Prime Minister of India
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| Prime Minister of India |
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Emblem of India |
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| Residence | 7, Race Course Road, New Delhi |
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| Appointer | President |
| Term length | 5 Years |
| Inaugural holder | Pandit Jawahar Lal Nehru |
| Formation | 1947 |
| Website | http://pmindia.nic.in/ |
The Prime Minister of India is the head of government of the Republic of India, and head of the Council of Ministers, appointed by the President to assist the latter in the administration of the affairs of the executive in India. The Prime Minister is responsible for the discharge of the functions and power vested in the President in terms of the Constitution of India. He is appointed by the President, being recognized as the leader of the majority party in the two Houses of the Parliament of India.
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[edit] Constitutional framework and position of Prime Minister
The Constitution envisages a scheme of affairs in which the President of India is technically the head of the executive in terms of Article 53 with office of the Prime Minister as heading the Council of Ministers to assist and advise the President in the discharge of the executive power. To quote, Article 53 and 74 provide as under;
The executive powers of the Union shall be vested in the President and shall be exercised by him either directly or through officers subordinate to him in accordance with the Constitution.
— Article 53(1), Constitution of India
There shall be a Council of Ministers with the Prime Minister at the head to aid and advise the President who shall, in the exercise of his functions, act in accordance with such advice.
— Article 74(1), Constitution of India
Typically like most parliamentary democracies where the Head of State's duties are largely ceremonial, the Prime Minister of India is the head of government and has effective responsibility for executive power. With India following a parliamentary system of government (known as the Westminster system after that of the United Kingdom), the Prime Minister is generally the leader of a party (or coalition of parties) that has a majority in the Lok Sabha, the lower house of the Parliament of India. The Prime Minister either has to be a current member of one of the houses of Parliament, or be elected within six months of being appointed.
[edit] Role of the Prime Minister
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The Prime Minister leads the functioning and exercise of authority of the Government of India. He or she is invited by the President as leader of the majority party in the Parliament of India to form a government at the federal level (known as Central Government in India) and exercise its powers. In practice the Prime Minister nominates the members of his or her Council of Ministers [1] [2] [3] to the President. He or she also works upon to decide a core group of Ministers (known as the Cabinet)[1] as in-charge of the important functions and ministries of the Government of India.
As the head of the government, the Prime Minister is responsible for distribution of work of the Government to various ministries and offices and in terms of the Government of India (Allocation of Business) Rules, 1961 [4] whereunder the Prime Minister's Office [5] allocates the work to be performed by various Ministries. The work is generally allocated to the Cabinet Secretariat [6] which in turn acts as a nodal agency for the functioning of the various Ministries. While generally the entire work of the Government in divided into various Ministries, the Prime Minister may retain certain portfolios with himself or herself.
The Prime Minister, in consultation with the Cabinet, schedules and attends the sessions of the Houses of Parliament and is required to answer the question put to him by the Members of Parliament [7] to him or her as the in-charge of the portfolios he holds or in his or her capacity as the Prime Minister of India. [8] The Prime Minister is also the ex officio Chairman of the Planning Commission of India. He or she also appoints the Deputy Chairman of the Commission, who is responsible for the functioning of the Commission and reports to the Prime Minister.
The Prime Minister represents the country in various delegations, high level meetings and international organizations that require the attendance of the highest government office [9] and also addresses to the nation on various issues of national or other importance. [10] He or she also has to his or her exclusive jurisdiction the disposal of two national funds, (i) the PM's National Relief Fund [11], and (ii) the PM's National Defence Fund [12], which he or she uses in his or her discretion to the attainment of the objectives behind the establishment of these funds.
[edit] List of Prime Ministers of India
The pattern of Prime Ministers elected for Republic of India shows its well natured tradition of unity in diversity, India has elected Prime Ministers from various linguistic backgrounds, various cultures, religious or political faiths and there is no difference on the basis of gender as well.
