The President of India is the head of the Indian government. He is the commander-in-chief of the Indian Armed Forces. He is known to as the first citizen of India.
The President of India is elected by the Electoral College composed of elected members of the parliament houses, the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha, and also members of the Vidhan Sabha, the state legislative assemblies. His tenure is five years, as stated by article 56, part V, of the Constitution of India.
Till now, there have been 14 Presidents of India. Apart from these fourteen, three Acting Presidents have also been in office for short periods of time. Rajendra Prasad, the first President of India, is the only person to have held office for two terms. Varahagiri Venkata Giri became the Acting President in 1969 after Zakir Husain, died in office. Varahagiri Venkata Giri was elected President a few months later. He remains the only person to have held office both as a President and Acting President.
Before being elected Seven Presidents have been members of a political party. Six of these presidents were active party members of the Indian National Congress. The 12th President, Pratibha Patil, is the first woman to serve as President of India, elected in 2007. The present president of India is Ram Nath Kovind since 25 July 2017.
| No. | Name (Birth–Death) |
Took office | Left office | Vice President |
| 1. | Rajendra Prasad (1884–1963) |
26 January 1950 | 13 May 1952 | Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan |
| 13 May 1952 | 13 May 1957 | |||
| 13 May 1957 | 13 May 1962 | |||
| 2. | Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan (1888–1975) |
13 May 1962 | 13 May 1967 | Zakir Husain |
| 3. | Zakir Husain (1897–1969) |
13 May 1967 | 3 May 1969 | Varahagiri Venkata Giri |
| – | Varahagiri Venkata Giri* (1894–1980) |
3 May 1969 | 20 July 1969 | – |
| – | Mohammad Hidayatullah* (1905–1992) |
20 July 1969 | 24 August 1969 | – |
| 4. | Varahagiri Venkata Giri (1894–1980) |
24 August 1969 | 24 August 1974 | Gopal Swarup Pathak |
| 5. | Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed (1905–1977) |
24 August 1974 | 11 February 1977 | Gopal Swarup Pathak (1974) |
| Basappa Danappa Jatti(1974–1977) | ||||
| – | Basappa Danappa Jatti* (1912–2002) |
11 February 1977 | 25 July 1977 | – |
| 6. | Neelam Sanjiva Reddy (1913–1996) |
25 July 1977 | 25 July 1982 | Basappa Danappa Jatti(1977–1979) |
| Mohammad Hidayatullah(1979–1982) | ||||
| 7. | Zail Singh (1916–1994) |
25 July 1982 | 25 July 1987 | Mohammad Hidayatullah(1982–1984) |
| Ramaswamy Venkataraman(1984–1987) | ||||
| 8. | Ramaswamy Venkataraman (1910–2009) |
25 July 1987 | 25 July 1992 | Shankar Dayal Sharma |
| 9. | Shankar Dayal Sharma (1918–1999) |
25 July 1992 | 25 July 1997 | Kocheril Raman Narayanan |
| 10. | Kocheril Raman Narayanan (1921–2005) |
25 July 1997 | 25 July 2002 | Krishan Kant |
| 11. | Avul Pakir Jainulabdeen Abdul Kalam (1931–2015) |
25 July 2002 | 25 July 2007 | Krishan Kant(2002) |
| Bhairon Singh Shekhawat(2002–2007) | ||||
| 12. | Pratibha Patil (1934–) |
25 July 2007 | 25 July 2012 | Mohammad Hamid Ansari |
| 13. | Pranab Mukherjee (1935–) |
25 July 2012 | 25 July 2017 | Mohammad Hamid Ansari |
| 14. | Ram Nath Kovind (1945–) |
25 July 2017 | Incumbent | Venkaiah Naidu |