The Prime Minister of India is the chief executive of the Government of India. Although the President of India is the constitutional, nominal and formal head of state, in practice and in general, executive authority is vested in the Prime Minister and his elected council of ministers.
The Prime Minister is appointed by the President of India. However, the Prime Minister has to enjoy the confidence of a majority of the Lok Sabha members, who are directly elected every five years, unless the Prime Minister resigns. The Prime Minister is the Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the Central Government. The Prime Minister unilaterally controls the selection and dismissal of Council members; and the allocation of positions to members within the government. This Council, which is collectively responsible to the Lok Sabha under Article 75(3), assists the President in operations under the President’s powers; However, under Article 74 of the Constitution, such ‘aid and advice’ given by the Council is binding.
List of Prime Ministers of India (from 1947 to 2023)
The head of state in India is the President, whose powers are largely nominal and ceremonial. Real executive power is vested in the Council of Ministers headed by the Prime Minister, who is elected by the majority party or coalition in the Lok Sabha (lower house of Parliament) and officially appointed by the President. Here is a chronological list of Prime Ministers from oldest to most recent.
| Sr. No. | Name | Time Duration |
| 1 | Pt. Jawaharlal Nehru | 15th August 1947 to 27th May 1964 |
| 2 | Gulzarilal Nanda | 27th May 1964 to 9th June 1964 |
| 3 | Lal Bahadur Shastri | 9th June 1964 to 11th January 1966 |
| 4 | Gulzarilal Nanda | 11th January 1966 to 24th January 1966 |
| 5 | Indira Gandhi | 24th January 1966 to 24th March 1977 |
| 6 | Morarji Desai | 24th March 1977 to 28th July 1979 |
| 7 | Charan Singh | 28th July 1979 to 14th January 1980 |
| 8 | Indira Gandhi | 14th January 1980 to 31st October 1984 |
| 9 | Rajiv Gandhi | 31st October 1984 to 2nd December 1989 |
| 10 | Vishwanath Pratap Singh | 2nd December 1989 to 10th November 1990 |
| 11 | Chandra Shekhar | 10th November 1990 to 21st June 1991 |
| 12 | P.V. Narasimha Rao | 21st June 1991 to 16th May 1996 |
| 13 | Atal Bihari Vajpayee | 16th May 1996 to 1st June 1996 |
| 14 | H.D. Deve Gowda | 1st June 1996 to 21st April 1997 |
| 15 | Inder Kumar Gujral | 21st April 1997 to 19th March 1998 |
| 16 | Atal Bihari Vajpayee | 19th March 1998 to 22nd May 2004 |
| 17 | Dr. Manmohan Singh | 22nd May 2004 to 26th May 2014 |
| 18 | Narendra Modi | 26th May 2014 to Present |
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