List of Prime Ministers of India (1947-2024)

Most of the government exams like SSC, Banking, Railways, etc aspirants find many questions from the general awareness section. This is an extensive section and sometimes questions are very factual. Hence, we will cover the general awareness section comprehensively so that students can learn and get most of the questions correct in this section. In this article, we will provide a complete list of PM of India from 1947 to 2023.

List of All Prime Ministers of India

Narendra Modi presently serves as the 14th Prime Minister of India, having taken office on May 30, 2019. Jawaharlal Nehru holds the distinction of being India’s first and longest-serving Prime Minister of India, while Indira Gandhi is notably the first and sole female Prime Minister of India to have held the position. Find out the complete roster of India’s Prime Ministers for more details.

List of All Prime Ministers of India 1947-2023

Currently, Prime Ministers of India 2023, Narendra Modi holds the position as the 14th Prime Minister of India. If he serves two consecutive terms, he will be the fourth Indian Prime Minister to achieve this feat and the first non-Congress Prime Minister to do so. The Prime Minister of India is the leader of the government in the Republic of India. While the President of India is the Constitutional, nominal, and ceremonial head of the State, the Prime Minister, along with their chosen Council of Ministers, wields executive authority.

Article 75 of the Indian Constitution mentions that a Prime Minister is someone who the President appoints. There is no specific procedure for their election or appointment. He the person who is the head of the government and chief of the executive branch of the Union Government.

Article 78 of the Indian Constitution outlines the duties of the Prime Minister of India, who serves as a connection between the President and the Cabinet in the execution of their duties.

Also, Article 74(1) of the Indian Constitution states that a Council of Ministers will be headed by a Prime Minister who will assist and advise the President. The Indian Constitution itself recognizes a Council of Ministers.

Since 1947, India has had 14 Prime Ministers and here in this article, we are going to list India’s Prime Ministers with serving tenure and more.

List of Prime Ministers of India From 1947-2023

Here in this section, you will get a detailed List of Prime Minister of India from 1947-2024 and their achievements.

Prime Ministers of India list
S.No	Prime Ministers of India since 1947	Tenure	Served Years	Birth-Death	Party	Achievements
1	Shri Jawaharlal Nehru	15 August 1947 – 27 May 1964	16 years, 286 days	1889–1964	Indian National Congress	First PM of India, led India’s transition to independence, established a secular and democratic state, implemented various economic and social policies.
2	Shri Gulzarilal Nanda	27 May 1964 – 9 June 1964	13 days	1898–1998	Indian National Congress	Served as interim Prime Minister.
3	Shri Lal Bahadur Shastri	9 June 1964 – 11 January 1966	1 year, 216 days	1904–1966	Indian National Congress	Led India to victory in the 1965 Indo-Pakistani War, initiated the Green Revolution.
4	Shri Gulzarilal Nanda	11 January 1966 – 24 January 1966	13 days	1898–1998	Indian National Congress	Served as interim Prime Minister again.
5	Smt. Indira Gandhi	24 January 1966 – 24 March 1977	11 years, 59 days	1917–1984	Indian National Congress	Nationalized banks, implemented the Garibi Hatao program, played a key role in the Bangladesh Liberation War.
6	Shri Morarji Desai	24 March 1977 – 28 July 1979	2 years, 126 days	1896–1995	Janata Party	Implemented economic and social policies emphasizing rural development and self-reliance.
7	Chaudhary Charan Singh	28 July 1979 – 14 January 1980	170 days	1902–1987	Janata Party	Served as interim Prime Minister.
8	Smt. Indira Gandhi	14 January 1980 – 31 October 1984	4 years, 291 days	1917–1984	Indian National Congress	Launched the National Rural Employment Program, faced challenges of militancy in Punjab and Assam.
9	Shri Rajiv Gandhi	31 October 1984 – 2 December 1989	5 years, 32 days	1944–1991	Indian National Congress	Modernized India’s economy, introduced new technologies, launched the Panchayati Raj system.
10	Shri Vishwanath Pratap Singh	2 December 1989 – 10 November 1990	343 days	1931–2008	Janata Dal	Implemented the Mandal Commission recommendations for social disadvantaged groups.
11	Shri Chandra Shekhar	10 November 1990 – 21 June 1991	223 days	1927–2007	Samajwadi Janata Party (Rashtriya)	Served as Prime Minister during a period of political instability.
12	Shri P. V. Narasimha Rao	21 June 1991 – 16 May 1996	4 years, 330 days	1921–2004	Indian National Congress	Initiated economic reforms, liberalized the Indian economy, introduced globalization measures.
13	Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee	16 May 1996 – 1 June 1996	16 days	1924–2018	Bharatiya Janata Party	Served as Prime Minister for 13 days, leading a coalition government.
14	Shri H. D. Deve Gowda	1 June 1996 – 21 April 1997	324 days	born 1933	Janata Dal (United Front)	Served as Prime Minister of a multi-party coalition government.
15	Shri Inder Kumar Gujral	21 April 1997 – 19 March 1998	332 days	1919–2012	Janata Dal (United Front)	Served as Prime Minister of a multi-party coalition government.
16	Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee	19 March 1998 – 22 May 2004	6 years, 64 days	1924–2018	Bharatiya Janata Party	Led a coalition government, conducted nuclear tests in Pokhran, initiated the National Highway Development Project.
17	Dr. Manmohan Singh	22 May 2004 – 26 May 2014	10 years, 4 days	born 1932	Indian National Congress	Oversaw rapid economic growth, implemented social welfare schemes, introduced the Right to Information Act.
18	Shri Narendra Modi	26 May 2014 – Present (as of last update in April 2023)	9 years, 317 days (as of 22 March 2024)	born 1950	Bharatiya Janata Party	Introduced initiatives like Swachh Bharat Abhiyan, Make in India, Digital India, implemented GST.

