Ministry of Communications (India)

[of India]
Ministry overview
Preceding Ministry	Ministry of Communications and Information Technology
Jurisdiction	Republic of India
Headquarters	Sanchar Bhawan, New Delhi, India 22°37′20″N 77°12′50″E / 22.62222°N 77.21389°E / 22.62222; 77.21389
Annual budget	₹81,957 crore (US$11 billion) (2020-21 est.) [1]
Ministers responsible	Ashwini Vaishnaw, Cabinet Minister Devusinh Chauhan, Minister of State
Ministry executives	Aruna Sundar Rajan, IAS, Chairman of Telecom Commission and Telecom Secretary Pradipta Kumar Bisoi, IPoS, Posts Secretary
Child agencies	Department of Telecommunications Department of Posts
Website	dot.gov.in

Ministry of Communications is a union ministerial agency under the Government of India responsible for telecommunications and postal service. It was carved out of Ministry of Communications and Information Technology on 19 July 2016. It consists of two departments viz. Department of Telecommunications and the Department of Posts.

Formation[]

Ministry of Communication and Information Technology was bifurcated into Ministry of Communications and Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology.^[2]

Department of Telecommunications[]

Also known as the Door Sanchar Vibhag, this department concerns itself with policy, licensing and coordination matters relating to telegraphs, telephones, wireless, data, facsimile and telematic services and other like forms of communications. It also looks into the administration of laws with respect to any of the matters specified, namely:

• The Indian Telegraph Act, 1885 (13 of 1885)
• The Indian Wireless Telegraphy Act, 1940 (17 of 1933)
• The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India Act, 1997 (24 of 1997)

Central Public Sector Units[]

• Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited
• Indian Telephone Industries Limited
• Bharat Broadband Network
• Telecommunications Consultants India Limited

R&D unit[]

• Centre for Development of Telematics

Other units[]

• Wireless Planning and Coordination Wing
• Telecom Engineering Center^[3]
• Controller of Communication Accounts
• Telecom Enforcement Resource and Monitoring (TERM) cells, formerly known as Vigilance & Telecom Monitoring (VTM) cells

A need was felt in the year 2007 to distinctly address the issues of Communication Network Security at DOT (HQ) level, consequent to enhancement of FDI limit in Telecom sector from 49% to 74% and therefore a new wing, named Security was created in DOT (HQ).

Objectives[]

• e-Government: Providing e-infrastructure for delivery of e-services
• e-Industry: Promotion of electronics hardware manufacturing and IT-ITeS industry
• e-Innovation / R&D: Implementation of R&D Framework - Enabling creation of Innovation/ R&D Infrastructure in emerging areas of ICT&E/Establishment of mechanism for R&D translation
• e-Learning: Providing support for development of e-Skills and Knowledge network
• e-Security: Securing India’s cyber space
• e-Inclusion: Promoting the use of ICT for more inclusive growth
• Internet Governance: Enhancing India’s role in Global Platforms of Internet Governance.

Telephone Advisory Committees[]

• Telephone Advisory Committees^{[4][5][6][7][8]}
• MTNL Website list of TAC members

Education[]

• National Institute of Electronics and Information Technology
• National Institute of Communication Finance
• National Agriculture Education Institute of Research & Resources India

Department of Posts[]

The Department of Post (DoP) also known as India Post operates one of the oldest and most extensive mail services in the world. As of 31 March 2017, the Indian Postal Service has 154,965 post offices, of which 139,067 (89.74%) are in rural areas and 15,898 (10.26%) are in urban areas. It has 25,585 departmental PO s and 129,380 ED BPOs. At the time of independence, there were 23,344 post offices, which were primarily in urban areas. Thus the network has registered a sevenfold growth since independence, with the focus of the expansion primarily in rural areas. On average, a post office serves an area of 21.56 sq; km and a population of 7,753 people. This is the most widely distributed post office system in the world.^[9] The large numbers are a result of a long tradition of many disparate postal systems which were unified in the Indian Union post-Independence. Owing to this far-flung reach and its presence in remote areas, the Indian postal service is also involved in other services such as small savings banking and financial services., with about 25,464 full-time and 139,040 part-time post offices. It offers a whole range of products under posts, remittance, savings, insurance, and philately. While the Director-General is the head of operations, the Secretary is an adviser to the Minister. Both responsibilities are undertaken by one officer.

The DG is assisted by the Postal Services Board with six members: The six members of the Board hold portfolios of Personnel, Operations, Technology, Postal Life Insurance, Banking, Planning respectively. Shri Ananta Narayan Nanda is the Secretary (Posts) also the Chairman of the Postal Services Board and Ms.Meera Handa is Director General (DG) Posts. Shri.Vineet Pandey(Additional Charge) Additional Director General(Coordination) (ADG), Ms. Arundhaty Ghosh, Member (Operations), Shri. Biswanath Tripathy, Member (Planning), Shri Pradipta Kumar Bisoi, Member (Personnel), Shri Udai Krishna, Member (Banking), Shri Salim Haque, Member (Technology) and Shri. Vineet Pandey, Member (PLI) & Chairman, Investment Board. The national headquarters are at Delhi and functions from Dak Bhavan located at the junction of Parliament Street and Ashoka Road.

