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[ 1 ] [ 2 ] Although the president of India is the constitutional, nominal, and ceremonial head of state, [ 1 ] [ 3 ] [ 4 ] [ 5 ] in practice and ordinarily, the executive authority is vested in the prime minister and their chosen Council of Ministers. [ 6 ] [ 7 ] [ 5 ] The prime minister is the leader elected by the party with a majority in the lower house of the Indian parliament , the Lok Sabha , which is the main legislative body in the Republic of India . [ 1 ] The prime minister and their cabinet are at all times responsible to the Lok Sabha. [ 8 ] [ 9 ] The prime minister can be a member of the Lok Sabha or of the Rajya Sabha , the upper house of the parliament. The prime minister ranks third in the order of precedence . Top left: Jawaharlal Nehru was the first and the longest-serving prime minister in Indian history. Top centre: Indira Gandhi was the first and only woman to serve as prime minister. Top right: Charan Singh was the only prime minister in Indian history who never faced parliament. Bottom left: Atal Bihari Vajpayee was the first non-Congress prime minister to complete a full 5 year term. Bottom centre: Manmohan Singh was the first prime minister from a minority religion. Bottom right: Narendra Modi is the only prime minister to be born in independent India and is the longest-serving elected prime minister (continuous term). The prime minister is appointed by the president of India; however, the prime minister has to enjoy the confidence of the majority of Lok Sabha members, who are directly elected every five years , unless a prime minister resigns. The prime minister is the presiding member of the Council of Ministers of the Union government. The prime minister unilaterally controls the selection and dismissal of members of the council; and allocation of posts to members within the government. This council, which is collectively responsible to the Lok Sabha as per Article 75(3) , assists the president regarding the operations under the latter's powers; however, by the virtue of Article 74 of the Constitution , such ' aid and advice ' tendered by the council is binding . India has had 14 prime ministers. [ a ] Jawaharlal Nehru was India's first prime minister. Beginning from 1946, Nehru secured a major victory in 1946 Indian Constituent Assembly election and served as prime minister of the Interim Government of India during the British Raj from 2 September 1946 until 14 August 1947. Earlier, his party the Indian National Congress won the 1946 Indian provincial elections . He served as the prime minister of the Dominion of India from 15 August 1947 until 26 January 1950, and thereafter of the Republic of India until his death in May 1964. Nehru was succeeded by Lal Bahadur Shastri , whose 1 year 7-month term ended in his death in Tashkent , then in the USSR , where he had signed the Tashkent Declaration between India and Pakistan. [ 10 ] Indira Gandhi , Nehru's daughter, succeeded Shastri in 1966 to become the country's first female prime minister. [ 11 ] Eleven years later, her party, the Indian National Congress , lost the 1977 Indian general election to the Janata Party , whose leader Morarji Desai became the first non-Congress prime minister. [ 12 ] After Desai resigned in 1979, his former associate Charan Singh briefly held office until the Congress won the 1980 Indian general election and Indira Gandhi returned as prime minister. [ 13 ] Her second term as prime minister ended five years later on 31 October 1984, when she was assassinated by her bodyguards. [ 11 ] Her son Rajiv Gandhi was sworn in as India's youngest premier. Members of Nehru–Gandhi family have been prime minister for approximately 38 years. [ 14 ] After a general election loss, Rajiv Gandhi's five-year term ended; his former cabinet colleague, V. P. Singh of the Janata Dal , formed the year-long National Front coalition government in 1989. A seven-month interlude under prime minister Chandra Shekhar followed, after which the Congress party returned to power, forming the government under P. V. Narasimha Rao in June 1991, Rajiv Gandhi having been assassinated earlier that year. [ 15 ] Rao's five-year term was succeeded by four short-lived governments— Atal Bihari Vajpayee from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) for 13 days in 1996, a year each under United Front prime ministers H. D. Deve Gowda and Inder Kumar Gujral , and Vajpayee again for 13 months in 1998–1999. [ 15 ] In 1999, Vajpayee's Bharatiya Janata Party led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) won the general election, the first non-Congress alliance to do so, and he served a full five-year term as prime minister. [ 16 ] The Indian National Congress and its United Progressive Alliance (UPA) won the general elections in 2004 and 2009, Manmohan Singh serving as prime minister between 2004 and 2014. [ 17 ] The Bharatiya Janata Party won the 2014 Indian general election , and its parliamentary leader Narendra Modi formed the first non-Congress single-party majority government. [ 18 ] The BJP retained power in the 2019 Indian general election with an expanded majority, granting a second term for the incumbent government. Following the 2024 Indian general election , Modi was sworn in for