The list of Prime Ministers of India is one of the most reliably repeated static-GK topics across SSC, Railway (RRB), Banking and State PSC exams. This is the complete list from independence in 1947 to the present, followed by the specific facts examiners tend to ask.
Complete list of Prime Ministers of India
| # | Prime Minister | Tenure | Party |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jawaharlal Nehru | 1947–1964 | INC |
| — | Gulzarilal Nanda (acting) | 1964 | INC |
| 2 | Lal Bahadur Shastri | 1964–1966 | INC |
| — | Gulzarilal Nanda (acting) | 1966 | INC |
| 3 | Indira Gandhi | 1966–1977 | INC |
| 4 | Morarji Desai | 1977–1979 | Janata Party |
| 5 | Charan Singh | 1979–1980 | Janata Party (Secular) |
| (3) | Indira Gandhi | 1980–1984 | INC |
| 6 | Rajiv Gandhi | 1984–1989 | INC |
| 7 | V. P. Singh | 1989–1990 | Janata Dal |
| 8 | Chandra Shekhar | 1990–1991 | Samajwadi Janata Party |
| 9 | P. V. Narasimha Rao | 1991–1996 | INC |
| 10 | Atal Bihari Vajpayee | 1996 (13 days) | BJP |
| 11 | H. D. Deve Gowda | 1996–1997 | Janata Dal |
| 12 | I. K. Gujral | 1997–1998 | Janata Dal |
| (10) | Atal Bihari Vajpayee | 1998–2004 | BJP |
| 13 | Manmohan Singh | 2004–2014 | INC |
| 14 | Narendra Modi | 2014–present | BJP |
Key facts that repeat in exams
- First Prime Minister: Jawaharlal Nehru — also the longest-serving, with about 16 years and 9 months in office.
- First acting Prime Minister: Gulzarilal Nanda (twice, after Nehru and after Shastri).
- Shortest tenure: Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s first term of just 13 days in 1996.
- First woman Prime Minister: Indira Gandhi.
- Youngest Prime Minister: Rajiv Gandhi, who took office at 40.
- First non-Congress Prime Minister: Morarji Desai.
- First Prime Minister to lose a no-confidence-linked majority / resign without facing the house: Charan Singh never faced Parliament as PM.
- Only Prime Minister from a Southern state (by birth) to serve a full term earlier: P. V. Narasimha Rao (from present-day Telangana).
- First Sikh Prime Minister: Manmohan Singh.
How this topic is asked
Questions usually take one of four forms: “who was the first/longest/shortest-serving PM”, “match the PM with the tenure or party”, “who was PM during a specific event”, or “arrange these PMs in chronological order”. Memorising the order and the superlatives (first, longest, shortest, youngest) covers the large majority of what is actually asked.
Tip: learn the sequence in blocks — the Congress era (Nehru to Rajiv), the coalition churn of 1989–1998 (V. P. Singh, Chandra Shekhar, Rao, Vajpayee, Deve Gowda, Gujral), and then the stable NDA/UPA/NDA period (Vajpayee, Manmohan Singh, Modi). Chunking the timeline makes the order far easier to recall under pressure.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who was the first Prime Minister of India?
Jawaharlal Nehru, who served from 1947 to 1964 and remains the longest-serving Prime Minister of India.
Who was the shortest-serving Prime Minister of India?
Atal Bihari Vajpayee, whose first term in 1996 lasted only 13 days before he resigned for want of a majority.
Who was the first woman Prime Minister of India?
Indira Gandhi, who served from 1966–1977 and again from 1980–1984.
Who was the first acting Prime Minister of India?
Gulzarilal Nanda, who served as acting Prime Minister twice — after the deaths of Nehru (1964) and Shastri (1966).