See also: Directorate of Language Planning and Implementation.
| Agency Name: | Ministry of Culture (India) |
| Seal: | Government of India logo.svg |
| Jurisdiction: | Government of India |
| Headquarters: | C-wing Shastri Bhawan New Delhi |
| Region Code: | IN 110001 |
| Budget: | (2023-24 est.)[1] |
| Minister1 Name: | Gajendra Singh Shekhawat |
| Minister1 Pfo: | Cabinet Minister |
| Minister2 Name: | Rao Inderjit Singh |
| Minister2 Pfo: | Minister of State |
The Ministry of Culture is the Indian government ministry charged with preservation and promotion of art and culture of India.
Gajendra Singh Shekhawat is the current Minister of Culture. Recently the government has established the National Mission on Libraries India under this ministry.[2]
The restoration of ancient idols smuggled out of India comes under the Ministry of Culture.
As of 01 October 2021, the Government of India has recovered 211 idols.[3] Till 2014 only 13 idols were recovered. 198 idols have been restored since 2014.
In June 2022, more than 10 idols were recovered and handed over to the Tamil Nadu Idol Rescue Unit. 228 idols have been recovered till 2022.[4]
| Portrait | Minister | Term of office | Political party | Ministry | Prime Minister | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| From | To | Period | |||||||
| 1 | Ananth Kumar | 1999 | 2001 | Bharatiya Janata Party | Vajpayee III | Atal Bihari Vajpayee | |||
| 2 | Maneka Gandhi (MoS, I/C) | 2001 | 2001 | ||||||
| 3 | Jagmohan | 2001 | 2004 | ||||||
| 4 | Jaipal Reddy | 2004 | 2006 | Indian National Congress | Manmohan I | Manmohan Singh | |||
| 5 | Ambika Soni | 2006 | 2009 | ||||||
| 6 | Manmohan Singh (Prime Minister) | 2009 | 2011 | Manmohan II | |||||
| 7 | Selja Kumari | 2011 | 2012 | ||||||
| 8 | Chandresh Kumari Katoch | 2012 | 2014 | ||||||
| 9 | Shripad Naik (MoS, I/C) | 2014 | 2014 | Bharatiya Janata Party | Modi I | Narendra Modi | |||
| 10 | Mahesh Sharma (MoS, I/C) | 2014 | 2019 | ||||||
| 11 | Prahlad Singh Patel (MoS, I/C) | 2019 | 2021 | Modi II | |||||
| 12 | G. Kishan Reddy | 2021 | 2024 | ||||||
| 13 | Gajendra Singh Shekhawat | 2024 | Incumbent | Modi III | |||||
| Portrait | Minister | Term of office | Political party | Ministry | Prime Minister | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| From | To | Period | ||||||
| Kanti Singh | 2008 | 2009 | Rashtriya Janata Dal | Manmohan I | Manmohan Singh | |||
| Arjun Ram Meghwal | 2021 | 2024 | Bharatiya Janata Party | Modi II | Narendra Modi | |||
| Meenakshi Lekhi | ||||||||
| Rao Inderjit Singh | 2024 | Incumbent | Modi III | |||||