a third consecutive term as prime minister, heading a coalition government after the BJP lost its outright majority in the Lok Sabha . [ 19 ] [ 20 ] No.: Incumbent number † Assassinated or died in office § Returned to office after a previous non-consecutive term NC Resigned following a no-confidence motion External and Commonwealth Affairs Defence (1952–1955, 1957) External Affairs External Affairs (1964) Minister of Home Affairs Minister of Atomic Energy External Affairs (1967–1969) Home Affairs (1970–1973) Information and Broadcasting (1971–1974) Finance (1977, 1979) Home Affairs (1978–1979) Defence (1980–1982) External Affairs (1984) External Affairs (1984–1985, 1987–1988) Tourism , Civil Aviation and Commerce (1984–1985) Environment and Forests (1984–1986) Defence (1985–1987) Human Resource Development External Affairs (1989) External Affairs (1990) Chemicals and Fertilizers (1991–1994) External Affairs (1992–1993) Defence (1993–1996) Railways (1995–1996) Chemicals and Fertilizers Commerce and Industry Home Affairs (1996) Agriculture (1996) Textiles (1996) Urban Development (1996–1997) Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions External Affairs External Affairs (1998) Information and Broadcasting , Communications and Information Technology (1998) Non Conventional Energy Sources (1998–1999) Coal and Mines (2002) Environment and Forests (2003–2004) Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions

External Affairs (2005–2006) Finance (2008–2009, 2012) Culture (2009–2011) Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions List of prime ministers by length of term Lifespan of prime ministers Indian National Congress (68.9%) Bharatiya Janata Party (23.4%) Janata Dal (3.46%) Janata Party (2.96%) Samajwadi Janata Party (Rashtriya) (0.77%) Janata Party (Secular) (0.58%) Parties by total duration (in years) of holding Prime Minister's Office INC/INC(I) / INC(R) Nehru–Gandhi family Prime minister of India President of India Vice President of India List of presidents of India List of vice presidents of India List of deputy prime ministers of India List of prime ministers of India by previous experience List of heads of state and government of Indian origin † Assassinated or died in office § Returned to office after a previous non-consecutive term NC Resigned following a no-confidence motion ↑ 15 including Gulzarilal Nanda who twice acted in the role, of which 7 having at least one full term, ruling country for about 70 years. ↑ Including Gulzarilal Nanda 1 2 3 Pillay, Anashri (2019), "The Constitution of the Republic of India", in Masterman, Roger; Schütze, Robert (eds.), Cambridge Companion to Comparative Constitutional Law , Cambridge University Press, pp. 146– 147, doi : 10.1017/9781316716731 , ISBN 978-1-107-16781-0 , LCCN 2019019723 , S2CID 219881288 ↑ Dam, Shubhankar (2016), "Executive", in Choudhry, Sujit; Khosla, Madhav; Mehta, Pratap Bhanu (eds.), The Oxford Handbook of the Indian Constitution , Oxford and New York: Oxford University Press, p. 307, ISBN 978-0-19-870489-8 , The Prime Minister is the head of government. ↑ Majeed, Akhtar (2005), "Republic of India", in Kincaid, John; Tarr, G. Alan (eds.), Constitutional Origins, Structure, and Change in Federal Countries , A Global Dialogue on Federalism, Volume I, Montreal & Kingston: McGill-Queen's University Press for Forum of Federation and International Association of Centers for Federal Studies, pp. 180– 207, 185, ISBN 0-7735-2849-0 , ...The president is the constitutional head. (p. 185) ↑ Dam, Shubhankar (2016), "Executive", in Choudhry, Sujit; Khosla, Madhav; Mehta, Pratap Bhanu (eds.), The Oxford Handbook of the Indian Constitution , Oxford and New York: Oxford University Press, p. 307, ISBN 978-0-19-870489-8 , The President is the head of the Union of India 1 2 Singh, Nirvikar (2018), "Holding India Together: The Role of Institutions of Federalism", in Mishra, Ajit; Ray, Tridip (eds.), Markets, Governance, and Institutions: In the Process of Economic Development , Oxford University Press, pp. 300– 323, 306, ISBN 978-0-19-881255-5 ↑ Majeed, Akhtar (2005), "Republic of India", in Kincaid, John; Tarr, G. Alan (eds.), Constitutional Origins, Structure, and Change in Federal Countries , A Global Dialogue on Federalism, Volume I, Montreal & Kingston: McGill-Queen's University Press for Forum of Federation and International Association of Centers for Federal Studies, pp. 180– 207, 185, ISBN 0-7735-2849-0 , ...the executive authority is vested in the prime minister and in their Council of Ministers. (p. 185) ↑ Dam, Shubhankar (2016), "Executive", in Choudhry, Sujit; Khosla, Madhav; Mehta, Pratap Bhanu (eds.), The Oxford Handbook of the Indian Constitution , Oxford and New York: Oxford University Press, p. 307, ISBN 978-0-19-870489-8 , Executive power, ordinarily, is exercised by Prime Minister. ↑ Dam, Shubhankar (2016), "Executive", in Choudhry, Sujit; Khosla, Madhav; Mehta, Pratap Bhanu (eds.), The Oxford Handbook of the Indian Constitution , Oxford and New York: Oxford University Press, p. 307, ISBN 978-0-19-870489-8 , Along with his or her cabinet, the Prime Minister is responsible to the Lower House of Parliament. ↑ Majeed, Akhtar (2005), "Republic of India", in Kincaid, John; Tarr, G. Alan (eds.), Constitutional Origins, Structure, and Change in Federal Countries , A Global Dialogue on Federalism, Volume I, Montreal & Kingston: McGill-Queen's University Press for Forum of Federation and International Association of Centers for Federal Studies, pp. 180– 207, 185, ISBN 0-7735-2849-0 , ...Both for the Union and the states, a "cabinet-type" system of parliamentary government has been instituted in which the executive is continuously responsible to the legislature. (p. 185) ↑ Malhotra, Inder (15 January 1995). "Book review: Lal Bahadur Shastri Prime Minister of India 1964-66: A Life of Truth in Politics" . India Today . Retrieved 4 February 2019 . 