The Minister of Defence (Raksha Mantri) is India's highest-ranking minister and the head of the Ministry of Defence. The Indian authorities are responsible for the country's defence and all of its components. The President is the Armed Forces' Supreme Commander. The Cabinet is in charge ofnational defence policy.

This is carried out by the Ministry of Defence, which offers the policy agenda and resources for the Armed Forces to carry out their duties in the context of the country's defence. The Ministry of Defence is led by the Raksha Mantri (Defense Minister). The Defence Ministry's main responsibility is to collect the Government's policy instructions on all defence and security-related subjects and convey them to the Services Headquarters, Inter-Services Organizations, Production Establishments, and Research and Development Organizations for execution.

It must also guarantee that the government's policy directives are followed and that authorized plans are carried out within the budgetary constraints. Department of Defence Production, Department of Defence, Department of Defence Research & Development, Finance Division, and Department of Ex-Servicemen Welfare, make up the Ministry of Defence. Baldev Singh Chokkar, who worked in Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru's government from 1947 until 1952, was India's first defence minister.