How Prime Minister of India Elected?

• The candidate for Prime Minister of India must be a citizen of India.
• To be a PM the candidate should either be a member of the Lok Sabha or the Rajya Sabha.
• The age should be 25 if he/she is a member of the Lok Sabha and 30 if he/she is the member of the Rajya Sabha.
• The Indian President holds the power to select a person as the PM of India.
• The PM candidate must be a member of a political party that holds the majority of votes in the Lok Sabha.
• The Indian PM candidate must not hold any office of profit under the government of India or any state government.
• The candidate of the PM should not hold any criminal charges

Key Points from the List of all the Prime Ministers of India

• Jawaharlal Nehru was the first Prime Minister of independent India and he was the longest served PM of India. He is also the first PM of India who dies in Office.
• Srmt. Indira Gandhi was the first female Prime Minister of India.
• The first non-Congress Prime Minister of India was Morarji Desai. He was also the oldest to be appointed as a PM of India.
• Chaudhary Charan Singh was the only PM of India who did not face a confidence vote in the Indian Parliament.
• In Indian political history, Rajiv Gandhi was the youngest Prime Minister of India.
• V. P. Singh became the first Prime Minister who resigned after the vote of no confidence
• The first prime minister to be appointed from the southern region of the nation was P. V. Narasimha Rao.
• Atal Bihari Vajpayee was the only prime minister to win 6 Lok Sabha Constituencies from 4 states- Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, New Delhi and Gujarat.
• India’s first Sikh prime minister was Manmohan Singh.
• Narendra Modi is the only PM of India who was born after India’s independence.

