PM Modi’s 3.0 Council of Ministers falls 9 Members short of the maximum limit, with 72 members in total at the swearing-in ceremony.

The Modi government reached its highest strength of 78 members in 2021 after expansion. The outgoing council of ministers had 72 members, which included Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

During the third term of the BJP-led NDA government, there were a maximum of 31 cabinet ministers, including Prime Minister Modi, as well as five Ministers of State (with Independent Charge) and 36 ministers of state. The outgoing Modi government 2.0 had 71 ministers, including 26 Cabinet ministers, three Ministers of State (Independent Charge) and 42 Ministers of State.

In July 2021, the cabinet was expanded to a maximum of 78 ministers, with 30 cabinet ministers, 2 Ministers of State (Independent charge) and 45 Ministers of State. The Council of Ministers can have a maximum strength of 81, including the prime minister, which is 15 per cent of the total strength of 543 in the Lok Sabha.

In May 2019, 57 ministers were sworn in, including 24 as cabinet ministers, nine Ministers of State (Independent charge) and 24 Ministers of State. When Prime Minister Modi first came to power in May 2014, there were 46 ministers, including 24 cabinet ministers, 10 Ministers of State (Independent Charge), and 12 Ministers of State.

In May 2009, the Manmohan Singh government had the maximum strength of 79 ministers, including the prime minister. During UPA-1, the Manmohan Singh-led government also reached the maximum strength of 79 ministers.

And in 1999, the Atal Bihari Vajpayee government had a total of 74 ministers. *(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.

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