Presidents of India — Complete List 1950–2026 for UPSC

⚖️ Constitutional Framework — Key Articles

Article	Provision
52	There shall be a President of India
53	Executive power of the Union vested in the President
54	Election by an Electoral College
55	Proportional representation by Single Transferable Vote, secret ballot
56	Term: 5 years from date of assuming office
57	Eligible for re-election — no bar on number of terms
58	Qualifications: Indian citizen; age 35+; qualified to be LS member; no office of profit
60	Oath administered by Chief Justice of India (or senior-most SC judge)
61	Impeachment procedure — 2/3rd of total membership at both stages
62	Vacancy must be filled within 6 months
65	VP discharges presidential functions during vacancy; if VP unavailable, CJI acts
71	Disputes about presidential election decided by the Supreme Court
72	Pardoning powers: Pardon, Commutation, Remission, Respite, Reprieve

Electoral College (Article 54): Elected MPs (LS + RS) + Elected MLAs of States + Elected MLAs of Delhi & Puducherry. NOT included: Nominated MPs, nominated MLAs, members of State Legislative Councils.

✋ Presidential Veto Powers (Article 111)

Veto Type	What President Does	Effect	Example
Absolute Veto	Withholds assent permanently	Bill does not become law	Rajendra Prasad — PEPSU Appropriation Bill (1954); R. Venkataraman — MPs' Salaries Bill (1991)
Suspensive Veto	Returns bill to Parliament for reconsideration with a message	If Parliament passes again (with or without amendment), President must assent — cannot veto again	A.P.J. Abdul Kalam — Office of Profit Bill (2006); K.R. Narayanan — Bihar dissolution twice
Pocket Veto	Neither assents nor returns the Bill — keeps it pending indefinitely	Bill lapses by inaction (Indian Constitution has no time limit for presidential action — unlike US 10-day limit)	Giani Zail Singh — Indian Post Office (Amendment) Bill (1986) — only known use

Money Bills (Article 110): President cannot return a Money Bill — can only assent or withhold assent (absolute veto). No suspensive veto on Money Bills.
Constitutional Amendment Bills (Article 368): President cannot veto — the 24th Constitutional Amendment (1971) made presidential assent obligatory.

🇮🇳 All 15 Presidents of India (1950–Present)

#	Name	Tenure	Party/Backing	State/Background	Key Exam Fact
1	Dr. Rajendra Prasad	26 Jan 1950 – 13 May 1962	INC	Bihar (Siwan)	First President; only President to serve two full terms; also President of Constituent Assembly; lawyer, freedom fighter
2	Dr. Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan	13 May 1962 – 13 May 1967	INC-backed	Tamil Nadu	Philosopher; former VP; his birthday 5 September = Teachers' Day
3	Dr. Zakir Husain	13 May 1967 – 3 May 1969	INC-backed	UP (Hyderabad)	First Muslim President; first President to die in office (3 May 1969, cardiac arrest)
—	V.V. Giri (Acting)	3 May 1969 – 20 Jul 1969	—	—	Acting as VP after Zakir Husain's death; resigned to contest presidential election
—	Mohammad Hidayatullah (Acting)	20 Jul 1969 – 24 Aug 1969	—	—	Only CJI to serve as Acting President; later also served as VP (1979–84)
4	V.V. Giri	24 Aug 1969 – 24 Aug 1974	INC (Independent)	Born Berhampur, Odisha (Telugu family from East Godavari, AP)	Only person to serve as both Acting President and President; first election to go to second-preference counting
5	Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed	24 Aug 1974 – 11 Feb 1977	INC	Assam	Second Muslim President; second President to die in office (11 Feb 1977); signed Emergency Proclamation (1975)
—	B.D. Jatti (Acting)	11 Feb 1977 – 25 Jul 1977	—	Karnataka	Served as Acting President in his capacity as VP (5th VP, 1974–79) after Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed's death
6	Neelam Sanjiva Reddy	25 Jul 1977 – 25 Jul 1982	Janata Party	Andhra Pradesh (Illuru)	Only President elected unopposed (all other nominations rejected); only Speaker of Lok Sabha to later become President
7	Giani Zail Singh	25 Jul 1982 – 25 Jul 1987	INC	Punjab (Faridkot)	First Sikh President; exercised Pocket Veto on Indian Post Office (Amendment) Bill, 1986
—	Mohammad Hidayatullah (Acting, 2nd time)	6 Oct 1982 – 31 Oct 1982	—	—	Acting President in his capacity as VP while Zail Singh was in the US for heart surgery; only person to serve as Acting President twice
8	R. Venkataraman	25 Jul 1987 – 25 Jul 1992	INC	Tamil Nadu	Swore in 4 different Prime Ministers: Rajiv Gandhi, V.P. Singh, Chandra Shekhar, P.V. Narasimha Rao
9	Dr. Shankar Dayal Sharma	25 Jul 1992 – 25 Jul 1997	INC	Madhya Pradesh (Bhopal)	CM of Bhopal State (1952–56, before merger into MP); former VP (1987–92)
10	K.R. Narayanan	25 Jul 1997 – 25 Jul 2002	INC-backed	Kerala (Uzhavoor)	First Dalit (SC) President; former diplomat and VP; sent Bihar dismissal back for reconsideration (1998)
11	Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam	25 Jul 2002 – 25 Jul 2007	NDA (BJP-led)	Tamil Nadu (Rameswaram)	"People's President"; nuclear scientist; "Missile Man of India"; Bharat Ratna (1997); only scientist President
12	Pratibha Patil	25 Jul 2007 – 25 Jul 2012	UPA (Congress-led)	Maharashtra (Jalgaon)	First woman President; first woman Governor of Rajasthan (2004–07); held multiple Cabinet Minister portfolios in Maharashtra state govt (never CM)
13	Pranab Mukherjee	25 Jul 2012 – 25 Jul 2017	UPA (Congress)	West Bengal (Birbhum)	Former Finance Minister, External Affairs Minister, Defence Minister; Bharat Ratna (2019)
14	Ram Nath Kovind	25 Jul 2017 – 25 Jul 2022	NDA (BJP-led)	UP (Kanpur Dehat)	Second Dalit (SC) President; former Governor of Bihar
15	Droupadi Murmu	25 Jul 2022 – present	NDA (BJP-led)	Odisha (Mayurbhanj)	First Scheduled Tribe (ST) President; first President born in independent India; youngest at inauguration (age 64); former Governor of Jharkhand

