The President of India is the head of state of India and the commander-in-chief of the Indian Armed Forces. The President is referred to as the first citizen of India. Although vested with these powers by the Constitution of India, the position is largely a ceremonial one and executive powers are de facto exercised by the Prime Minister.
The President is elected by the Electoral College composed of elected members of the parliament houses, the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha, and also members of the Vidhan Sabha, the state legislative assemblies. Presidents may remain in office for a tenure of five years, as stated by article 56, part V, of the Constitution of India. In the case where a President’s term of office is terminated early or during the absence of the President, the Vice President assumes office. By article 70 of part V, the parliament may decide how to discharge the functions of the President where this is not possible, or in any other unexpected contingency.
List of Presidents of India:
| No. | President Name (Birth and Death) | Photograph | Elected | Took Office | Left Office | Term (in Month) | Vice President |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Rajendra Prasad (1884–1963) |
 |
1952 1957 |
26 January 1950 | 12 May 1962 | 120 | Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan |
| 2 | Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan (1888–1975) |
 |
1962 | 13 May 1962 | 13 May 1967 | 60 | Zakir Husain |
| 3 | Zakir Husain – Died in office (1897–1969) |
 |
1967 | 13 May 1967 | 3 May 1969 | 24 | Varahagiri Venkata Giri |
| – | Varahagiri Venkata Giri – Did not complete assigned term (1894–1980) |
 |
– | 3 May 1969 | 20 July 1969 | 3 | – |
| – | Mohammad Hidayatullah – Acting President (1905–1992) |
 |
– | 20 July 1969 | 24 August 1969 | 1 | – |
| 4 | Varahagiri Venkata Giri (1894–1980) |
 |
1969 | 24 August 1969 | 24 August 1974 | 60 | Gopal Swarup Pathak |
| 5 | Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed – Died in office (1905–1977) |
 |
1974 | 24 August 1974 | 11 February 1977 | 36 | Gopal Swarup Pathak (1974)
Basappa Danappa Jatti(1974–1977) |
| – | Basappa Danappa Jatti – Acting President (1912–2002) |
 |
– | 11 February 1977 | 25 July 1977 | 6 | – |
| 6 | Neelam Sanjiva Reddy (1913–1996) |
 |
1977 | 25 July 1977 | 25 July 1982 | 60 | Basappa Danappa Jatti(1977–1979)
Mohammad Hidayatullah(1979–1982) |
| 7 | Zail Singh (1916–1994) |
 |
1982 | 25 July 1982 | 25 July 1987 | 60 | Mohammad Hidayatullah(1982–1984)
Ramaswamy Venkataraman(1984–1987) |
| 8 | Ramaswamy Venkataraman (1910–2009) |
 |
1987 | 25 July 1987 | 25 July 1992 | 60 | Shankar Dayal Sharma |
| 9 | Shankar Dayal Sharma (1918–1999) |
 |
1992 | 25 July 1992 | 25 July 1997 | 60 | Kocheril Raman Narayanan |
| 10 | Kocheril Raman Narayanan (1920–2005) |
 |
1997 | 25 July 1997 | 25 July 2002 | 60 | Krishan Kant |
| 11 | Avul Pakir Jainulabdeen Abdul Kalam (1931–2015) |
 |
2002 | 25 July 2002 | 25 July 2007 | 60 | Krishan Kant(2002)
Bhairon Singh Shekhawat(2002–2007) |
| 12 | Pratibha Patil (1934–) |
 |
2007 | 25 July 2007 | 25 July 2012 | 60 | Mohammad Hamid Ansari |
| 13 | Pranab Mukherjee (1935–) |
 |
2012 | 25 July 2012 | 25 July 2017 | 60 | Mohammad Hamid Ansari |
| 14 | Ram Nath Kovind (1945–) |
 |
2017 | 25 July 2017 | Incumbent |
–
|
Venkaiah Naidu |
The Prime Minister of India is the chief executive of the Government of India. In India’s parliamentary system, the Constitution names the President as head of state de jure, but his or her de facto executive powers are vested in the Prime Minister and his Council of Ministers. Appointed and sworn-in by the President, the Prime Minister is usually the leader of the party or alliance that has a majority in the Lok Sabha, the lower house of India’s Parliament.
