The Minister of Home Affairs (or simply, the Home Minister) is the head of the Ministry of Home Affairs of the Government of India. One of the senior-most offices in the Union Cabinet, the chief responsibility of the Home Minister is the maintenance of India's internal security; the country's large police force comes under his ambit. Occasionally, he is assisted by the Minister of State of Home Affairs and the lower-ranked Deputy Minister of Home Affairs. Since 26 May 2014, the Home Minister of India is Rajnath Singh of the Bhartiya Janta Party, taking over the reins from Sushilkumar Shinde.