---
title: "Who was the first Minister of Railways ministry?"  
description: "Who was the first Minister of Railways ministry?"  
author: "Jyoti Ajgaonkar"  
published: 2018-06-17  
updated: 2018-06-27  
canonical: https://answers.mindstick.com/qa/45340/who-was-the-first-minister-of-railways-ministry  
category: "history, politics & society"  
tags: ["general knowledge"]  
reading_time: 2 minutes  

---

# Who was the first Minister of Railways ministry?

Who was the first [Minister of Railways](https://answers.mindstick.com/qa/38524/name-the-new-service-launched-by-the-minister-of-railways-shri-suresh-prabhakar-prabhu-on-11-03-2016-which) ministry?\
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## Answers

### Answer by Biswajeet Bhattacharya

![Who was the first Minister of Railways ministry?](https://answers.mindstick.com/questionanswer/b188a65e-7d5d-4549-a3ee-8db1cb75388a/images/0dc6f6b1-8428-4db3-bf12-98771e41a20b.jpeg)

(John Mathai first Railway Minister)

**John Mathai (1886-1959)** was the **first Railway Minister of India** from **15th August 1947 to 22nd September 1948** under **Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru**. He was also the **Finance Minister of India** from **1949 to 1950** under the same Prime Minister.

![Who was the first Minister of Railways ministry?](https://answers.mindstick.com/questionanswer/b188a65e-7d5d-4549-a3ee-8db1cb75388a/images/214ca5e4-4357-47b0-b480-401c404d24ab.jpeg)

(John Mathai)

John Mathai born on 10th January 1886 in **Calicut, Madras, Presidency British India** (now in **Kozhikode, Kerala, India**) was an economist. He was a member of **Indian National Congress (INC)**. John Mathai **graduated** in economics from **University of Madras** and served as a **professor** and **head** in **University of Madras** from **1922 to 1925**. The **State Bank of India** was established in **1955** with John Mathai being the **first Chairman**. **National Council of Applied Economic Research (NCAER)** established in **1956** in New Delhi is a **non-profit, economic policy research institute**. John Mathai was the **founding President** of the **Governing body** of this organization. John Mathai was the **Vice Chancellor** of the **University of Mumbai** from **1955 to 1957** and from **1957 to 1959** he served as the **Vice Chancellor** of the **University of Kerala**. He was the **first Vice-Chancellor** of the University of Kerala. John Mathai was awarded the **Padma Vibhushan (the second highest civilian award of the Republic of India)** in **1959**. In **1934** John Mathai was appointed **the Champion of the Order of the Indian Empire (CIE)**.

![Who was the first Minister of Railways ministry?](https://answers.mindstick.com/questionanswer/b188a65e-7d5d-4549-a3ee-8db1cb75388a/images/1e8e2029-e1c8-40b0-856d-61e1ee2fd9d4.png)

The **Ministry of Railways** under the **Government of India** is responsible for rail transport in the country. Formed on **16th April 1853** the **headquarters** of the ministry is Rail Bhavan 1, Raisina Road, New Delhi. The state-owned Indian Railways is headed by **the Chairman of Railway Board**. Minister of Railways is appointed by **the President of India** on the advice of the **Prime Minister**. Minister of Railways **heads** the Ministry of Railways. **Piyush Goyal** is the Minister of Railways. He assumed office on **3rd September 2017**.

![Who was the first Minister of Railways ministry?](https://answers.mindstick.com/questionanswer/b188a65e-7d5d-4549-a3ee-8db1cb75388a/images/dc9acbcc-4fe1-43fc-af19-a2ccddc10d9e.jpeg)\


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