List of Prime Ministers of India (1947–2026): Tenure & Facts

Understanding the Office of the Prime Minister

The Prime Minister is the real executive head of India's government, even though the President is the constitutional head of state. Under Articles 74 and 75 of the Constitution, the President appoints the Prime Minister — but only the leader who can command a majority in the Lok Sabha gets the job, and the Council of Ministers stays in office only as long as it holds that majority's confidence.

This List of Prime Ministers of India is one of the highest-yield static GK topics across competitive exams, because it links constitutional design (Articles 74–75), modern Indian political history, and current affairs (the sitting PM) into a single, frequently tested thread. Aspirants preparing an indian prime ministers list for revision should focus on four things: the exact chronological order, unique "firsts," tenures that ended in death or resignation, and terms that ran non-consecutively.

Full List of Prime Ministers of India with Tenure

No.	Prime Minister	Term(s) of Office	Party
1	Jawaharlal Nehru	15 Aug 1947 – 27 May 1964	Indian National Congress
—	Gulzarilal Nanda (Acting)	27 May 1964 – 9 Jun 1964	Indian National Congress
2	Lal Bahadur Shastri	9 Jun 1964 – 11 Jan 1966	Indian National Congress
—	Gulzarilal Nanda (Acting)	11 Jan 1966 – 24 Jan 1966	Indian National Congress
3	Indira Gandhi	24 Jan 1966 – 24 Mar 1977; 14 Jan 1980 – 31 Oct 1984	Indian National Congress
4	Morarji Desai	24 Mar 1977 – 28 Jul 1979	Janata Party
5	Charan Singh	28 Jul 1979 – 14 Jan 1980	Janata Party (Secular)
6	Rajiv Gandhi	31 Oct 1984 – 2 Dec 1989	Indian National Congress
7	V. P. Singh	2 Dec 1989 – 10 Nov 1990	Janata Dal
8	Chandra Shekhar	10 Nov 1990 – 21 Jun 1991	Samajwadi Janata Party
9	P. V. Narasimha Rao	21 Jun 1991 – 16 May 1996	Indian National Congress
10	Atal Bihari Vajpayee	16 May 1996 – 1 Jun 1996; 19 Mar 1998 – 22 May 2004	Bharatiya Janata Party
11	H. D. Deve Gowda	1 Jun 1996 – 21 Apr 1997	Janata Dal
12	I. K. Gujral	21 Apr 1997 – 19 Mar 1998	Janata Dal
13	Manmohan Singh	22 May 2004 – 26 May 2014	Indian National Congress
14	Narendra Modi	26 May 2014 – Incumbent	Bharatiya Janata Party

Note: Vajpayee's second and third stints (1998–1999 and 1999–2004) are combined above for readability but are sometimes listed as separate terms following the 1999 general election.

Who Was the First PM of India?

Jawaharlal Nehru was the first Prime Minister of India, taking oath on 15 August 1947, the very day the country gained independence. He went on to serve continuously for almost 17 years, until his death in office in May 1964 — a tenure no successor has matched.

Nehru's time in office laid the institutional groundwork for modern India: the Constitution came into force under his leadership in 1950, he launched the Five-Year Plans to guide economic development, championed a foreign policy of non-alignment during the Cold War, and pushed for the creation of scientific and technical institutions that still shape the country today. His daughter, Indira Gandhi, would later become India's only woman Prime Minister, continuing the family's outsized role in Indian politics.

Because "who was the first PM of India" is such a common search and exam question, it's worth remembering the follow-up fact examiners like to pair with it: Nehru is also the longest-serving PM, so questions sometimes test both facts together as a trick pairing.

Profile of Key Prime Ministers

1. Lal Bahadur Shastri (1964–1966)

Best remembered for the wartime slogan "Jai Jawan Jai Kisan" during the 1965 India-Pakistan war, Shastri died shortly after signing the Tashkent Declaration, making his tenure one of the shortest full terms in the list.

2. Indira Gandhi (1966–1977, 1980–1984)

India's only woman Prime Minister to date, Indira Gandhi served two non-consecutive terms marked by the nationalisation of banks, the 1971 war that led to Bangladesh's independence, and the imposition of the Emergency (1975–1977). She was assassinated in October 1984.

3. Morarji Desai (1977–1979)

The first non-Congress Prime Minister, Desai came to power after the Emergency ended, at the head of the newly formed Janata Party — a landmark moment showing that Congress's early dominance was not permanent.

4. Charan Singh (1979–1980)

Unique among all Indian PMs: Charan Singh never once faced Parliament for a confidence vote during his entire tenure, making him a frequent subject of "unusual facts" exam questions.

5. P. V. Narasimha Rao (1991–1996)

Widely regarded as the architect of India's 1991 economic liberalisation, Rao appointed Manmohan Singh as Finance Minister and became the first Prime Minister from South India, as well as the first non-Nehru-Gandhi PM to complete a full five-year term.

6. Atal Bihari Vajpayee (1996; 1998–2004)

Vajpayee's first term lasted only 13 days — the shortest of any PM — but his later terms saw the 1998 Pokhran-II nuclear tests and made him the first non-Congress PM to complete a full five-year term.

