List of presidents of India facts for kids
The president of India is like the main leader of the country, the head of state of India. They are also the top commander of the Indian Armed Forces, which means they are in charge of the army, navy, and air force. People often call the president the "first citizen of India." Even though the Constitution gives the president many powers, the prime minister usually handles the day-to-day running of the country. So, the president's role is mostly about representing India and its values.
The president is chosen by a special group called the Electoral College. This group includes elected members from both houses of the Indian Parliament (the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha), and also members from the state assemblies (called Saasana Sabha or Vidhan Sabha). A president stays in office for five years. If a president's term ends early, or if they are away, the vice president steps in.
India has had 15 presidents since it became a republic in 1950, when the Indian constitution was adopted. Besides these 15, three people have also served as acting presidents for short times. V. V. Giri became an acting president in 1969 after Zakir Husain passed away while in office. Giri was later elected president. He is the only person to have been both an acting president and a full president. Rajendra Prasad, India's first president, is the only one who served for two terms.
Many presidents were part of a political party before they were elected. Six of them were active members of the Indian National Congress party. One president, Neelam Sanjiva Reddy, was from the Janata Party. Sadly, two presidents, Zakir Husain and Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed, died while they were in office. Their vice presidents then became acting presidents until a new president could be elected. Pratibha Patil, who was elected in 2007, was the first woman to become president.
On 25 July 2022, Droupadi Murmu became the 15th president of India. She is the second woman to hold this important position and the first president from a tribal community.
- Top left: Rajendra Prasad was the first and longest-serving President of India.
- Top right: Zakir Husain was the first from a minority religion to become President of India.
- Bottom left: Pratibha Patil was the first female President of India.
- Bottom right: Droupadi Murmu is the youngest President and the first President from a tribal community.
Who are the Presidents of India?
This section lists the presidents who were elected after winning an Indian presidential election. People who served as acting presidents, like V. V. Giri, Mohammad Hidayatullah, and B. D. Jatti, are not numbered in this list because they were not formally elected to the full term. The president of India is not supposed to represent any political party.
Indian National Congress (INC) (8) Janata Party (JP) (1) Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) (3) Independent (IND) (2) Acting President (3) |
|
No. | Picture | Name
(Born–Died) |
Home State | Previous Job(s) | Time in Office | Vice President | Political Party | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Started Office | Left Office | How Long | ||||||||
Interim | ![]() |
Rajendra Prasad (1884–1963) |
Bihar | Minister of Agriculture | 26 January 1950 | 13 May 1952 | 12 years, 107 days | – | Indian National Congress | |
1 | 13 May 1952 | 13 May 1957 | Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan | |||||||
13 May 1957 | 13 May 1962 | |||||||||
2 | ![]() |
Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan (1888–1975) |
Tamil Nadu | Vice President of India | 13 May 1962 | 13 May 1967 | 5 years | Zakir Husain | Independent | |
3 | ![]() |
Zakir Husain (1897–1969) |
Andhra Pradesh | Vice President of India Governor of Bihar |
13 May 1967 | 3 May 1969 | 1 year, 355 days | V. V. Giri | ||
Acting | ![]() |
V. V. Giri (1894–1980) |
Odisha | Vice President of India | 3 May 1969 | 20 July 1969 | 78 days | – | ||
Acting | ![]() |
Mohammad Hidayatullah (1905–1992) |
Chhattisgarh | Chief Justice of India | 20 July 1969 | 24 August 1969 | 35 days | – | ||
4 | ![]() |
V. V. Giri (1894–1980) |
Odisha | Vice President of India Governor of Kerala |
24 August 1969 | 24 August 1974 | 5 years | Gopal Swarup Pathak | ||
5 | ![]() |
Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed (1905–1977) |
National Capital Territory of Delhi | Minister of Agriculture | 24 August 1974 | 11 February 1977 | 2 years, 171 days | Gopal Swarup Pathak
|
Indian National Congress | |
Acting | ![]() |
B. D. Jatti (1912–2002) |
Karnataka | Chief Minister of Karnataka | 11 February 1977 | 25 July 1977 | 164 days | – | ||
6 | ![]() |
Neelam Sanjiva Reddy (1913–1996) |
Andhra Pradesh | Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh | 25 July 1977 | 25 July 1982 | 5 years | B. D. Jatti Mohammad Hidayatullah |
Janata Party | |
7 | ![]() |
Zail Singh (1916–1994) |
Punjab | Chief Minister of Punjab | 25 July 1982 | 25 July 1987 | 5 years | Mohammad Hidayatullah Ramaswamy Venkataraman |
Indian National Congress | |
8 | ![]() |
Ramaswamy Venkataraman (1910–2009) |
Tamil Nadu | Vice President of India Minister of Defence |
25 July 1987 | 25 July 1992 | 5 years | Shankar Dayal Sharma | ||
9 | ![]() |
Shankar Dayal Sharma (1918–1999) |
Madhya Pradesh | Vice President of India Governor of Maharashtra |
25 July 1992 | 25 July 1997 | 5 years | K. R. Narayanan | ||
10 | ![]() |
K. R. Narayanan (1920–2005) |
Kerala | Vice President of India | 25 July 1997 | 25 July 2002 | 5 years | Krishan Kant | ||
11 | ![]() |
A. P. J. Abdul Kalam (1931–2015) |
Tamil Nadu | Chief Scientific Adviser to the Government of India | 25 July 2002 | 25 July 2007 | 5 years | Krishan Kant Bhairon Singh Shekhawat |
Independent | |
12 | ![]() |
Pratibha Patil (born 1934) |
Maharashtra | Governor of Rajasthan | 25 July 2007 | 25 July 2012 | 5 years | M. Hamid Ansari | Indian National Congress | |
13 | ![]() |
Pranab Mukherjee (1935–2020) |
West Bengal | Minister of Defence Minister of Finance Minister of External Affairs |
25 July 2012 | 25 July 2017 | 5 years | |||
14 | ![]() |
Ram Nath Kovind (born 1945) |
Uttar Pradesh | Governor of Bihar | 25 July 2017 | 25 July 2022 | 5 years | M. Hamid Ansari M. Venkaiah Naidu |
Bharatiya Janata Party | |
15 | ![]() |
Droupadi Murmu (born 1958) |
Odisha | Governor of Jharkhand | 25 July 2022 | Incumbent | 2 years, 327 days | M. Venkaiah Naidu Jagdeep Dhankhar |
Presidential Statistics
This section shows some interesting facts about the presidents of India.
How many presidents came from each political group Indian National Congress (53.33%) Independent (26.67%) Bharatiya Janata Party (13.33%) Janata Party (6.67%)
- Timeline of Presidents

More to Explore
In Spanish: Anexo:Presidentes de la India para niños
- President of India
- Vice President of India
- Prime Minister of India
- List of vice presidents of India
- List of prime ministers of India
- List of heads of state and government of Indian origin