| No. | Name | Portrait | Entered office | Left office | Date of Birth | Date of Death | Political party |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jawaharlal Nehru | 15 August 1947 c | 27 May 1964 1 | 14 November 1889 | 27 May 1964 | Indian National Congress | |
| 2 | Gulzarilal Nanda | 27 May 1964 | 9 June 1964 * | 4 July 1898 | 15 January 1998 | Indian National Congress | |
| 3 | Lal Bahadur Shastri | 9 June 1964 | 11 January 1966 1 | 2 October 1904 | 11 January 1966 | Indian National Congress | |
| 4 | Gulzarilal Nanda | 11 January 1966 | 24 January 1966 * | 4 July 1898 | 15 January 1998 | Indian National Congress | |
| 5 | Indira Gandhi | 24 January 1966 2 c | 24 March 1977 | 19 November 1917 | 31 October 1984 | Indian National Congress | |
| 6 | Morarji Desai | 24 March 1977 | 28 July 1979 4 | 29 February 1896 | 10 April 1995 | Janata Party | |
| 7 | Charan Singh | 28 July 1979 | 14 January 1980 3 | 23 December 1902 | 29 May 1987 | Janata Party | |
| 8 | Indira Gandhi | 14 January 1980 2 | 31 October 1984 1 | 19 November 1917 | 31 October 1984 | Indian National Congress | |
| 9 | Rajiv Gandhi | 31 October 1984 c | 2 December 1989 | 20 August 1944 | 21 May 1991 | Indian National Congress (Indira) | |
| 10 | Vishwanath Pratap Singh | 2 December 1989 | 10 November 1990 3 | 25 June 1931 | 27 November 2008 | Janata Dal | |
| 11 | Chandra Shekhar | 10 November 1990 | 21 June 1991 | 1 July 1927 | 8 July 2007 | Samajwadi Janata Party | |
| 12 | P. V. Narasimha Rao | 21 June 1991 c | 16 May 1996 | 28 June 1921 | 23 December 2004 | Indian National Congress | |
| 13 | Atal Bihari Vajpayee | 16 May 1996 | 1 June 1996 3 | 25 December 1924 | Alive | Bharatiya Janata Party | |
| 14 | H. D. Deve Gowda | 1 June 1996 | 21 April 1997 3 | 18 May 1933 | Alive | Janata Dal | |
| 15 | Inder Kumar Gujral | 21 April 1997 | 19 March 1998 | 4 December 1919 | Alive | Janata Dal | |
| 16 | Atal Bihari Vajpayee | 19 March 1998 c | 22 May 2004 | 25 December 1924 | Alive | Bharatiya Janata Party | |
| 17 | Dr. Manmohan Singh | 22 May 2004 | Incumbent | 26 September 1932 | Alive | Indian National Congress |
- * Interim - It is debatable whether Mr. Gulzari Lal Nanda was a Prime Minister or an Acting Prime Minister. The constitution does not have a position of acting Prime Minister. Mr. Nanda was sworn in as the Prime Minister of India. In contrast, the constitution provides for an acting President who discharges the duties of a President. Hence, constitutional experts and historians now agree that Mr. Nanda is the second Prime Minister of India.
c-indicates a full term
- 1 Assassinated or Died in Office
- 2 Returned to Office
- 3 Resigned
- 4 Dismissed by President following a no-confidence motion
[edit] Notes
- ^ a b "Prime Minister and the Cabinet Ministers". pmindia.nic.in. http://pmindia.nic.in/team.htm. Retrieved on 2008-06-05.
- ^ "Ministers of State (Independent Charge)". pmindia.nic.in. http://pmindia.nic.in/mos_ind.htm. Retrieved on 2008-06-05.
- ^ "Ministers of State (without Independent Charge)". pmindia.nic.in. http://pmindia.nic.in/mos.htm. Retrieved on 2008-06-05.
- ^ "(Allocation of Business) Rules 1961". cabsec.nic.in. http://cabsec.nic.in/abr/welcome.html. Retrieved on 2008-06-05.
- ^ "Prime Minister's Office". pmindia.nic.in. http://pmindia.nic.in/. Retrieved on 2008-06-05.
- ^ "Cabinet Secretariat,Govt.of India". cabsec.gov.in. http://cabsec.gov.in/. Retrieved on 2008-06-05.
- ^ "Member of Parliament - Wikipedia". en.wikipedia.org. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Members_of_Parliament#India. Retrieved on 2008-06-05.
- ^ "PM's answers to Parliamentary Questions". pmindia.nic.in. http://pmindia.nic.in/parl.htm. Retrieved on 2008-06-05.
- ^ "Recent Visit of the Prime Minister". pmindia.nic.in. http://pmindia.nic.in/visits.htm. Retrieved on 2008-06-05.
- ^ "Recent National Messages of the PM". pmindia.nic.in. http://pmindia.nic.in/message.htm. Retrieved on 2008-06-05.
- ^ "PM's National Relief Fund". pmindia.nic.in. http://pmindia.nic.in/relieffund.htm. Retrieved on 2008-06-05.
- ^ "PM's National Defence Fund". pmindia.nic.in. http://pmindia.nic.in/fundnationalbody.htm. Retrieved on 2008-06-05.
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
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