🏆 Key Firsts — Quick Reference

Category	President
First President	Dr. Rajendra Prasad
Only President to serve two full terms	Dr. Rajendra Prasad
First Muslim President	Dr. Zakir Husain
Second Muslim President	Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed
First Sikh President	Giani Zail Singh
First Dalit (SC) President	K.R. Narayanan
Second Dalit (SC) President	Ram Nath Kovind
First Woman President	Pratibha Patil
First Tribal (ST) President	Droupadi Murmu
First President born in independent India	Droupadi Murmu
Youngest President at inauguration	Droupadi Murmu (age 64)
Only scientist President	Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam
Only President elected unopposed	Neelam Sanjiva Reddy
Only person to serve as both Acting President and President	V.V. Giri
Only CJI to serve as Acting President	Mohammad Hidayatullah
Only Lok Sabha Speaker to later become President	Neelam Sanjiva Reddy
First President to die in office	Dr. Zakir Husain (3 May 1969)
Second President to die in office	Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed (11 Feb 1977)
Pocket Veto exercised by	Giani Zail Singh (Indian Post Office Amendment Bill, 1986)
Swore in most different Prime Ministers (4)	R. Venkataraman (Rajiv Gandhi, V.P. Singh, Chandra Shekhar, Narasimha Rao)
Only person to lose AND win a presidential election	Neelam Sanjiva Reddy — lost to V.V. Giri in 1969; won unopposed in 1977
First sitting President to vote in general elections	K.R. Narayanan — voted on 16 February 1998 at Rashtrapati Bhavan polling station
Only person to hold all three: CJI + VP + Acting President	Mohammad Hidayatullah — 11th CJI; 6th VP; Acting President twice (1969 and 1982)
Presidents who were VP before becoming President	6 of 15 — Radhakrishnan, Zakir Husain, V.V. Giri, R. Venkataraman, Shankar Dayal Sharma, K.R. Narayanan
President who signed Emergency Proclamation (1975)	Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed — signed under Article 352 on PM Indira Gandhi's advice, 25 June 1975
Presidents who received Bharat Ratna (6)	Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan (1954, while VP — among the first three recipients); Rajendra Prasad (1962, after leaving office); Zakir Husain (1963, as VP — became President 1967); V.V. Giri (1975, after leaving office); A.P.J. Abdul Kalam (1997, before becoming President in 2002); Pranab Mukherjee (2019, after leaving office)

⚠️ Exam Traps & High-Yield Points

#	Wrong belief	Correct fact
1	"MLCs (Legislative Council members) are in the Electoral College"	No — only elected MLAs (Vidhan Sabha). Vidhan Parishad members are excluded.
2	"Nominated MPs can vote in presidential elections"	No — only elected MPs (LS + RS); nominated members of Parliament are excluded
3	"Impeachment requires 2/3 of members present and voting"	Impeachment requires 2/3 of total membership — stricter than present-and-voting majority
4	"A President has been impeached"	No President of India has ever been impeached
5	"President's term is fixed at exactly 5 years from election"	5 years from date of assuming office, not from election date; also "holds office until successor enters upon office" (Art. 56)
6	"There is no bar on re-election of President"	Correct — Article 57 allows unlimited re-elections. Only Dr. Rajendra Prasad used this, serving twice.
7	"The CJI administers oath to the President-elect"	CJI administers the oath — or "the senior-most judge of the Supreme Court available" if CJI unavailable
8	"Pocket Veto = President refuses to sign and sends back"	Pocket Veto = President neither signs nor returns the bill — keeps it pending indefinitely. Used by Giani Zail Singh in 1986.
9	"Droupadi Murmu is the first woman President"	Pratibha Patil (2007–2012) was the first woman President. Murmu is the first tribal (ST) President.
10	"Vacancy in President's office must be filled in 3 months"	Vacancy must be filled within 6 months (Article 62)
11	"KR Narayanan was the first Dalit President"	Correct — K.R. Narayanan (1997–2002) was first; Ram Nath Kovind (2017–2022) was second Dalit President
12	"The Governor has the same pardoning powers as the President"	No — Governor (Art. 161) cannot pardon death sentences and cannot pardon in Court Martial cases. President (Art. 72) can do both.