The President - Constitutional Provisions The President at the union and the Governor at the state level constitute the head of the state in whose name the executive powers are vested but who do not exercise them. They constitute the nominal or titular executive (de jure head). The Indian Constitution under Article 53, vests the executive power of the union in the President and shall be exercised by him either directly or through officers subordinate to him in accordance with the constitution He is the Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces. He is the 1st citizen of India and occupies the 1st position under the warrant of precedence. All the executive actions are taken in his name. Other Constitutional Provision for President ArticleProvisions Article 56Term of office of President Article 58Qualification for election as President Article 59Conditions of President's office Article 60Oath or affirmation by the President Article 61Procedure for impeachment of the President Article 62Time of holding election to fill vacancy in the office of president and the term of office or person elected to fill casual vacancy Article 71Matters relating to, or connected with, the election of a President or Vice-President Article 72Power of President to grant pardons, etc., and to suspend, remit or commute sentences in certain cases Qualification for election as a President He must be a citizen of India. He must have completed the age of 35 years. He must not hold office of profit under the Government of India or the Government of any States or under any local or other authority subject to control of any of the said Governments. He must be qualified for election as a member of House of the People i.e., Lok Sabha. Conditions of President Office President shall not be a member of either Houses of the Parliament or of the House of State Legislatures, and if he/she is he/she shall be deemed to have vacated his/her seat in that House on the date on which he enters upon his office as President He is entitled without payment of rent to the use of his official residence. He is also entitled to such emolument and allowance and privileges as may be determined by the Parliament by law He enjoys personal immunity under Article 361 from legal liability of his official acts of commission and omission along with that shield the acts done outside the provisions of Constitution He is immune from any criminal proceedings during his term of office. He cannot be arrested or imprisoned. However, civil proceedings can be instituted against him during his term of office in respect of his personal acts, after giving two months’ notice. The emolument and allowance of the President cannot be diminished during his term of office. No Spoils System It is worth noting that, aside from the ability to nominate the above-mentioned functionaries, the Indian Constitutions do not give the President the same absolute power as the American Constitution to appoint inferior officers of the Union. As a result, the Indian Constitution aims to avoid America's unpopular "spoils system," in which the President fills around 20% of federal civil jobs without consulting the Civil Service Commission and as a reward for party loyalty. Oath of the PresidentThe President takes oath in the presence of the Chief Justice of India “to preserve, protect and defend the Constitution and law”. Term of Office of President The President shall hold office for a term of 5 years from the date on which he enters upon his office. Even after the expiry of his term, he shall continue in the office until his successor enters upon his office He is also eligible for re-election any number of times The President may however resign his office before the expiry of his normal term of 5 years by writing to the Vice-President Further he may be removed from office for violation of the Constitution by the process of impeachment. Relation Between President and Council of Minister Before the 42nd Constitutional Amendment Act, 1976, there was no provision in the Constitution which made the advice of the Council of Minister obligatory on the President It amended Article 74 and made the advice of the Council of Ministers constitutionally binding on the President. The Supreme Court in a number of cases has held that as long as the Council of Ministers enjoys the support of Lok Sabha, the President is bound by the advice of the Council of Ministers. The 44th Constitutional Amendment Act, 1978, further amended Article 74 by adding a proviso to it. The President may require the Council of Ministers to reconsider such an advice but the President is not bound to act in accordance with the advice tendered after such reconsideration. Article 78(a) casts on the Prime Minister a duty to keep the President informed of all the Cabinet decisions concerning the administration of the affairs of the Union and proposals for legislation and furnish all the information asked for by the President The President may ask the Prime Minister to submit a matter on which a decision has been taken by an individual minister but which has not been considered by the Council of Ministers. List of the Presidents of India S. No Presidents Tenure 1Dr. Rajendra Prasad26 January 1950 - 13 May 1962 2S. Radhakrishnan13 May 1962 - 13 May 1967 3Dr. Zakir Hussain13 May 1967- 3 May 1969 4Varahagiri Venkata Giri24 August 1969 - 24 August 1974 5Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed24 August 1974 – 11 February 1977 6Neelam Sanjiva Reddy25 July 1977 - 25 July 1982 7Giani Zail Singh25 July 1982 - 25 July 1987 8Ramaswamy Venkataraman25 July 1987 - 25 July 1992 9Shankar Dayal Sharma25 July 1992 - 25 July 1997 10Kocheril Raman Narayanan25 July 1997 - 25 July 2002 11A. P. J. Abdul Kalam25 July 2002 - 25 July 2007 12Pratibha Patil25 July 2007 - 25 July 2012 13Pranab Mukherjee25 July 2012 - 25 July 2017 14Ram Nath Kovind25 July 2017 - Present Key Facts about President of India Dr. Rajendra Prasad was India's president for the longest time. He served as President of the country for two terms The third Indian President, Zakir Hussain, had the shortest tenure. He died in his office as he was working. There were three interim Presidents in addition to the full-time Presidents shown in the table above. Varahagiri Venkata Giri, Mohammad Hidayatullah, and Basappa Danappa Jatti were the three. Neelam Sanjiva Reddy was not only the country's youngest President, but also Andhra Pradesh's first Chief Minister. Pratibha Patil was India's first and only female president