The Ministry of Defence (MoD) is a central government institution of the Government of India, charged with coordinating and supervising all agencies and functions related to national security and the Indian Armed Forces. Its origins trace back to the Military Department established by the English East India Company in Calcutta in 1776. The Army Department, which replaced the Military Department in 1906, was redesignated as the Defence Department in January 1938. The Department of Defence became the Ministry of Defence under a cabinet minister in August 1947 to assume the responsibility for national defence after Independence.
The MoD provides the policy framework and resources for the armed forces to discharge their responsibilities. It operates through five integrated departments: the Department of Defence (DoD), the Department of Military Affairs (DMA), the Department of Defence Production (DDP), the Department of Defence Research and Development (DRDO), and the Department of Ex-Servicemen Welfare (DESW). The DoD, headed by the Defence Secretary, deals with defence policy and capital acquisitions. A significant recent change was the creation of the Department of Military Affairs (DMA), which was approved on December 24, 2019, and is headed by the Chief of Defence Staff (CDS). The DMA is responsible for managing the armed forces and promoting jointness among the Indian Army, Navy, and Air Force. The ultimate responsibility for national defence rests with the Cabinet, while the President of India is the ceremonial Commander-in-Chief of the armed forces. Another recent structural change was the corporatization of the 41 production units of the Ordnance Factory Board into seven new Defence Public Sector Undertakings (DPSUs) effective from October 1, 2021.