Prime Ministers of India Quiz suitable for UPSC Exam, IAS Exam, and other government exams:

Who was the first Prime Minister of India?

a) Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel

b) Jawaharlal Nehru

c) Dr. Rajendra Prasad

d) Lal Bahadur Shastri

Answer: b) Jawaharlal Nehru

Which Prime Minister of India served for the shortest tenure?

a) Gulzarilal Nanda

b) Charan Singh

c) H.D. Deve Gowda

d) Atal Bihari Vajpayee

Answer: a) Gulzarilal Nanda

Who was the first woman Prime Minister of India?

a) Indira Gandhi

b) Pratibha Patil

c) Sonia Gandhi

d) Sarojini Naidu

Answer: a) Indira Gandhi

Which Prime Minister of India initiated the economic liberalization in 1991?

a) Rajiv Gandhi

b) P.V. Narasimha Rao

c) Manmohan Singh

d) Atal Bihari Vajpayee

Answer: b) P.V. Narasimha Rao

Who was the Prime Minister of India during the Kargil War (1999)?

a) Indira Gandhi

b) Rajiv Gandhi

c) Atal Bihari Vajpayee

d) Manmohan Singh

Answer: c) Atal Bihari Vajpayee

Which Prime Minister of India has the longest cumulative tenure?

a) Jawaharlal Nehru

b) Indira Gandhi

c) Manmohan Singh

d) Narendra Modi

Answer: a) Jawaharlal Nehru

Who was the Prime Minister of India when the Goods and Services Tax (GST) was launched?

a) Manmohan Singh

b) Narendra Modi

c) Atal Bihari Vajpayee

d) P.V. Narasimha Rao

Answer: b) Narendra Modi

Who was the Prime Minister of India during the Emergency (1975-1977)?

a) Lal Bahadur Shastri

b) Indira Gandhi

c) Morarji Desai

d) Rajiv Gandhi

Answer: b) Indira Gandhi

Which Prime Minister of India signed the Lahore Declaration with Pakistan in 1999?

a) I.K. Gujral

b) Atal Bihari Vajpayee

c) Manmohan Singh

d) Narendra Modi

Answer: b) Atal Bihari Vajpayee

Who was the Prime Minister of India when the Right to Information (RTI) Act was passed?

a) Manmohan Singh

b) Atal Bihari Vajpayee

c) P.V. Narasimha Rao

d) Narendra Modi

Answer: a) Manmohan Singh

Conclusion

India’s Prime Ministers have come from a variety of backgrounds and political parties, but they have all shared a deep commitment to public service and a desire to make India a better place. Here in this article, we have shared a list of PM of India. So that you can know who they are and what are their achievement as the Prime Ministers of India since 1947.

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Prime Ministers of India List – FAQs

Who was the first Prime Minister of India?

Jawaharlal Nehru was the first Prime Minister of India, serving from 1947 to 1964.

How many Prime Ministers has India had?

As of April 2023, India has had 15 Prime Ministers.

Who was the first female Prime Minister of India?

Indira Gandhi was the first and, to date, the only female Prime Minister of India.

Which Indian Prime Minister served the shortest term?

Gulzarilal Nanda served as the acting Prime Minister for two short periods, but among the officially appointed Prime Ministers, Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s first term in 1996 was the shortest, lasting just 13 days.

Who has been the longest-serving Prime Minister of India?

Jawaharlal Nehru holds the record for the longest continuous term as Prime Minister.

Who was the Prime Minister of India during the 1991 economic reforms?

P. V. Narasimha Rao was the Prime Minister during the significant economic reforms of 1991.

Has India ever had a Prime Minister from the Sikh community?

Yes, Dr. Manmohan Singh, who served from 2004 to 2014, was the first Sikh Prime Minister of India.

Who is the youngest PM of India?

Rajiv Gandhi is India’s youngest Prime Minister.

Which Indian Prime Minister has received the Bharat Ratna award?

Several Prime Ministers, including Jawaharlal Nehru, Indira Gandhi, Lal Bahadur Shastri, and Atal Bihari Vajpayee, have been awarded the Bharat Ratna.

Who was the Prime Minister of India during the Kargil War?

Atal Bihari Vajpayee was the Prime Minister during the Kargil War in 1999.

Are there any Prime Ministers who served non-consecutive terms?

Yes, Indira Gandhi and Atal Bihari Vajpayee both served non-consecutive terms as Prime Ministers of India.