The Prime Minister of India, as addressed to in the Constitution of India, is the chief of government, chief advisor to the President of India, head of the Council of Ministers and the leader of the majority party in parliament. The prime minister leads the executive branch of the Government of India.
The prime minister is the senior member of cabinet in the executive branch of government in a parliamentary system. The prime minister selects and can dismiss other members of the cabinet; allocates posts to members within the Government; is the presiding member and chairman of the cabinet and is responsible for bringing proposal of legislation. The resignation or death of the prime minister dissolves the cabinet.
The prime minister is appointed by the president to assist the latter in the administration of the affairs of the executive. The incumbent prime minister is Narendra Modi, in office since 26 May 2014.
| Name(birth–death) | Portrait | Term of office | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jawaharlal Nehru (1889–1964) |
 |
15 August 1947 |
27 May 1964 |
16 years,286 days |
| Gulzarilal Nanda (1898–1998) |
 |
27 May 1964 |
9 June 1964 |
13 days |
| Lal Bahadur Shastri (1904–66) |
 |
9 June 1964 |
11 January 1966 |
1 year, 216 days |
| Gulzarilal Nanda (1898–1998) |
|
11 January 1966 |
24 January 1966 |
13 days |
| Indira Gandhi (1917–84) |
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24 January 1966 |
24 March 1977 |
11 years, 59 days |
| Morarji Desai (1896–1995) |
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24 March 1977 |
28 July 1979 |
2 years, 126 days |
| Charan Singh (1902–87) |
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28 July 1979 |
14 January 1980 |
170 days |
| Indira Gandhi (1917–84) |
|
14 January 1980 |
31 October 1984 |
4 years, 291 days |
| Rajiv Gandhi (1944–91) |
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31 October 1984 |
2 December 1989 |
5 years, 32 days |
| V. P. Singh (1931–2008) |
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2 December 1989 |
10 November 1990 |
343 days |
| Chandra Shekhar (1927–2007) |
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10 November 1990 |
21 June 1991 |
223 days |
| P. V. Narasimha Rao (1921–2004) |
 |
21 June 1991 |
16 May 1996 |
4 years, 330 days |
| Atal Bihari Vajpayee (1924 – 2018) |
 |
16 May 1996 |
1 June 1996 |
16 days |
| H. D. Deve Gowda (born 1933) |
 |
1 June 1996 |
21 April 1997 |
324 days |
| I. K. Gujral (1919–2012) |
 |
21 April 1997 |
19 March 1998 |
332 days |
| Atal Bihari Vajpayee (1924 – 2018) |
|
19 March 1998 |
22 May 2004 |
6 years, 64 days |
| Manmohan Singh (born 1932) |
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22 May 2004 |
17 May 2014 |
10 years, 4 days |
| Narendra Modi (born 1950) |
 |
26 May 2014 |
Incumbent | |