List of All Presidents of India

In 1947, after years of oppressive British rule, our country finally managed to break free of the clutches. 1947, the year of independence, was when the entire nation unified, sweeping itself into a patriotic fold. Thus, began our “tryst with destiny”- a fruitful, yet demanding and slow process.

The Constituent Assembly was formed, and an epic constitution drafted. The lengthiest constitution in the world, it perfectly reflects the mind-boggling diversity of the country; enshrining the values of justice, liberty, equality, fraternity, and dignity. The Constitution of India was adopted on November 26, 1949, and came into force on January 26, 1950. Dr. Rajendra Prasad was elected the first constitutional head of the state, the President of India.

Since 1950, India has had 13 full-time Presidents, the 14th currently serving his tenure (since July 25, 2017). There have been three periods when the nation was headed by an acting President.

The 14th President of India, Ram Nath Kovind completed his presidential term in July 2022. While he was eligible for re-election, Kovind didn’t contest. Consequently, on July 25, 2022, Droupadi Murmu became the 15th President of India, appointed by the Electoral College.

List of All Presidents of India

The following is the list of all Presidents of India in chronological order:

No. Name Tenure
1 Rajendra Prasad 1950 to 1962
2 Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan 1962 to 1967
3 Zakir Hussain 1967 to 1969
VV Giri (Acting President) 1969 to 1969
Mohammad Hidayatullah (Acting President) 1969 to 1969
4 V.V Giri 1969 to 1974
5 Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed 1974 to 1977
Basappa Danappa Jatti (Acting President) 1977 to 1977
6 Neelam Sanjiva Reddy 1977 to 1982
7 Giani Zail Singh 1982 to 1987
8 R Venkataraman 1987 to 1992
9 Shankar Dayal Sharma 1992 to 1997
10 K R Narayanan 1997 to 2002
11 APJ Abdul Kalam 2002 to 2007
12 Pratibha Patil 2007 to 2012
13 Pranab Mukherjee 2012 to 2017
14 Ram Nath Kovind 2017 to 2022
15 Droupadi Murmu 2022 to Present

The President of India is the head of the state and also the Commander-in-Chief of the country’s armed forces. All executive decisions made by the Prime Minister and the government are taken in the name of the President.

While many of our presidents have been illustrious achievers with an independent outlook, a number of them have also risen from the political echelons of the country. As the President, however, they have risen above their political inclinations and chosen to function in the best interests of the nation.

Here are the details of India’s presidents and their terms:

(please click Next > to know the names of  India’s presidents till now)