According to the provisions of the Constitution of India, the basic structure of the Government of India is based on three main pillars; Legislature, executive and judiciary. Also all supreme powers are vested in Parliament, Prime Minister and Supreme Court of India.
The President is the constitutional, ceremonial or nominal head of the states, while the Prime Minister heads the executive body of the Government of India. He is appointed by the President of India for a term of 5 years. Usually the leader of the party in majority in the Lok Sabha is appointed by the President to the post of Prime Minister as the head of government.
Important Articles on Prime Minister
Article 74 to 78 deals with the provisions relating to the office of the Prime Minister as the executive head of the Council of Ministers to aid and advise the President of India. Let’s have a look at some important articles:
Article 74: It states that there shall be a Council of Ministers, headed by the Prime Minister, to aid and advise the President on important matters and policy decisions.
Article 75:
- Article 75(a) deals with the appointment of the Prime Minister by the President and the Council of Ministers constituted by the President on the advice of the Prime Minister.
- Article 75(b) states that the minister shall hold office during the pleasure of the President and
- Article 75(c) states that the Council of Ministers shall be responsible for the house of the people.
Article 78: It deals with the various duties of the Prime Minister with respect to the presentation of information to the President.
List of Prime Ministers of India
The first and longest-serving Prime Minister of India was Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru and was followed by Indira Gandhi. India has had 15 prime ministers since 1947, including a caretaker prime minister, Gulzarilal Nanda, who only served as prime minister for 13 days. Presently Shri Narendra Modi is serving as the Executive Head of the Government for a second term from 26 May 2014. Here we are presenting the list of Prime Ministers from 1947 to 2022.
| a | b | C |
|---|---|---|
| Jawahar Lal Nehru | (1889-1964) | 15 August 1947 to 27 May 1964 16 years, 286 days |
| Gulzarilal Nanda (Acting) | (1898-1998) | 27 May 1964 to 9 June 1964, 13 days |
| Lal Bahadur Shastri | (1904-1966) | 9 June 1964 to 11 January 1966 1 year, 216 days |
| Gulzari Lal Nanda (Acting) | (1898-1998) | 11 January 1966 to 24 January 1966 13 days |
| Indira Gandhi | (1917-1984) | 24 January 1966 to 24 March 1977 11 years, 59 days |
| Morarji Desai | (1896-1995) | 24 March 1977 to 28 July 1979 2 years, 126 days |
| Charan Singh | (1902-1987) | 28 July 1979 to 14 January 1980 170 days |
| Indira Gandhi | (1917-1984) | 14 January 1980 to 31 October 1984 4 years, 291 days |
| Rajiv Gandhi | (1944–1991) | 31 October 1984 to 2 December 1989 5 years, 32 days |
| VP Singh | (1931-2008) | 2 December 1989 to 10 November 1990 343 days |
| Chandra Shekhar | (1927–2007) | 10 November 1990 to 21 June 1991 223 days |
| PV Narasimha Rao | (1921-2004) | 21 June 1991 to 16 May 1996 4 years, 330 days |
| Atal Bihari Vajpayee | (1924- 2018) | 16 May 1996 to 1 June 1996 16 days |
| HD Deve Gowda | (born 1933) | 1 June 1996 to 21 April 1997 324 days |
| Inder Kumar Gujral | (1919-2012) | 21 April 1997 to 19 March 1998 332 days |
| Atal Bihari Vajpayee | (1924-2018) | 19 March 1998 to 22 May 2004 6 years, 64 days |
| Manmohan Singh | (born 1932) | 22 May 2004 to 26 May 2014 10 years, 4 days |
| Narendra Modi | (born 1950) | 26 May 2014 – Present |