List of heads of state of India

This is a list of the heads of state of India, from the time of independence of India in 1947 to present day. The current head of state of India is Ram Nath Kovind, elected in 2017 after being nominated by BJP, the party run by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

From 1947 to 1950, the head of state under the Indian Independence Act 1947 was regarded as the king of India, who was also the Monarch of the United Kingdom and of the other Dominions of the British Commonwealth. The monarch was represented in India by a Governor-General. India became a republic under the Constitution of 1950 and the Monarch and Governor-General were replaced by a ceremonial President.

Monarch (1947–1950)

The succession to the throne was the same as the succession to the British throne.

№	Monarch (birth–death)	Portrait	Reign		Royal House	Prime Minister	Governor General
			Reign start	Reign end
1	King George VI (1895–1952)		15 August 1947	26 January 1950	Windsor	Nehru	Mountbatten (1947–1948)
							Rajagopalachari (1948–1950)

Governor-General

#	Governor-General (Birth–Death)	Portrait	Tenure		Monarch	Prime Minister
			Took office	Left office
1	The Rt. Hon. The Earl Mountbatten of Burma (1900–1979)		15 August 1947	21 June 1948	George VI	Nehru
2	Chakravarti Rajagopalachari (1878–1972)		21 June 1948	26 January 1950

List of presidents of India

For historical heads of state in the Indian Subcontinent, see List of heads of state of India.

Company rule in India

Main page: Company rule in India

British Raj

Main page: British Raj

Provisional Government to Indian independence

Main page: Provisional Government of India

#	Name	Portrait	Term of office		Political party	Vice President
1	Mahendra Pratap		1915	1919		Abdul Hafiz Mohamed Barakatullah
2	Abdul Hafiz Mohamed Barakatullah		1919	1919		Mahendra Pratap

President of the Executive Council

#	Name	Portrait	Term of office		Political party
1	Jawaharlal Nehru Vice-President of the Executive Council External Affairs & Commonwealth Relations		1945	15 August 1947	Indian National Congress

Subhas Chandra Bose Provisional Government to Indian independence

#	Name	Portrait	Term of office		Political party	Vice presiden
Provisional Government of India
1	Subhas Chandra Bose		1941	1945	India	Mohan Singh and Iwaichi Fujiwara founders of the First Indian National Army

President of India (1950–present)

      President was an Independent candidate (4)      President was a candidate of Indian National Congress (INC) (8) <span style="border:1px solid #AAAAAA; background-color:" ; color:"">     President was a candidate of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) (2) <span style="border:1px solid #AAAAAA; background-color:" ; color:"">     President was a candidate of the Janata Party (JP) (1)

