In this article, You will read List of Indian President – for UPSC IAS.

President of India

The President of India, officially the President of the Republic of India is the ceremonial head of state of India and the Commander-in-chief of the Indian Armed Forces.

The president is indirectly elected by an electoral college comprising the Parliament of India (both houses) and the legislative assemblies of each of India’s states and territories, who themselves are all directly elected.

Although Article 53 of the Constitution of India states that the president can exercise his powers directly or by subordinate authority, with few exceptions, all of the executive powers vested in the president are, in practice, exercised by the prime minister (a subordinate authority) with the help of the Council of Minister. The president is bound by the constitution to act on the advice of the prime minister and cabinet as long as the advice is not violating the constitution.

The Constitution of India was adopted on 26th November 1949 (It came into force on 26th January 1950) and Dr Rajendra Prasad was elected as the first constitutional head of the state, the President of India. 

List of Indian Presidents

NameTenure
Dr. Rajendra Prasad (1884-1963)January 26, 1950 – May 13, 1962
Dr. Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan (1888-1975)May 13, 1962 – May 13, 1967
Dr. Zakir Hussain (1897-1969)May 13, 1967 – May 03, 1969
Varahagiri Venkatagiri (1884-1980) (Acting)May 03, 1969 – July 20, 1969
Justice Mohammad Hidayatullah (1905-1992) (Acting)July 20, 1969 – August 24, 1969
Varahagiri Venkatagiri (1884-1980)August 24, 1969 – August 24, 1974
Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed (1905-1977)August 24, 1974 – February 11, 1977
B.D. Jatti (1913-2002) (Acting)February 11, 1977 – July 25, 1977
Neelam Sanjiva Reddy (1913-1996)July 25, 1977 – July 25, 1982
Giani Zail Singh (1916-1994)July 25, 1982 – July 25, 1987
R. Venkataraman (1910-2009)July 25, 1987 – July 25, 1992
Dr Shankar Dayal Sharma (1918-1999)July 25, 1992 – July 25, 1997
K.R. Narayanan (1920-2005)July 25, 1997 – July 25, 2002
Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam (1931-2015)July 25, 2002 – July 25, 2007
Smt. Pratibha Devisingh Patil (Birth-1934)July 25, 2007 – July 25, 2012
Shri Pranab Mukherjee (1935-2020)July 25, 2012 – July 25, 2017
Shri Ram Nath Kovind (Birth-1945)July 25, 2017 – Incumbent
NameDescription
Rajendra PrasadHe was elected twice as the president. He was also the president of the constituent assembly before being elected for this post.
Sarvepalli RadhakrishnanRadhakrishnan was a prominent philosopher and writer. He also held the position of vice-chancellor of the Andhra University and Banaras Hindu University.
Zakir HussainHe was the recipient of Padma Vibhushan and Bharat Ratna. He was the shortest-serving president and passed away in the office.
Varahagiri Venkata GiriHe was elected Vice President of India in 1967. He was the only president to be elected as an independent candidate. He served as the president for a short term due to the sudden death of Zakir Hussain in office.
Fakhruddin Ali AhmedHe was the president during the Emergency. He was the second president who died in office.
Neelam Sanjiva ReddyHe was the first Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh. He became the youngest President who occupied Rashtrapati Bhavan and contested twice for the post of president.
Zail SinghHe was the Chief Minister of Punjab and the Union Home Minister
Ramaswamy VenkataramanHe is a receiver of “Tamra Patra” for his contributions to India’s freedom struggle.
Shankar Dayal SharmaHe was Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh and the Indian Minister for Communications.
Kocheril Raman NarayananHe served as India’s ambassador to Thailand, Turkey, China, and the United States of America.
Avul Pakir Jainulabdeen Abdul KalamHe played a leading role in the development of India’s ballistic missile and nuclear weapons programs. He was also a Bharat Ratna recipient.
Pratibha PatilShe was the first woman president of India.
Pranab MukherjeeHe was awarded the best Parliamentary Award in 1997. He also received Padma Vibhushan in 2008.
Ram Nath KovindHe served as the Governor of Bihar.

Who is Independent Candidate?

  • An independent candidate is one who contests polls without being affiliated to any political party. Independents often support policies that are different from major political parties.
  • More and more independents have been contesting the Lok Sabha elections since the first general election of 1951-52, but the number of winners has been decreasing. The vote percentage polled by them has also been decreasing.
  • It is difficult for independent candidates to campaign and influence large numbers of voters in India with little money and influence.
  • In its 255th report, the Law Commission of India sparked a debate when it recommended that independent candidates be barred from contesting elections as “they are either not serious or contest elections just to confuse the voters.”

Qualification of Indian President

President is elected by the process of proportional representation with means of a single transferable vote. President can be removed by the process of impeachment.

The qualification for the post of the President of India is given below:

  1. He should be an Indian Citizen.
  2. His age should be a minimum of 35 years.
  3. He should qualify the conditions to be elected as a member of the Lok Sabha.
  4. He should not hold any office of profit under the central government, state government, or any public authority.

Facts about the President of India

  • Dr. Rajendra Prasad was the longest-serving Indian President. He completed two tenures as the President of the country.
  • The shortest-serving President was the third Indian President, Zakir Hussain. He passed away while he was in his office.
  • Apart from the full-time Presidents mentioned in the table above, there were three interim Presidents. The three of them were: Varahagiri Venkata Giri, Mohammad Hidayatullah and Basappa Danappa Jatti.
  • Neelam Sanjiva Reddy was not just the youngest President of the country but was also the first Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh.
  • Pratibha Patil was the first and the only women President of India.
  • If the President of India intends to resign from his post, he/she needs to do it in accordance with the procedure prescribed in Article 61 of the Indian Constitution. The President needs to give a hand-written letter to the Vice President, in case of resignation.
  • The President is elected by the members of both the House of Parliament and the elected members of the legislative assembly of States and Union Territories.

Referenceknowindia.gov.in

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