Chapter 13 - PRIME MINISTERS OF INDIA

The President is the nominal executive authority (de jure executive) and Prime Minister is the real executive authority (de facto executive).

Appointment of the P.M. (Article 75)

• The Prime Minister appointed by the president i.e. the President has to appoint the leader of the majority party in the Lok Sabha as the Prime Minister.
• When no party has a clear majority in the Lok Sabha, then the President may exercise his  & appoints the leader of the largest party or coalition in the Lok Sabha as the Prime Minister and asks him to seek a vote of confidence in the House within a month.

Facts Related to PM's

• First PM to be appointed by the President's personal discretion - Charan Singh by Neelam Sanjiva Reddy (the then President) in 1979.
• First PM to be appointed by the President when the Prime Minister in office died - Rajiv Gandhi by President Zail Singh in 1984.

NOTE:-
In 1997, the Supreme Court held that a person who is not a member of either House of Parliament can be appointed as Prime Minister for six months, within which, he should become a member of either House of Parliament.

Oath, Term and Salary

• The president administers to him the oaths of office and secrecy.
• The term of the Prime Minister is not fixed and he holds office during the pleasure of the president. This does not mean that the president can dismiss the Prime Minister at any time. 
• So long as the Prime Minister enjoys the majority support in the Lok Sabha, he cannot be dismissed by the President.
• The salary and allowances of the Prime Minister are determined by the Parliament from time to time. He gets the salary and allowances that are payable to a member of Parliament.

Powers & Functions of PM

1. Related to Council of Ministers

• He guides, directs, controls, and coordinates the activities of all the ministers.
• He recommends persons who can be appointed as ministers by the president.
• He can bring about the collapse of the council of ministers by resigning from office.
• The resignation or death of an incumbent Prime Minister automatically dissolves the council of ministers and thereby generates a vacuum. 

2. Related to President

• He advises the president with regard to the appointment of attorney general of India, Comptroller and Auditor General of India, chairman and members of the UPSC, election commissioners, chairman and members of the finance commission

3. Related to Parliament
The Prime Minister is the leader of the Lower House.

• He can recommend dissolution of the Lok Sabha to President at any time.
• He announces government policies on the floor of the House.
• He advises the President with regard to summoning and proroguing of the sessions of the Parliament.

Other Functions of PM
i. Chairman of the Planning Commission, National Development Council, National Integration Council, Inter-State Council and National Water Resources Council.
ii. Chief spokesman of the Union government.
iii. Political head of the services.
iv. Leader of the party in power.

NOTE:-
There are Six People who become PM after CM - Morarji Desai, Charan Singh, V.P. Singh, P.V. Narasimha Rao and H.D. Deve Gowda, Narendra Modi.

List Of PM's Of India

PM NO.	Name	Tenure	Key Information
1st	Pandit Jawarharlal Nehru	15th/08/47 To 27th/05/64	First Prime Minister of Independent India
	Gulzarilal Nanda	27th/05/64 To 9th/06/64	the first 'Interim Prime Minister' of India
2nd	Lal Bahadur Shastri	9th/06/64 To 11th/01/66	1st PM who died in office
	Gulzarilal Nanda	11th/01/66 To 24th/01/66	second "Interim Prime Minister" of India
3rd	Indira Gandhi	24th/01/66 To 24th/03/77	the first and the only lady Prime Minister of India
4th	Morarji Desai	24th/03/77 To 28th/07/79	the first Non-congress Prime Minister of India (Janta Party)
5th	Charan Singh	28th/07/79 To 14th/01/80	Never Faced the Parliament in his tenure
	Indira Gandhi	14th/01/80 To 31st/10/84
6th	Rajiv Gandhi	31st/10/84 To 1st/12/89	the youngest Prime Minister of India
7th	V. P. Singh	2nd/12/89 To 10th/11/90
8th	Chandra Shekhar	10th/11/90 To 21st/06/91
9th	P. V. Narasimha Rao	21st/06/91 To 16th/05/96	1st PM from South India
10th	Atal Bihari Vajpayee	16th/05/96 To  16th/05/96
11th	H. D. Deve Gowda	1st/06/96 To 21st/04/97
12th	I. K. Gujral	21st/04/97 To 19th/03/98
	Atal Bihari Vajpayee	19th/03/98 To 22nd/05/04
13th	Manmohan Singh	22nd/05/04 To 26th/05/14
14th	Narendra Modi	26th/05/2014 to till date

NOTE :-

• If you have been hearing Narendra Modi variously described as the 14th and the 15th Prime Minister of India, depending on the channel or the news report you watched or read, worry not.
• The confusion is only because some of them seem to be counting Gulzari Lal Nanda as the second PM as he was officially the Acting PM before and after Lal Bahadur Shastri (after Nehru's death from 27 May, 1964 to 9 June, 1964 before Shastri's formal swearing in and after Shastri's death, from 11 January 1966 to 24 January 1966, before Indira Gandhi was sworn in).

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