The total revenue earned including remuneration for Savings Bank & Savings Certificate work during the year 2016-17 was ₹11,511.00  crores and the amount received from other Ministries/ Departments as Agency charges (recoveries) was ₹730.90 crores and expenditure is ₹24,211.85  crores during 2016-2017 against the previous year expenditure of ₹19,654.67  crores. The increase was mainly due to payment of increased pay & allowances consequent upon implementation of 7th pay commission recommendations, leave encashment during LTC, cost of materials, oil, diesel, revision of service tax on govt. buildings etc.

showFinancial performance of postal department
Year	Gross receipts	Working expenses	Surplus /Deficit
Figures in crores
1980-81	278	346	−68
1990-91	841	1033	−192
2000-01	3298	4848	−1550
2001-02	3697	5109	−1412
2002-03	4010	5374	−1364
2003-04	4257	5632	−1375
2004-05	4432	5814	−1382
2005-06	5023	6233	−1210
2006-07	4999	6378	−1379
2007–08	5494.896	7006.34	−1511.444
2008-09	5862.326	9455.414	−3593.088
2009-10	6266.701	12908.005	−6641.30
2010-11	6962.332	13307.948	−6345.616
2011-12	7910.510	13705.400	−5794.890
Source: Indian Budget.[10]

Lack of proper investment in infrastructure and technology is the reason for such low revenue. The present top management has already started investing in the latest technology to improve the infrastructure. Quality of service is being improved and new products are being offered to meet the competition.

The field services are managed by Postal Circles—generally conforming to each State—except for the North Eastern States, India has been divided into 22 postal circles, each circle headed by a Chief Postmaster General. Each Circle is further divided into Regions comprising field units, called Divisions, headed by a Postmaster General. Further divided into divisions headed by SSPOs & SPOs. further divisions are divided into Sub Divisions Headed by ASPs & IPS. Other functional units like Circle Stamp Depots, Postal Stores Depots, and Mail Motor Service may exist in the Circles and Regions.

Besides the 23 circles, there is a special Circle called the Base Circle to cater to the postal services of the Armed Forces of India. Army Postal Services (APS) is a unique arrangement to take care of the postal requirement of soldiers posted across the country. Department of Posts personnel is commissioned into the army to take care of APS. The Base Circle is headed by an Additional Director General, Army Postal Service, holding a Major general. <ref>Cheap Eggs Over Animal Welfare

The DoP is governed by the Indian Post Office Acts, 1898. Other than the traditional postage service to keep up with the age, many new services have been introduced by the department:

• e-Post - Delivery of email through postman where email service is not available
• e-BillPost - Convenient way to pay bills under one roof
• Postal Life insurance
• International money transfers
• Mutual funds
• Banking

List Of Ministers[]

