KNOW YOUR P.M

The Prime Minister of India, as addressed to in the Constitution of India, is the chief of government, chief adviser to the President of India, head of the Council of Ministers and the leader of the majority party in the parliament. The prime minister leads the executive branch of the Government of India. The incumbent Prime Minister of India is Narendra Modi of the Bharatiya Janata Party.

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.

Role and power of the prime minister

The prime minister leads the functioning and exercise of authority of the Government of India. He is invited by the President of India in the Parliament of India as leader of the majority party to form a government at the federal level (known as Central or Union Government in India) and exercise its powers. In practice the prime minister nominates the members of their Council of Ministers to the president. They also work upon to decide a core group of Ministers (known as the Cabinet) as in-charge of the important functions and ministries of the Government of India.

The prime minister is responsible for aiding and advising the president in distribution of work of the Government to various ministries and offices and in terms of the Government of India (Allocation of Business) Rules, 1961. The co-ordinating work is generally allocated to the Cabinet Secretariat While generally the work of the Government is divided into various Ministries, the prime minister may retain certain portfolios if they are not allocated to any member of the cabinet.

The prime minister, in consultation with the Cabinet, schedules and attends the sessions of the Houses of Parliament and is required to answer the question from the Members of Parliament to them as the in-charge of the portfolios in the capacity as Prime Minister of India.

Some specific ministries/department are not allocated to anyone in the cabinet but the prime minister himself. The prime minister is usually always in-charge/head of:

• Appointments Committee of the Cabinet;
• Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions;
• Ministry of Planning;
• Department of Atomic Energy; and
• Department of Space.

The prime minister represents the country in various delegations, high level meetings and international organisations that require the attendance of the highest government office and also addresses to the nation on various issues of national or other importance.

Also given are the details of their tenure since independence:

INDIAN NATIONAL CONGRESS

Jawaharlal Nehru

Tenure – 15th Aug 1947 – 27th May 1964 for 16 years, 286 days

Jawaharlal Nehru is the first Prime Minister of independent India and played a significant role in shaping modern India by imparting modern values and thinking. He was a social reformer and one of his major work towards society was the reform of the ancient Hindu civil code. It permitted Hindu widow to enjoy equal right with men as far as property and inheritance was concerned.

Gulzarilal Nanda

Tenure – 27 May 1964 – 9th June 1964 for 13 days

Tenure – 11th January 1966 – 24th January 1966 for 13 days

He was the first ‘Interim Prime Minister’ of India.

Lal Bahadur Shastri

Tenure – 9th June 1964 – 11 January 1966 for 1 year, 216 days

He was the loyal follower of Mahatma Gandhi and gave the popular slogan ‘Jai Jawan Jai Kisan’. Shastri was a soft-spoken person who promoted ‘White Revolution’ to increase the production of milk in India.

Indira Gandhi

Tenure – 24th January 1966 – 24th March 1977 for 11 years, 59 days

Tenure – 14th January 1980 – 31st October 1984 for 4 years, 291 days

Indira Gandhi was the first woman Prime Minister of India and the world’s longest serving woman Prime Minister. Her courage and boldness made India win over Pakistan in 1971. She made a significant contribution in improving international relations with neighbouring countries.

JANATA PARTY

Morarji Desai

Tenure – 24th March 1977 – 28th July 1979 for 2 years, 126 days

Morarji Desai is the first non Congress Prime Minister of India. He and his minister formally ended the state of emergency which was imposed by Indira Gandhi.

JANATA Party (SECULAR)

Charan Singh

Tenure – 28th July 1979 – 14th January 1980 for 170 days

As a Revenue Minister of Uttar Pradesh Charan Singh removed the Zamindari system and brought in Land Reform Acts.

INDIAN NATIONAL CONGRESS

Rajiv Gandhi

Tenure – 31st October 1984 – 2nd December 1989 for 5 years, 32 days

Rajiv Gandhi became Prime Minister at the age of 40 and played a major role in bringing computers to India. He actually modernized the Indian administration. He improved the bilateral relationships with the US and expanded economic cooperation.

JANATA DAL

V.P. Singh

Tenure – 2nd December 1989 – 10th November 1990 for 343 days

V.P. Singh worked to improve the condition of poor in the country.

SAMAJWADI JANATA PARTY

Chandra Shekhar

Tenure – 10th November 1990 to 21st June 1991 for 223 days

INDIAN NATIONAL CONGRESS

P. V. Narasimha Rao

Tenure – 21st June 1991 – 16th May 1996 for 4 years 330 days

P. V. Narasimha Rao was one of the most able administrators who brought major economic reforms. He is also known as the Father of Indian Economic Reforms. He dismantled the License Raj and reversed the socialist policies of Rajiv Gandhi’s government. Because of his immense ability he was also referred to as Chanakya.

BHARATIYA JANATA PARTY

Atal Bihari Vajpayee

Tenure – 16th May 1996 – 1st June 1996 for 16 days

Tenure –19th March 1998 – 22nd May 2004 for 6 years 64 days

Atal Bihari Vajpayee was one of the finest Prime Ministers of India. During his tenure the inflation was very low in India. He worked on economic reforms and policies especially for rural India. It was during his tenure that India Pakistan relationship got slightly better. Telecom industry touched new heights.

JANATA DAL

H. D. Deve Gowda

Tenure – 1st June 1996 – 21st April 1997 for 324 days

During this period, Deve Gowda also held additional charges of Home Affairs, Petroleum and Chemicals, Urban Employment, Food processing, Personnel, etc. He had been collectively elected leader of the United Front coalition government.

I.K. Gujral

Tenure- 21st April 1997 – 19th March 1998 for 332 days

The most important task during his term as PM was his resistance in signing CTBT(Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty). It made a clear way to conduct the Pokhran nuclear tests. He worked towards improving relationship with Pakistan and gave a five-point doctrine known as Gujral Doctrine.

INDIAN NATIONAL CONGRESS

Manmohan Singh

Tenure – 22nd May 2004 – May 2014

During the tenure of Manmohan Singh work was done to reform the banking as well as financial sector along with public companies. His government brought in the value added tax and worked on pro-industry policies. The National Rural Health Mission was started in 2005. Eight additional IITs were opened in Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Gujarat, Orissa, Punjab, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Himachal Pradesh.

BHARATIYA JANATA PARTY

Narendra Modi

Tenure – May 2014- Narendra Damodardas Modi assumed office on May 26, 2014. He is the 15th Prime Minister of India. Since the beginning of his tenure in 2014, Modi has laid down a strict and disciplined system of governance. He has enforced many policies such as the Jan Dhan Yojana, Swachh Bharat Abhiyan – aimed towards cleanliness marking the 150th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi in 5 years, Clean Ganga project, etc. for the upliftment of the nation.