Droupadi Murmu is the 15th and current President of India (since 25 July 2022), and C. P. Radhakrishnan is the 15th and current Vice-President (since 12 September 2025). This page lists every President and Vice-President since 1950 with their terms, explains how each is elected, and collects the facts that UPSC Prelims and State PSC papers ask most often.
Quick Answer
President: Droupadi Murmu (15th), in office since 25 July 2022; the first tribal President and the second woman President. Her term ends in July 2027. Vice-President: C. P. Radhakrishnan (15th), sworn in on 12 September 2025 after Jagdeep Dhankhar resigned on 21 July 2025. The first President was Rajendra Prasad, the only one to serve two full terms. The first Vice-President was S. Radhakrishnan.
List of Presidents of India (1950–2026)
| No. | President | Term | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Rajendra Prasad | 26 Jan 1950 – 13 May 1962 | Only President with two full terms |
| 2 | Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan | 13 May 1962 – 13 May 1967 | Teachers’ Day (5 Sept) marks his birthday |
| 3 | Zakir Husain | 13 May 1967 – 3 May 1969 | First President to die in office |
| – | V. V. Giri (acting) | 3 May 1969 – 20 Jul 1969 | Resigned to contest the election |
| – | M. Hidayatullah (acting) | 20 Jul 1969 – 24 Aug 1969 | Only CJI to act as President |
| 4 | V. V. Giri | 24 Aug 1969 – 24 Aug 1974 | Won on second-preference votes |
| 5 | Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed | 24 Aug 1974 – 11 Feb 1977 | Signed the 1975 Emergency proclamation; died in office |
| – | B. D. Jatti (acting) | 11 Feb 1977 – 25 Jul 1977 | |
| 6 | Neelam Sanjiva Reddy | 25 Jul 1977 – 25 Jul 1982 | Only President elected unopposed |
| 7 | Giani Zail Singh | 25 Jul 1982 – 25 Jul 1987 | Used the pocket veto (Indian Post Office Bill, 1986) |
| 8 | R. Venkataraman | 25 Jul 1987 – 25 Jul 1992 | |
| 9 | Shankar Dayal Sharma | 25 Jul 1992 – 25 Jul 1997 | |
| 10 | K. R. Narayanan | 25 Jul 1997 – 25 Jul 2002 | First Dalit President |
| 11 | A. P. J. Abdul Kalam | 25 Jul 2002 – 25 Jul 2007 | "People’s President"; scientist |
| 12 | Pratibha Patil | 25 Jul 2007 – 25 Jul 2012 | First woman President |
| 13 | Pranab Mukherjee | 25 Jul 2012 – 25 Jul 2017 | |
| 14 | Ram Nath Kovind | 25 Jul 2017 – 25 Jul 2022 | |
| 15 | Droupadi Murmu | 25 Jul 2022 – present | First tribal President; youngest at oath (64) |
List of Vice-Presidents of India (1952–2026)
| No. | Vice-President | Term |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan | 1952 – 1962 (two terms) |
| 2 | Zakir Husain | 1962 – 1967 |
| 3 | V. V. Giri | 1967 – 1969 |
| 4 | Gopal Swarup Pathak | 1969 – 1974 |
| 5 | B. D. Jatti | 1974 – 1979 |
| 6 | Mohammad Hidayatullah | 1979 – 1984 |
| 7 | R. Venkataraman | 1984 – 1987 |
| 8 | Shankar Dayal Sharma | 1987 – 1992 |
| 9 | K. R. Narayanan | 1992 – 1997 |
| 10 | Krishan Kant | 1997 – 2002 (died in office) |
| 11 | Bhairon Singh Shekhawat | 2002 – 2007 |
| 12 | Mohammad Hamid Ansari | 2007 – 2017 (two terms) |
| 13 | M. Venkaiah Naidu | 2017 – 2022 |
| 14 | Jagdeep Dhankhar | 11 Aug 2022 – 21 Jul 2025 (resigned) |
| 15 | C. P. Radhakrishnan | 12 Sep 2025 – present |
Six Vice-Presidents later became President: S. Radhakrishnan, Zakir Husain, V. V. Giri, R. Venkataraman, Shankar Dayal Sharma and K. R. Narayanan.
How the President Is Elected
Electoral college (Article 54)
- Elected members of both Houses of Parliament.
- Elected members of the Legislative Assemblies of the states.
- Elected members of the Legislative Assemblies of Delhi and Puducherry (added by the 70th Amendment, 1992) and of Jammu and Kashmir.
Nominated members of Parliament and of Assemblies, and members of Legislative Councils, do not vote.
Method (Article 55)
The election uses proportional representation by means of the single transferable vote, by secret ballot. Each MLA’s vote is weighted by the state’s population (on the 1971 Census, frozen until after 2026) divided by the number of elected MLAs, divided by 1,000. The total value of all MPs’ votes equals the total value of all MLAs’ votes, which keeps the Union and the states in balance.
Key provisions
| Article | Provision |
|---|---|
| Article 52 | There shall be a President of India. |
| Article 56 | Term of five years; can resign to the Vice-President. |
| Article 57 | Eligible for re-election (no limit in the Constitution). |
| Article 58 | Qualifications: citizen, 35 years, qualified for Lok Sabha membership, no office of profit. |
| Article 61 | Impeachment for violation of the Constitution, by a two-thirds majority of the total membership of each House. No President has been impeached. |
| Article 72 | Power to grant pardons and to suspend, remit or commute sentences. |
| Article 123 | Power to promulgate ordinances when Parliament is not in session. |
How the Vice-President Is Elected
Under Article 66, the Vice-President is elected by an electoral college of all members of both Houses of Parliament, including nominated members, by proportional representation through single transferable vote. State legislators have no role. The Vice-President must be at least 35, qualified for Rajya Sabha membership, and holds office for five years (Article 67). He or she is ex officio Chairman of the Rajya Sabha (Article 64) and acts as President when that office falls vacant (Article 65), for at most six months.
The most recent election was a mid-term one: Jagdeep Dhankhar resigned on 21 July 2025, and C. P. Radhakrishnan, then Governor of Maharashtra, won the election on 9 September 2025.
Records and Facts for Prelims
- First President: Rajendra Prasad, also the only one re-elected.
- First woman President: Pratibha Patil (2007). First tribal President: Droupadi Murmu (2022).
- Only President elected unopposed: Neelam Sanjiva Reddy (1977).
- Presidents who died in office: Zakir Husain (1969) and Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed (1977).
- Only CJI to act as President: M. Hidayatullah (1969); he later became Vice-President.
- Vice-President with two terms: S. Radhakrishnan and Hamid Ansari.
- Vice-President who died in office: Krishan Kant (2002).
- Pocket veto used: Giani Zail Singh, on the Indian Post Office (Amendment) Bill, 1986.
- Next Presidential election: due by July 2027.
For how the President fits into the Union executive with the Prime Minister and Council of Ministers, see our list of Prime Ministers of India and our Constitution of India notes.
