]
| minister1_termstart = 15 August 1947
| minister1_termend = 14 Jan 1948
| minister1_party = Indian National Congress
| minister2 = [[Jairamdas Daulatram]]
| minister2_termstart = 19 Jan 1948
| minister2_termend = 13 May 1950{{ref label|RES|RES|RES}}
| minister2_party = Indian National Congress
}}
{{Cabinet table minister
| title = [[Ministry of Commerce and Industry (India)|Minister of Industries and Supplies]]
| minister1 = [[Syama Prasad Mukherjee]]
| minister1_termstart = 15 August 1947
| minister1_termend = 6 April 1950{{ref label|RES|RES|RES}}
| minister1_party = [[Hindu Mahasabha]]
| minister2 = [[Harekrushna Mahatab]]
| minister2_termstart = 13 May 1950
| minister2_termend = 26 December 1950{{ref label|RES|RES|RES}}
| minister2_party = Indian National Congress
}}
{{Cabinet table minister
| title = [[Minister of Labour and Employment (India)|Minister of Labour]]
| minister1 = [[Jagjivan Ram]]
| minister1_termstart = 15 August 1947
| minister1_termend = 15 April 1952
| minister1_party = Indian National Congress
}}
{{Cabinet table minister
| title = [[Ministry of Commerce and Industry (India)|Minister of Commerce]]
| minister1 = [[Cooverji Hormusji Bhabha]]
| minister1_termstart = 15 August 1947
| minister1_termend = 15 April 1952
| minister1_party = Independent
}}
{{Cabinet table minister
| title = [[Minister of Communications (India)|Minister of Communications]]
| minister1 = [[Rafi Ahmed Kidwai]]
| minister1_termstart = 15 August 1947
| minister1_termend = 15 April 1952
| minister1_party = Indian National Congress
}}
{{Cabinet table minister
| title = [[Minister of Health and Family Welfare (India)|Minister of Health]]
| minister1 = [[Rajkumari Amrit Kaur|Amrit Kaur]]
| minister1_termstart = 15 August 1947
| minister1_termend = 15 April 1952
| minister1_party = Indian National Congress
}}
{{Cabinet table minister
| title = [[Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs|Minister of Works]], [[Ministry of Mines (India)|Mines]] and [[Ministry of Power (India)|Power]]
| minister1 = [[Narhar Vishnu Gadgil]]
| minister1_termstart = 15 August 1947
| minister1_termend = 15 April 1952
| minister1_party = Indian National Congress
}}
{{Cabinet table minister
| title = [[Ministry of Environment and Forests (India)|Minister of Relief and Rehabilitation]]
| minister1 = [[K. C. Neogy]]
| minister1_termstart = 15 August 1947
| minister1_termend = April 1950{{ref label|RES|RES|RES}}
| minister1_party = Indian National Congress
}}
{{Cabinet table minister
| title = [[Minister without portfolio]]
| minister1 = [[N. Gopalaswami Ayyangar]]<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.indiatoday.in/elections/highlights/story/article-370-issue-omar-abdullah-jammu-and-kashmir-jawaharlal-nehru-194780-2014-05-28 |title=10 facts about Article 370 that you need to know – Elections News |publisher=Indiatoday.intoday.in |date= |access-date=2022-04-19}}</ref>
| minister1_termstart = 15 August 1947
| minister1_termend = 22 September 1948
| minister1_party = Indian National Congress
| minister2 = [[Mohanlal Saksena|Mohanlal Saxena]]
| minister2_termstart = 15 August 1947
| minister2_termend = 15 April 1952
| minister2_party = Indian National Congress
}}
|}

