Prime Minister of India
The prime minister of India (IAST: Bhārat kē Pradhānamantrī) is the head of government of the Republic of India.[2][3] Executive authority is vested in the prime minister and his chosen Council of Ministers,[4][5][6] despite the president of India being the nominal head of the executive.[7][8][9][10] The prime minister has to be a member of one of the houses of bicameral Parliament of India, alongside heading the respective house.[11] The prime minister and his cabinet are at all times responsible to the Lok Sabha.[12][13]
For list of prime ministers, see List of prime ministers of India.Prime Minister of India
- The Honourable
- Mr. Prime Minister (informal)
- His Excellency (diplomatic)
PM
7, Lok Kalyan Marg, New Delhi, Delhi, India
Secretariat Building, New Delhi, Delhi, India
President of India
by convention, based on appointee's ability to command confidence in the Lok Sabha
At the pleasure of the President
- Lok Sabha term is 5 years unless dissolved sooner
- No term limits specified
Articles 74 & 75, Constitution of India
15 August 1947
The prime minister is appointed by the president of India; however, the prime minister has to enjoy the confidence of the majority of Lok Sabha members, who are directly elected every five years, lest the prime minister shall resign. The prime minister can be a member of the Lok Sabha or of the Rajya Sabha, the upper house of the parliament. The prime minister controls the selection and dismissal of members of the Union Council of Ministers; and allocation of posts to members within the government.
The longest-serving prime minister was Jawaharlal Nehru, also the first prime minister, whose tenure lasted 16 years and 286 days. His premiership was followed by Lal Bahadur Shastri's short tenure and Indira Gandhi's 11- and 4-year-long tenures, both politicians belonging to the Indian National Congress. After Indira Gandhi's assassination, her son Rajiv Gandhi took charge until 1989, when a decade with five unstable governments began. This was followed by the full terms of P. V. Narasimha Rao, Atal Bihari Vajpayee, Manmohan Singh, and Narendra Modi. Modi is the 14th and current prime minister of India, serving since 26 May 2014.
Appointment, tenure and removal
Eligibility
According to Article 84 of the Constitution of India, which sets the principle qualification for member of Parliament, and Article 75 of the Constitution of India, which sets the qualifications for the minister in the Union Council of Ministers, and the argument that the position of Prime Minister has been described as primus inter pares (the first among equals),[76] A Prime Minister must: