The MES is one of India's largest government construction and maintenance organisations, with an annual budget of about ₹13,000 crore.

It is responsible for strategic and operational infrastructure such as roads, homes, and offices for all three services and associated organisations of the Ministry of Defence.

[4] MES was created and brought under control of an Engineer-in-Chief on 26 September 1923 by the Secretary of State of India, unifying Royal Corps of Engineers personnel and civilian staff.

[4] The department is responsible for the design, construction, and maintenance of all Army, Navy, and Air Force infrastructure.

It was part of the army as the Public Works Department (PWD), controlled by the Indian Corps of Engineers (in turn overseen by a military board), until the 18th century.

[4] In 1881, the PWD's military-related works were segregated and transferred to the military department under a director general (a rank created in 1889).

The IDCMS is a gazetted group of civilian officers under the Ministry of Defence which is responsible for all financial matters, including procurement, tendering, contract management, dispute resolution, arbitration, and quantity surveying.

Architect-cadre officers, responsible for producing architectural drawings of buildings and other structures, are posted as deputy architects and promoted to additional director general (Arch.)

After a 1949 review, a Memorandum of Procedure, Organisation, and Duties of Barrack Services was issued in July of that year.

Barrack Services was given responsibility for revenue duties,[clarification needed] and billing was transferred from the station commander to the BO.

MES has over six hundred stations across India's mainland and island territories to provide engineering support to Army, Air Force and Navy formations and the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO).