President of India

The President of India is the head of state and first citizen of India and the Supreme Commander of the Indian armed forces. The President's role is largely ceremonial, with real executive authority vested in the Council of Ministers, headed by the Prime Minister. The powers of the President of India are comparable to those of the monarch, king. The president is also called Rashtrapati. The president of India resides in a large palatial mansion called Rashtrapati Bhavan, which roughly translates as presidential palace.

The current President of the Republic of India is Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam.

Qualifications required to become the President
A citizen of India who is of 35 years of age or above may be a Presidential candidate. The Presidential candidate should be qualified to become a member of the Lok Sabha and should not hold any office of profit under the government. Certain office-holders, however, are permitted to stand as Presidential candidates. These are:

* The current Vice-President.
* The Governor of any State.
* A Minister of the Union or of any State.

In the event that the Vice-President, a State Governor or a Minister is elected President, he is considered to have vacated his previous office on the date he begins serving as President.

Constitutional Role
Article 52 of the Indian Constitution states "There shall be a President of India". Article 53(1)vests in the President the executive powers of the Union which are exercised by him either directly or through officers subordinate to him in accordance with the Constitution. Although the Constitution explicitly says that the president is the executive head of the state, real executive power is exercised by the Council of Ministers, headed by the Prime Minister. This is inferred from Article 74 of the Indian Constitution, providing for a "... council of ministers to aid and advise the President who shall, in exercise of his functions, act in accordance with such advice".

The president of India swears before entering the office of the president that he shall protect, preserve and defend the Constitution (Article 60), which provides for an executive head of state who is nominal or ceremonial.

List of Presidents of India (1950-Present)

No.	Name	Took Office	Left Office	Profile	Education
01	Dr. Rajendra Prasad	January 30, 1950	May 13, 1962	Freedom Fighter,Lawyer	University of Calcutta
02	Dr. Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan	May 13, 1962	May 13, 1967	Philosopher, Educator	University of Madras
03	Dr. Zakir Hussain	May 13, 1967	May 3, 1969	Educator	Aligarh Muslim University; University of Berlin
*	Varahagiri Venkata Giri	May 3, 1969	July 20, 1969	Trade Unionist, Politician	University College, Dublin
*	Muhammad Hidayatullah	July 20, 1969	August 24, 1969	Judge	University of Nagpur; Trinity College, Cambridge; Lincoln's Inn
04	Varahagiri Venkata Giri	August 24, 1969	August 24, 1974	Trade Unionist, Politician	University College, Dublin
05	Dr. Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed	August 24, 1974	February 11, 1977	Politician	St. Stephen's College, Delhi; St. Catharine's College, Cambridge
*	Basappa Danappa Jatti	February 11, 1977	July 25, 1977	Lawyer, Politician	Sykes Law College, Kolhapur
06	Neelam Sanjiva Reddy	July 25, 1977	July 25, 1982	Agriculturist, Politician	Government Arts College, Anantapur
07	Giani Zail Singh	July 25, 1982	July 25, 1987	Freedom Fighter, Politician
08	Ramaswamy Venkataraman	July 25, 1987	July 25, 1992	Trade Unionist, Politician	University of Madras
09	Dr. Shankar Dayal Sharma	July 25, 1992	July 25, 1997	Freedom Fighter, Politician	St. John's College, Agra; University of Allahabad; University of Lucknow; Fitzwilliam College, Cambridge; Lincoln's Inn; Harvard Law School
10	Kocheril Raman Narayanan	July 25, 1997	July 25, 2002	Diplomat, Politician	University of Travancore; London School of Economics
11	Dr. A. P. J. Abdul Kalam	July 25, 2002	In Office	Scientist, Engineer	Madras Institute of Technology, St.Joseph's College Trichy
12		July 25, 2007

* Acting