The Prime Minister of India
Prime Minister's Residence
  • The Prime Minister of India is the leader of the executive of the Government of India.
  • The Prime Minister is also the chief adviser to the President of India.
  • The Prime Minister of India is the head of the Council of Ministers.
  • Appointer: The President of India
  • Oath or Affirmation: By the President of India
  • Term length: 5 years
  • Residence: 7 Lok Kalyan Marg, New Delhi, India
  • Deputy: Vacant, Deputy Prime Minister of India
  • Inaugural holder: Pt. Jawaharlal Nehru (1947-64)
  • Formation: 15 August 1947
  • Salary: 20 lakh (US$28,000 annual, including Rs. 960,000 (US$13,000) MP’s salary)
  • Present PM: Shri. Narendra Damodardas Modi
  • Assumed office: 26 May 2014
  • Preceded by: Dr. Manmohan Singh

Qualifications
 A Prime minister must be:
  • A citizen of India.
  • Should be a member of Lok Sabha/Rajya Sabha.

à If a person elected Prime Minister is neither a member of the Lok Sabha nor Rajya Sabha, then he must become a member of the Lok Sabha/Rajya Sabha within six months.
  • He should have completed 25 years of age (In the case of a seat in the Lok Sabha) or he should have completed 30 years of age (In the case of a seat in the Rajya Sabha).
  • He should not hold any office of profit.

Election
  • The Prime Minister of India and the Council of Ministers are elected by being voted upon by all adult citizens of India.
  • Every adult citizen of India can vote only in their constituency.
  • Candidates, who won the Lok Sabha/General Elections are called Member of Parliament and hold their seats for five years or until the body is dissolved by the President of India on the advice of the Council of Ministers.

Powers and Role of the Prime Minister
  •  In relation to the Council of Ministers
  • In relation to the President
  • In relation to the Parliament
  • He is the chairman of the NITI Aayog, National Development Council, And National Integration Council; Inter-State Council and National Water Resources Council.
  • He plays a significant role in shaping the Foreign Policy of the country.
  • He is the chief Spokesman of the Union Government.
  • He is the crisis manager-in-chief at the political level during emergencies.
  • As a leader of the nation, he meets various sections of people in different states and receives memoranda from them, regarding their problems, and so on.
  • He is the leader of the party in power.
  • He is the political head of the services.
  • The Prime Minister appoints the Council of Ministers, distributes portfolios among them, acts as the link between the Council of Ministers and the President of India and is the chief spokesperson of India’s Foreign Policy.

Tenure and Removal from office
  • The Prime Minister serves on the pleasure of the President of India, hence a Prime Minister may remain in office indefinitely, so long as the President of India has confidence in him/her.
  • However, a Prime Minister must have the confidence of Lok Sabha, the lower house of the Parliament of India.
  • However, the term of a Prime Minister can end before the end of a Lok Sabha’s term, if a simple majority of its members no longer have confidence in him/her, this is called a ‘Vote of No Confidence’.
  • Also, a Prime Minister can resign from office; Morarji Desai was the first Prime Minister to resign while in office.

Articles Related to Prime Minister at a Glance
à Article 74: Council of Ministers to aid and advise President
à Article 75: Other provisions as to Ministers
à Article 77: Conduct of business of the Government of India
à Article 78: Duties of Prime Minister as respects the furnishing of information to the President, etc.

List of the Prime Minister of India

S.N.
Name
Born-Dead
Term of office
Remark
1.
Jawahar Lal Nehru
(1889–1964)
5 August 1947-27 May 1964
16 years, 286 days
First prime minister of India and longest serving PM of India, first to die in office.
2.
Gulzarilal Nanda
(1898–1998)
27 May,1964 to 9 June 1964,
13 days
First acting PM of India
3.
Lal Bahadur Shastri
(1904–1966)
9 June, 1964 to 11 January 1966
1 year, 216 days
He given slogan of 'Jai Jawan Jai Kisan' during Indo-Pak war of 1965
4.
Indira Gandhi
(1917–1984)
24 January 1966 to 24 March 1977
11 years, 59 days
First lady Prime Minister of India
5.
Morarji Desai
(1896–1995)
24 March 1977 – 28 July 1979 
2 year, 116 days
Oldest to become PM @ 81 and first to resign from office
6.
Charan Singh
(1902–1987)
28 July, 1979 to 14 Jan. 1980
170 days
Only PM who did not face the Parliament
7.
Indira Gandhi
(1917–1984)
14 Jan.1980 to 31 Oct. 1984
4 years, 291 days
First lady who served as PM for second term
8.
Rajiv Gandhi
(1944–1991)
31 Oct, 1984 to 2 Dec. 1989
5 years, 32 days
Youngest to become PM @ 40 year
9.
V. P. Singh
(1931–2008)
2 Dec. 1989 to 10 Nov. 1990
343 days
First PM to step down after vote of no confidence
10.
Chandra Shekhar
(1927–2007)
10 November,1990 to 21 June 1991
223 days
He belongs to  Samajwadi Janata Party
11.
P. V. Narasimha Rao
(1921–2004)
21 June 1991 to 16 May 1996
4 years, 330 days
First PM from south India
12.
Atal Bihari Vajpayee
(born 1924)
16 May, 1996 to 1 June 1996
16 days
PM for shortest tenure
13.
H. D. Deve Gowda
(born 1933)
1 June, 1996 to 21 April 1997
324 days
He belongs to  Janata Dal
14.
Inder Kumar Gujral
(1919–2012)
21 April 1997 to 19 March, 1998  332 days
------
15.
Atal Bihari Vajpayee
(born 1924)
19 March, 1998 to 22 May 2004 
6 years, 64 days
 First non congress PM who completed full term as PM
16.
Manmohan Singh
(born 1932)
22 May 2004 to 26 May 2014   
10 years, 4 May 2 days
 First Sikh PM
17.
Narendra Modi
(born 1950)
26 May 2014, Incumbent
4th Prime Minister of India who served two consecutive tenures

Narendra Modi will be the 15th Prime Minister of India. He is the 4th Prime Minister of India who would serve two consecutive terms as Prime Minister of India and the first Non Congress Party Prime Minister of India who would complete two consecutive terms.

References

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