No	Name	Portrait	Term of office			Political party (Alliance)		Prime Minister
Ministry of Communications and Information Technology
1	Rafi Ahmed Kidwai		15 August 1947	2 August 1951	3 years, 352 days	Indian National Congress		Jawaharlal Nehru
2	Amrit Kaur		2 August 1951	13 May 1952	285 days
3	Jagjivan Ram		13 May 1952	7 December 1956	4 years, 208 days
4	Raj Bahadur		7 December 1956	17 April 1957	131 days
5	Lal Bahadur Shastri		17 April 1957	28 March 1958	345 days
6	S. K. Patil	–	29 March 1958	24 August 1959	1 year, 148 days
7	Jawaharlal Nehru		25 August 1959	2 September 1959	8 days
8	P. Subbarayan		2 September 1959	9 April 1962	2 years, 219 days
(3)	Jagjivan Ram		10 April 1962	31 August 1963	1 year, 144 days
9	Ashoke Kumar Sen		1 September 1963	13 June 1964	286 days
								Lal Bahadur Shastri
10	Satya Narayan Sinha	–	13 June 1964	12 March 1967	2 years, 272 days
								Indira Gandhi
11	Ram Subhag Singh		13 March 1967	14 February 1969	1 year, 338 days
(10)	Satya Narayan Sinha	–	14 February 1969	8 March 1971	2 years, 22 days
12	Indira Gandhi		9 March 1971	17 March 1971	8 days
13	Sher Singh	–	18 March 1971	2 May 1971	45 days
14	Hemvati Nandan Bahuguna		2 May 1971	8 November 1973	2 years, 190 days
(4)	Raj Bahadur		8 November 1973	11 January 1974	64 days
15	Kasu Brahmananda Reddy		11 January 1974	10 October 1974	272 days
16	Shankar Dayal Sharma		10 October 1974	24 March 1977	2 years, 165 days
17	Morarji Desai		24 March 1977	26 March 1977	2 days	Janata Party		Morarji Desai
18	Parkash Singh Badal		26 March 1977	27 March 1977	2 days	Shiromani Akali Dal
19	George Fernandes		28 March 1977	6 July 1977	100 days	Janata Party
20	Brij Lal Varma	–	6 July 1977	28 July 1979	2 years, 22 days
21	Charan Singh		28 July 1979	30 July 1979	2 days	Janata Party (Secular)		Charan Singh
22	Zulfiquarullah (MoS, Independent Charge)	–	30 July 1979	27 November 1979	120 days
(21)	Charan Singh		27 November 1979	7 December 1979	10 days
23	Shyam Nandan Mishra	–	7 December 1979	14 January 1980	38 days
(12)	Indira Gandhi		15 January 1980	16 January 1980	1 day	Indian National Congress		Indira Gandhi
24	Bhishma Narain Singh	–	16 January 1980	3 March 1980	47 days
25	C. M. Stephen	–	3 March 1980	2 September 1982	2 years, 183 days
26	Anant Prasad Sharma		2 September 1982	14 February 1983	165 days
(12)	Indira Gandhi		14 February 1983	31 October 1984	1 year, 260 days
27	Rajiv Gandhi		31 October 1984	4 November 1984	4 days			Rajiv Gandhi
28	V. N. Gadgil	–	4 November 1984	31 December 1984	57 days
29	Ram Niwas Mirdha (Independent Charge)		31 December 1984	22 October 1986	1 year, 295 days
30	Arjun Singh		22 October 1986	14 February 1988	1 year, 115 days
31	Vasant Sathe	–	14 February 1988	25 June 1988	132 days
32	Bir Bahadur Singh	–	25 June 1988	30 May 1989	339 days
(27)	Rajiv Gandhi		31 May 1989	4 July 1989	34 days
33	Giridhar Gamang (MoS, Independent Charge)		4 July 1989	2 December 1989	151 days
34	V. P. Singh		2 December 1989	6 December 1989	4 days	Janata Dal		V. P. Singh
35	K.P. Unnikrishnan	–	6 December 1989	23 April 1990	138 days	Congress (Secular)
36	Janeshwar Mishra (MoS, Independent Charge)	–	30 April 1990	5 November 1990	189 days	Janata Dal
(34)	V. P. Singh		6 November 1990	10 November 1990	4 days
37	Chandra Shekhar		10 November 1990	21 November 1990	11 days	Samajwadi Janata Party		Chandra Shekhar
38	Sanjay Singh (Independent Charge)		22 November 1990	21 June 1991	211 days
39	Rajesh Pilot (Independent Charge)		21 June 1991	17 January 1993	1 year, 210 days	Indian National Congress		P. V. Narasimha Rao
40	Sukh Ram (Independent Charge)	–	17 January 1993	16 May 1996	3 years, 120 days
41	Atal Bihari Vajpayee		16 May 1996	1 June 1996	16 days	Bharatiya Janata Party		Atal Bihari Vajpayee
42	Beni Prasad Verma (Independent Charge till 10 July 1996)		1 June 1996	19 March 1998	1 year, 291 days	Samajwadi Party		H. D. Dewe GowdaI. K. Gujral
(41)	Atal Bihari Vajpayee		19 March 1998	21 March 1998	2 days	Bharatiya Janata Party		Atal Bihari Vajpayee
43	Buta Singh		21 March 1998	19 April 1998	11 days
(41)	Atal Bihari Vajpayee		19 April 1998	20 April 1998	1 day
44	Sushma Swaraj		20 April 1998	11 October 1998	174 days
(41)	Atal Bihari Vajpayee		11 October 1998	6 December 1998	56 days
45	Jagmohan		6 December 1998	8 June 1999	184 days
(41)	Atal Bihari Vajpayee		8 June 1999	13 October 1999	127 days
46	Ram Vilas Paswan		13 October 1999	1 September 2001	1 year, 323 days	Janata Dal (United)
47	Pramod Mahajan		1 September 2001	29 January 2003	1 year, 150 days	Bharatiya Janata Party
48	Arun Shourie		29 January 2003	22 May 2004	1 year, 114 days
49	Dayanidhi Maran		23 May 2004	15 May 2007	2 years, 357 days	Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam		Manmohan Singh
50	A. Raja		16 May 2007	14 November 2010	3 years, 182 days
51	Manmohan Singh		15 November 2010	19 January 2011	65 days	Indian National Congress
52	Kapil Sibal		19 January 2011	26 May 2014	3 years, 127 days
53	Ravi Shankar Prasad		26 May 2014	5 July 2016	2 years, 40 days	Bharatiya Janata Party		Narendra Modi
Ministry of Communications
54	Manoj Sinha (Independent Charge)		5 July 2016	30 May 2019	2 years, 329 days	Bharatiya Janata Party		Narendra Modi
(53)	Ravi Shankar Prasad		30 May 2019	07 July 2021	2 years, 38 days
55	Ashwini Vaishnaw		07 July 2021	Incumbent	56 days

List of Ministers of State[]

Ministers of State For Communications hide

Minister of state	Portrait	Political party		Term		Days
Sanjay Dhotre		Bharatiya Janata Party		30 May 2019	7 July 2021	769 days
Devusinh Chauhan				7 July 2021	Incumbent	56 days

References[]