{{Politics of India}}
The '''Prime Minister of India''' is, in practice, the most powerful person in the government of India. The Prime Minister is technically outranked by the President_of_India, but because the President's duties are largely ceremonial, the Prime Minister has effective responsibility for government.
India follows a Parliamentary_system of government, which is modelled after that of the United_Kingdom. In this system, the Prime Minister is generally the leader of a party (or coalition of parties) that can gain a majority in the lower house (Lok_Sabha) 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.
== Appointment of the Prime Minister ==
Formally, the Prime Minister is appointed by the President. The President invites only that person to be the Prime Minister who is leader of the majority party in th Lok_Sabha. But when no single party gets the majority, the president may invite the leader of a combination of parties constituting the majority in the Lok Sabha or the leader of the single largest party commanding the support of the majority in the Lok Sabha.
== Powers and Functions ==
The Prime Minister selects the members of the Council of Ministers who are formally appointed by the President. He allocates portfolios among the ministers and he can drop any minister. The Prime Minister presides over the meetings of the Council of Ministers. He decides the policies of the government. He coordinates the work of different ministries and soves inter - departmental conflicts. The Prime Minister is the Chairperson of the Planning Commission which is a key body in the process of planning.
The Prime Minister advises the President on all important matters like appointments judges of the High Courts and the Supreme Court, Chief Election Commissioner, Comptroller and Auditor General. He also advises the President on the summoning and proroguing of the Parliament, the dissolving of the Lok Sabha and the declaration of emergencies.
== Prime Ministers through the years ==
There have been twelve people who have served as Prime Minister of India. Jawaharlal_Nehru served for four terms (1947-1952, 1952-1957, 1957-1962, and 1962-1964). Indira_Gandhi served three terms (1966-1971, 1971-1977, and 1980-1984) and Atal_Behari_Vajpayee served on three occasions (1996, 1998-1999, 1999-2004). Gulzari_Lal_Nanda served as acting Prime Minister during two transition periods, but is generally not counted as a Prime Minister in his own right.
The early years were dominated by the Indian_National_Congress party, which held the premiership for the first thirty years of India's independence. Morarji_Desai became the first non-Congress Prime Minister in 1977. Atal_Behari_Vajpayee of the Bharatiya_Janata_Party became that party's first Prime Minister in 1996, and was later returned to power in 1998. The 2004_elections_to_the_Lok_Sabha returned the Congress back to power, and Dr._Manmohan_Singh was named the Prime Minister-designate on 19_May 2004 after party president Sonia_Gandhi declined the post. He was sworn in on May_22,2004. Singh, a member of the Sikh faith, is the first non-Hindu Prime Minister of India.
The official residence of the Prime Minister of India is 7_Race_Course_Road.
== List of Prime Ministers of India ==
{| border="0" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="2"
|- align="center"
! bgcolor="#d3d3d3" | Key:
| bgcolor="#e4e8ff" | ''INC''
Indian_National_Congress | bgcolor="#ddffdd" | ''JP''
Janata_Party | bgcolor="#ffcccc" | ''JD''
Janata_Dal | bgcolor="#ffeecc" | ''BJP''
Bharatiya_Janata_Party |} {| border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="2" |- bgcolor="#d3d3d3" ! No. ! Name ! Took Office ! Left Office ! Party |- bgcolor="#e4e8ff" | 01 | Jawaharlal_Nehru | Aug 15, 1947 | May 27, 1964 | Indian National Congress |- bgcolor="#e4e8ff" | * | Gulzarilal_Nanda | May 27, 1964 | Jun 09, 1964 | Indian National Congress |- bgcolor="#e4e8ff" | 02 | Lal_Bahadur_Shastri | Jun 09, 1964 | Jan 11, 1966 | Indian National Congress |- bgcolor="#e4e8ff" | * | Gulzarilal_Nanda | Jan 11, 1966 | Jan 24, 1966 | Indian National Congress |- bgcolor="#e4e8ff" | 03 | Indira_Gandhi | Jan 24, 1966 | Mar 24, 1977 | Indian National Congress |- bgcolor="#ddffdd" | 04 | Morarji_Desai | Mar 24, 1977 | Jul 28, 1979 | Janata Party |- bgcolor="#ddffdd" | 05 | Choudhary_Charan_Singh | Jul 28, 1979 | Jan 14, 1980 | Janata Party |- bgcolor="#e4e8ff" | ** | Indira_Gandhi | Jan 14, 1980 | Oct 31, 1984 | Indian National Congress |- bgcolor="#e4e8ff" | 06 | Rajiv_Gandhi | Oct 31, 1984 | Dec 02, 1989 | Congress I*** |- bgcolor="#ffcccc" | 07 | Vishwanath_Pratap_Singh | Dec 02, 1989 | Nov 10, 1990 | Janata Dal |- bgcolor="#ffcccc" | 08 | Chandra_Shekhar | Nov 10, 1990 | Jun 21, 1991 | Janata Dal |- bgcolor="#e4e8ff" | 09 | P._V._Narasimha_Rao | Jun 21, 1991 | May 16, 1996 | Congress I |- bgcolor="#ffeecc" | 10 | Atal_Behari_Vajpayee | May 16, 1996 | Jun 01, 1996 | Bharatiya Janata Party |- bgcolor="#ffcccc" | 11 | H._D._Deve_Gowda | Jun 01, 1996 | Apr 21, 1997 | Janata Dal |- bgcolor="#ffcccc" | 12 | Inder_Kumar_Gujral | Apr 21, 1997 | Mar 19, 1998 | Janata Dal |- bgcolor="#ffeecc" | ** | Atal_Behari_Vajpayee | Mar 19, 1998 | May 22, 2004 | Bharatiya Janata Party |- bgcolor="#e4e8ff" | 13 | Dr. Manmohan Singh | May 22, 2004 | ''In Office'' | Congress I |} {| border="0" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="2" |- align="center" ! bgcolor="#d3d3d3" | Key: | bgcolor="#e4e8ff" | ''INC''
Indian_National_Congress | bgcolor="#ddffdd" | ''JP''
Janata_Party | bgcolor="#ffcccc" | ''JD''
Janata_Dal | bgcolor="#ffeecc" | ''BJP''
Bharatiya_Janata_Party |} ''* acting''
''** resumed office''
''*** Indian National Congress became Congress I ( I for Indira)'' ==See also== * Deputy_Prime_Minister_of_India * Chief_Ministers_of_India ==External link== *Office of the Prime Minister India, Prime Minister of Category:Government_of_India * De:Liste_der_Premierminister_Indiens Eo:Cxefministroj_de_Barato Fr:Premiers_ministres_de_l'Inde Id:Perdana_Menteri_India Kn:ಭಾರತದ_ಪ್ರಧಾನ_ಮ೦ತ್ರಿ Te:ప్రధానమంత్రి Zh-cn:印度总理
Indian_National_Congress | bgcolor="#ddffdd" | ''JP''
Janata_Party | bgcolor="#ffcccc" | ''JD''
Janata_Dal | bgcolor="#ffeecc" | ''BJP''
Bharatiya_Janata_Party |} {| border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="2" |- bgcolor="#d3d3d3" ! No. ! Name ! Took Office ! Left Office ! Party |- bgcolor="#e4e8ff" | 01 | Jawaharlal_Nehru | Aug 15, 1947 | May 27, 1964 | Indian National Congress |- bgcolor="#e4e8ff" | * | Gulzarilal_Nanda | May 27, 1964 | Jun 09, 1964 | Indian National Congress |- bgcolor="#e4e8ff" | 02 | Lal_Bahadur_Shastri | Jun 09, 1964 | Jan 11, 1966 | Indian National Congress |- bgcolor="#e4e8ff" | * | Gulzarilal_Nanda | Jan 11, 1966 | Jan 24, 1966 | Indian National Congress |- bgcolor="#e4e8ff" | 03 | Indira_Gandhi | Jan 24, 1966 | Mar 24, 1977 | Indian National Congress |- bgcolor="#ddffdd" | 04 | Morarji_Desai | Mar 24, 1977 | Jul 28, 1979 | Janata Party |- bgcolor="#ddffdd" | 05 | Choudhary_Charan_Singh | Jul 28, 1979 | Jan 14, 1980 | Janata Party |- bgcolor="#e4e8ff" | ** | Indira_Gandhi | Jan 14, 1980 | Oct 31, 1984 | Indian National Congress |- bgcolor="#e4e8ff" | 06 | Rajiv_Gandhi | Oct 31, 1984 | Dec 02, 1989 | Congress I*** |- bgcolor="#ffcccc" | 07 | Vishwanath_Pratap_Singh | Dec 02, 1989 | Nov 10, 1990 | Janata Dal |- bgcolor="#ffcccc" | 08 | Chandra_Shekhar | Nov 10, 1990 | Jun 21, 1991 | Janata Dal |- bgcolor="#e4e8ff" | 09 | P._V._Narasimha_Rao | Jun 21, 1991 | May 16, 1996 | Congress I |- bgcolor="#ffeecc" | 10 | Atal_Behari_Vajpayee | May 16, 1996 | Jun 01, 1996 | Bharatiya Janata Party |- bgcolor="#ffcccc" | 11 | H._D._Deve_Gowda | Jun 01, 1996 | Apr 21, 1997 | Janata Dal |- bgcolor="#ffcccc" | 12 | Inder_Kumar_Gujral | Apr 21, 1997 | Mar 19, 1998 | Janata Dal |- bgcolor="#ffeecc" | ** | Atal_Behari_Vajpayee | Mar 19, 1998 | May 22, 2004 | Bharatiya Janata Party |- bgcolor="#e4e8ff" | 13 | Dr. Manmohan Singh | May 22, 2004 | ''In Office'' | Congress I |} {| border="0" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="2" |- align="center" ! bgcolor="#d3d3d3" | Key: | bgcolor="#e4e8ff" | ''INC''
Indian_National_Congress | bgcolor="#ddffdd" | ''JP''
Janata_Party | bgcolor="#ffcccc" | ''JD''
Janata_Dal | bgcolor="#ffeecc" | ''BJP''
Bharatiya_Janata_Party |} ''* acting''
''** resumed office''
''*** Indian National Congress became Congress I ( I for Indira)'' ==See also== * Deputy_Prime_Minister_of_India * Chief_Ministers_of_India ==External link== *Office of the Prime Minister India, Prime Minister of Category:Government_of_India * De:Liste_der_Premierminister_Indiens Eo:Cxefministroj_de_Barato Fr:Premiers_ministres_de_l'Inde Id:Perdana_Menteri_India Kn:ಭಾರತದ_ಪ್ರಧಾನ_ಮ೦ತ್ರಿ Te:ప్రధానమంత్రి Zh-cn:印度总理