List of Prime Ministers of India:
| No. | Prime Minister Name (Birth-Death) | Photograph | Prior Office | Political Party | Term in Office | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jawaharlal Nehru (1889–1964) |
 |
Vice President of Executive Council | Indian National Congress | 15 August1947 | 15 April1952 |
| 15 April1952 | 17 April1957 | |||||
| 17 April1957 | 2 April1957 | |||||
| 2 April1957 | 27 May 1964 |
|||||
| – | Gulzarilal Nanda (acting) (1898–1998) |
 |
Minister of Labour and Employment | Indian National Congress | 27 May 1964 |
9 June 1964 |
| 2 | Lal Bahadur Shastri (1904–1966) |
 |
Minister of Home Affairs | Indian National Congress | 9 June 1964 |
11 January 1966 |
| – | Gulzarilal Nanda (acting) (1898–1998) |
|
Minister of Home Affairs | Indian National Congress | 11 January 1966 |
24 January 1966 |
| 3 | Indira Gandhi (1917–1984) |
 |
Minister of Information and Broadcasting – Prime Minister (Re-elected) | Indian National Congress | 24 January 1966 |
4 March1967 |
| 4 March1967 | 15 March1971 | |||||
| 15 March1971 | 24 March 1977 |
|||||
| 4 | Morarji Desai (1896–1995) |
 |
Minister of Finance and Deputy Prime Minister of India before he resigned in 1969 | Janata Party | 24 March 1977 |
28 July 1979[RES] |
| 5 | Charan Singh (1902–1987) |
 |
Minister of Finance | Janata Party (Secular) with INC |
28 July 1979 |
14 January 1980[RES] |
| (3) | Indira Gandhi (1917–1984) |
|
Former Prime Minister | Indian National Congress | 14 January 1980 |
31 October 1984 |
| 6 | Rajiv Gandhi (1944–1991) |
 |
MP for Amethi | Indian National Congress | 31 October 1984 |
31 December1984 |
| 31 December1984 | 2 December 1989 |
|||||
| 7 | Vishwanath Pratap Singh (1931–2008) |
 |
Minister of Defence | Janata Dal (National Front) |
2 December 1989 |
10 November 1990[NC] |
| 8 | Chandra Shekhar (1927–2007) |
 |
MP for Ballia | Samajwadi Janata Party with INC |
10 November 1990 |
21 June 1991 |
| 9 | Pamulaparti Venkata Narasimha Rao (1921–2004) |
 |
Minister of External Affairs | Indian National Congress | 21 June 1991 |
16 May 1996 |
| 10 | Atal Bihari Vajpayee (born 1924) |
 |
Minister of External Affairs | Bharatiya Janata Party | 16 May 1996 |
1 June 1996[RES] |
| 11 | Haradanahalli Doddegowda Deve Gowda (born 1933) |
 |
Chief Minister of Karnataka | Janata Dal (United Front) |
1 June 1996 |
21 April 1997[RES] |
| 12 | Inder Kumar Gujral (1919–2012) |
 |
Minister of External Affairs | Janata Dal (United Front) |
21 April 1997 |
19 March 1998 |
| (10) | Atal Bihari Vajpayee (born 1924) |
|
Former Prime Minister | Bharatiya Janata Party (NDA) |
19 March 1998[§] |
10 October1999 |
| 10 October1999 | 22 May 2004 |
|||||
| 13 | Manmohan Singh (born 1932) |
 |
Minister of Finance | Indian National Congress (UPA) |
22 May 2004 |
22 May2009 |
| 22 May2009 | 26 May 2014 |
|||||
| 14 | Narendra Modi (born 1950) |
 |
Chief Minister of Gujarat | Bharatiya Janata Party (NDA) |
26 May 2014 |
Incumbent |
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