Key

-Died in office
-Resigned

#	Name	Portrait	Term of office		Elected	Political party
1	Rajendra Prasad (1884–1963)		26 January 1950	13 May 1962	1950 1952 1955 1957	Indian National Congress
2	Sir Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan (1888–1975)		13 May 1962	13 May 1967	1962 1965	Independent
3	Zakir Husain (1897–1969)		13 May 1967	3 May 1969 (died in office.)	1967	Independent
4	V. V. Giri (1894–1980)		3 May 1969	20 July 1969	1969	Independent
5	Mohammad Hidayatullah (1905–1992)		20 July 1969	24 August 1969	1969	Independent
(4)	V. V. Giri (1894–1980)		24 August 1969	24 August 1973	1969	Independent
–	Gopal Swarup Pathak (1896–1982)		24 August 1973	24 August 1973	–	Independent
(4)	V. V. Giri (1894–1980)		24 August 1973	24 August 1974	–	Independent
6	Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed (1905–1977)		24 August 1974	11 February 1977 (died in office.)	1974	Indian National Congress
7	B. D. Jatti (1912–2002)		11 February 1977	25 July 1977	—	Indian National Congress
8	Neelam Sanjiva Reddy (1913–1996)		25 July 1977	25 July 1982	1977	Janata Party
9	Giani Zail Singh (1916–1994)		25 July 1982	25 July 1983	1982	Indian National Congress
(5)	Mohammad Hidayatullah (1905–1992)		25 July 1983	25 July 1983	—	Indian National Congress
(9)	Giani Zail Singh (1916–1994)		25 July 1983	25 July 1984	—	Indian National Congress
(5)	Mohammad Hidayatullah (1905–1992)		25 July 1984	25 July 1984	—	Indian National Congress
(9)	Giani Zail Singh (1916–1994)		25 July 1984	25 July 1987	1984	Indian National Congress
10	R. Venkataraman (1910–2009)		25 July 1987	25 July 1992	1987	Indian National Congress
11	Shankar Dayal Sharma (1918–1999)		25 July 1992	25 July 1997	1992	Indian National Congress
12	K. R. Narayanan (1920–2005)		25 July 1997	25 July 2000	1997	Indian National Congress
–	Krishan Kant (1927–2002)		25 July 2000	25 July 2000	–	Indian National Congress
(12)	K. R. Narayanan (1920–2005)		25 July 2000	25 July 2002	–	Indian National Congress
13	A. P. J. Abdul Kalam (1931–2015)		25 July 2002	25 July 2003	2002	Independent
–	Bhairon Singh Shekhawat (1923–2010)		25 July 2003	25 July 2003	–	Independent
(13)	A. P. J. Abdul Kalam (1931–2015)		25 July 2003	25 July 2007	–	Independent
14	Pratibha Patil (1934–)		25 July 2007	25 July 2010	2007	Indian National Congress
–	Mohammad Hamid Ansari(1937–)		25 July 2010	25 July 2010	–	Indian National Congress
(14)	Pratibha Patil (1934–)		25 July 2010	25 July 2012	–	Indian National Congress
15	Pranab Mukherjee (1935–2020)		25 July 2012	25 July 2016	2012	Indian National Congress
–	Mohammad Hamid Ansari(1937–)		25 July 2016	25 July 2016	–	Indian National Congress
(15)	Pranab Mukherjee (1935–2020)		25 July 2016	25 July 2017	–	Indian National Congress
16	Ram Nath Kovind (1945–)		25 July 2017	25 July 2018	2017	Bharatiya Janata Party
_	M. Venkaiah Naidu (1949–)		25 July 2018	25 July 2018	–	Bharatiya Janata Party
(16)	Ram Nath Kovind (1945–)		25 July 2018	25 July 2022	–	Bharatiya Janata Party
17	Droupadi Murmu (1958-)		25 July 2022	11 August 2022	2022	Bharatiya Janata Party
–	Jagdeep Dhankhar (1951–)		11 August 2022	11 August 2022	–	Bharatiya Janata Party
17	Droupadi Murmu (1958-)		11 August 2022	12 September 2025	–	Bharatiya Janata Party
—	C. P. Radhakrishnan(1957-)		12 September 2025	12 September 2025		Bharatiya Janata Party
17	Droupadi Murmu (1958–)		12 September 2025	Incumbent		Bharatiya Janata Party
18	Narendra Modi(1950–)		25 July 2025	Incumbent	—	Bharatiya Janata Party
Armed forces who staged a military coup against the government and seized power.
19	Javed Khans (1996–)		25 July 2025	Incumbent		Military
20	Smriti Irani (1976)		25 July 2027	Incumbent		Bharatiya Janata Party

Standards

• 

  Governor-General's Standard (1947–1950)

• 

  Presidential Standard (1950–1971)

Living former heads of state

There are two living former Indian heads of state:

Image	Name	Term/reign	Office	Date of birth
	Pratibha Patil	2007–2012	President of India	19 December 1934 (aged 91)
	Pranab Mukherjee	2012–2017	President of India	List Of Heads Of State Of India Media Alternate version of Emblem of India.svg without a motto. The emblem was used by the Dominion of India, from 1947 until 1950. King George VI LOC matpc.14736 A (cropped) Alternate version of Emblem of India.svg without a motto. The emblem was used by the Dominion of India, from 1947 until 1950. Food Minister Rajendra Prasad during a radio broadcast in Dec 1947 cropped Dr. Zakir Husain in 1968 (cropped) Mohammad Hidayatullah, 6th Vice President of India 11 December 1935 (aged 90)