7. Manmohan Singh (2004–2014)

An economist by training, Manmohan Singh became India's first Sikh Prime Minister and is credited with steering major economic and social legislation, including the Right to Information Act and MGNREGA.

8. Narendra Modi (2014–present)

India's current Prime Minister and the first to be born after independence, Narendra Modi has now won three consecutive general elections (2014, 2019, 2024), making him the longest-serving non-Congress Prime Minister in the country's history.

 Acting Prime Ministers — A Detail Exams Love to Test

Gulzarilal Nanda served as Acting Prime Minister twice — for about two weeks after Nehru's death in 1964, and again for about two weeks after Shastri's death in 1966. Both times, he stepped aside once a permanent successor was chosen by the Congress party. Because he never held the post through a general election mandate, Nanda is not included in the official numbered list of 14 Prime Ministers, similar to how acting heads of state are excluded from official President or Governor counts elsewhere in Indian polity.

This is a frequent exam trap: some sources casually list "15 or 16 Prime Ministers" by mistakenly counting Nanda's two acting stints as separate entries.

Pactice General knowledge Quizzes

How the Prime Minister of India Is Appointed

1. General elections are held for the Lok Sabha every five years (or earlier, if dissolved).
2. The party or coalition with a majority stakes its claim to form the government.
3. The President formally appoints the leader of that majority as Prime Minister, under Article 75.
4. The Prime Minister then recommends other ministers, who are appointed by the President on the PM's advice.
5. The government remains in office only as long as it retains the confidence of the Lok Sabha.

Powers and Functions of the Prime Minister

• Chairs the Council of Ministers and sets the overall direction of government policy
• Principal channel of communication between the Cabinet and the President
• Controls ministerial appointments, reshuffles, and portfolio allocation
• Represents India internationally at summits and bilateral meetings
• Chairs key bodies such as NITI Aayog and various Cabinet Committees
• Advises the President on the exercise of significant executive decisions

Constitution of India Quizzes

Key Facts and Records Every Aspirant Should Know

Distinction	Prime Minister
First Prime Minister of India	Jawaharlal Nehru
Longest-serving PM	Jawaharlal Nehru (nearly 17 years)
Shortest-serving PM (full term)	Atal Bihari Vajpayee (13 days, 1996)
Shortest-serving PM (never faced Parliament)	Charan Singh
Only woman Prime Minister	Indira Gandhi
First non-Congress PM	Morarji Desai
First PM from South India	P. V. Narasimha Rao
First Sikh Prime Minister	Manmohan Singh
First PM born after independence	Narendra Modi
PMs who died in office	Jawaharlal Nehru, Lal Bahadur Shastri, Indira Gandhi (assassinated), Rajiv Gandhi (assassinated)
Current Prime Minister	Narendra Modi
Total Prime Ministers to date	14

 

Prime Minister vs President: Key Differences

A common point of confusion for aspirants. Here's a quick side-by-side:

Aspect	Prime Minister	President
Type of head	Real/executive head	Nominal/ceremonial head
Appointed by	President (Article 75)	Elected by Electoral College
Term	No fixed term; depends on Lok Sabha majority	Fixed 5-year term
Real power	Exercises actual executive authority	Acts on PM's advice (Article 74)
Removal	Loses office on losing Lok Sabha confidence	Removed only by impeachment
Accountability	Answerable to Parliament	Not directly answerable to Parliament

List of President of India

Prime Ministers Who Also Served as Chief Ministers

Several PMs built their national careers on a foundation of state leadership — a detail exams like to cross-test with state-level GK:

• Narendra Modi: Chief Minister of Gujarat (2001–2014) before becoming PM
• Morarji Desai: Chief Minister of Bombay State (1952–1956) before later becoming PM
• P. V. Narasimha Rao: Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh (1971–1973) before becoming PM

This state-to-centre career path is far more common among PMs than most static GK guides highlight.

Coalition Era: 1989–2014 in Focus

Between Rajiv Gandhi's exit in 1989 and Narendra Modi's decisive majority in 2014, India was governed almost entirely by coalition governments — a 25-year stretch that reshaped how the Prime Minister's office functioned:

• 1989–1999: Six different Prime Ministers in a decade (V. P. Singh, Chandra Shekhar, Rao, Vajpayee×2, Deve Gowda, Gujral)
• 1999–2004: NDA coalition under Vajpayee — the first coalition government to complete a full term
• 2004–2014: UPA coalition under Manmohan Singh, across two terms

Understanding this coalition era helps explain why so many PMs on the list served unusually short terms — it wasn't personal failure, but the arithmetic of shifting alliances.

Prime Ministers Awarded the Bharat Ratna

India's highest civilian honour has gone to several PMs, either during or after their tenure — a fact frequently paired with "Bharat Ratna recipients" GK questions:

Prime Minister	Year Awarded
Jawaharlal Nehru	1955
Lal Bahadur Shastri	1966 (posthumous)
Indira Gandhi	1971
Rajiv Gandhi	1991 (posthumous)
Morarji Desai	1991
P. V. Narasimha Rao	Not awarded during his lifetime; conferred posthumously in 2024
Atal Bihari Vajpayee	2015