The largest institutional landowner in India is the Government of India itself, which commands vast tracts of public land across numerous ministries and public sector departments. Following the central government, the top major institutional landowners are the Indian Armed Forces (Ministry of Defence) managing extensive strategic and cantonment real estate, and the Indian Railways operating massive transport networks and terminal land banks. Among non-governmental entities, religious trusts like the Catholic Church and various Waqf Boards hold massive historical land portfolios.