1 2 Vijaykumar, Neeti (19 January 2017). "Today in 1966: Indira Gandhi becomes Prime Minister" . The Week . Archived from the original on 16 February 2018 . Retrieved 4 February 2019 . ↑ "Before Modi, there was Morarjibhai" . Rediff.com . 7 April 2014. Archived from the original on 30 March 2018 . Retrieved 4 February 2019 . ↑ "JD-U demands Bharat Ratna to former PM Charan Singh" . The Economic Times . 21 December 2015 . Retrieved 4 February 2018 . ↑ Denyer, Simon (2 December 2011). "In India, next generation of Gandhi dynasty" . The Washington Post . Archived from the original on 28 December 2016 . Retrieved 27 December 2016 . 1 2 Iype, George (3 May 2004). "What the former PMs are doing" . Rediff.com . Archived from the original on 25 March 2010 . Retrieved 4 February 2019 . ↑ Ghosh, Deepshikha (16 August 2018). "Atal Bihari Vajpayee: The 3-Time PM Who Captivated India With His Oratory" . NDTV . Archived from the original on 23 December 2018 . Retrieved 4 February 2019 . ↑ "PM Modi, Rahul Gandhi Greet Manmohan Singh On His 86th Birthday" . Outlook . 26 September 2018. Archived from the original on 28 September 2018 . Retrieved 4 February 2019 . ↑ Panda, Ankit (16 May 2014). "BJP, Modi Win Landslide Victory in Indian Elections" . The Diplomat . Archived from the original on 21 December 2016 . Retrieved 27 December 2016 . ↑ "Election Results: Total BJP Sweep, India Chooses Modi 2.0, Show Leads - 10 Points" . NDTV . 21 October 2019 . Retrieved 27 June 2024 . ↑ "PM Set For Historic 3rd Term, Calls It "Victory Of Biggest Democracy" " . NDTV . 5 June 2024 . Retrieved 27 June 2024 . Prime Minister of India By previous experience Jawaharlal Nehru Lal Bahadur Shastri Premiership Morarji Desai Premiership V. P. Singh Premiership Chandra Shekhar P. V. Narasimha Rao Atal Bihari Vajpayee Premiership H. D. Deve Gowda Inder Kumar Gujral Narendra Modi (Incumbent) Premiership Gulzarilal Nanda Eponyms Nehru Shastri Indira Rajiv Vajpayee Modi International trips Nehru Shastri Indira Desai Rajiv Rao Vajpayee Manmohan Modi Indira Gandhi I Indira Gandhi II Indira Gandhi III Indira Gandhi IV Rajiv Gandhi II Manmohan Singh I Manmohan Singh II Antigua and Barbuda Bosnia and Herzegovina Equatorial Guinea Jammu and Kashmir Nagorno-Karabakh Netherlands Antilles North Macedonia Northern Cyprus Northern Ireland Papua New Guinea Republika Srpska Saint Kitts and Nevis Saint Vincent and the Grenadines São Tomé and Príncipe Serbian Krajina Solomon Islands Trinidad and Tobago United Arab Emirates Victor Emmanuel III External Affairs Chemicals and Fertilizers Commerce and Industry Corporate Affairs Electronics and Information Technology Heavy Industries and Public Enterprises Information and Broadcasting Labour and Employment Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises Development of North Eastern Region Ports, Shipping and Waterways Road Transport and Highways Rural Development Housing and Urban Affairs Agriculture and Farmers' Welfare Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying Food Processing Industries Environment, Forest and Climate Change New and Renewable Energy Petroleum and Natural Gas Health and Family Welfare Science and Technology Skill Development and Entrepreneurship Law and Justice Minority Affairs Parliamentary Affairs Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions Social Justice and Empowerment Statistics and Programme Implementation Women and Child Development Youth Affairs and Sports Communications and Information Technology Information Technology Overseas Indian Affairs Surface Transport Drinking Water and Sanitation Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation Agriculture and Farmers' Welfare External Affairs Housing and Urban Affairs Law and Justice Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions Road Transport and Highways Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister Economic Affairs Higher Education Official Language Science and Technology Military Affairs Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade Technical Education Telecommunications Criminal Intelligence Thagi and Dakaiti Prime ministers of India Lists of heads of government Lists of prime ministers by country Lists of people by time in office Lists of political office-holders in India Lists relating to prime ministers of India India politics-related lists Wikipedia semi-protected pages Articles with short description Short description is different from Wikidata Use dmy dates from January 2025 Use Indian English from January 2025 All Wikipedia articles written in Indian English Pages using multiple image with manual scaled images Articles with hCards Pages using the EasyTimeline extension