== Deputy Ministers ==
{| class="wikitable sortable"
!S.no
!
!Name
! colspan="2" |
!Period
|-
! rowspan="2" |1.
|[[Minister of Housing and Urban Affairs|Deputy Minister of Works, Mines and Power]]
| rowspan="2" |[[Surendranath Buragohain]]
|14 August 1950
|26 December 1950
|'''134 days'''
|-
|[[Minister of Housing and Urban Affairs|Deputy Minister of Works, Production and Supply]]
|26 December 1950
|13 May 1952
|'''1 year 139 days'''
|-
!2.
|[[Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (India)|Deputy Minister of Information and Broadcasting]]
|[[R. R. Diwakar]]
|7 October 1948
|26 January 1950
|'''1 year 111 days'''
|-
!3.
|[[Minister of Finance (India)|Deputy Minister of Finance]]
|[[Mahavir Tyagi]]
|16 February 1951
|13 May 1952
|
|-
! rowspan="2" |4.
|[[Minister of Railways (India)|Minister of State for Railways]]
| rowspan="2" |[[K. Santhanam]]
|1 October 1948
|10 March 1952
|'''3 years, 241 days'''
|-
|[[Minister of Road Transport and Highways]]
|1 October 1948
|17 April 1952
|'''3 years 199 days'''
|-
! rowspan="3" |5.
|[[Minister of Railways (India)|Deputy Minister of Railways]]
| rowspan="3" |[[B. V. Keskar]]
|10 March 1952
|13 May 1952
|'''64 days'''
|-
|[[Minister of External Affairs (India)|Deputy Minister of External Affairs and Commonwealth Relations]]
|7 December 1948
|26 January 1950
|'''1 year, 50 days'''
|-
|[[Minister of External Affairs (India)|Deputy Minister of External Affairs]]
|31 January 1950
|13 May 1952
|'''2 years, 103 days'''
|-
!6.
|[[Minister of Defence (India)|Deputy Minister of Defence]]
|[[Himmatsinhji (general)|Kumar Shree Himmatsinhji Jadeja]]
|14 August 1950
|29 February 1952
|'''1 year, 199 days'''
|-
!7.
|[[Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers' Welfare|Deputy Minister of Food and Agriculture]]
|[[Mosalikanti Thirumala Rao]]
|21 August 1950
|13 May 1952
|'''1 year, 266 days'''
|-
!8.
|[[Minister of Communications (India)|Deputy Minister of Communications]]
|[[Khurshed Lal]]
|1 October 1948
|29 January 1951
|'''2 years, 120 days'''
|-
!9.
|[[Minister of Communications (India)|Deputy Minister of Communications]]
|[[Raj Bahadur]]
|29 January 1951
|13 May 1952
|'''1 year, 105 days'''
|-
!10.
|[[Ministry of Commerce and Industry (India)|Deputy Minister of Commerce and Industry]]
|[[D. P. Karmarkar|Dattatraya Parashuram Karmarkar]]
|August
|13 May
|
|-
!11.
|[[Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs (India)|Deputy Minister of Parliamentary Affairs]]
|[[Satya Narayan Sinha]]
|1 October 1948
|26 February 1949
|'''148 days'''
|-
!12.
|[[Minister of Home Affairs (India)|Deputy Minister of Home Affairs]]
|[[Rustom Khurshedji Sidhwa]]
|11 October 1951
|13 May 1952
|'''215 days'''
|}

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

==Further reading==
* [https://www.dnaindia.com/india/report-star-wars-in-nehru-cabinet-1168827 Josy Joseph (5 June 2008) ''Star wars in Nehru cabinet'' – ''DNA'']

{{First Indian Cabinet}}
{{Indian federal ministries}}
{{Jawaharlal Nehru}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nehru ministry, 1}}
[[Category:First Nehru ministry| ]]
[[Category:1947 establishments in India]]
[[Category:Cabinets established in 1947]]
[[Category:Indian union ministries|Nehru I]]
[[Category:Ministries of George VI]]
[[Category:1952 disestablishments in India]]
[[Category:Cabinets disestablished in 1952]]
[[Category:Indian ministries established in 1947|Nehru I]]
[[Category:Indian ministries disestablished in 1952|Nehru I]]

First Nehru ministry - Revision history

Debasish swain at 20:30, 15 February 2026