The President of India

The President of India is the head of the executive, legislature and judiciary of the country. Article 52 of the Constitution of India says that there should be a President of India. Article 53 says that all the executive powers of the Union shall be exercised by him either directly or through officers subordinate to him .

Election of the President

Article 54 of the Indian Constitution discusses the election of the President. It says that the President shall be elected by the members of an electoral college, which consists of the elected members of both the Houses of Parliament, and the Legislative Assemblies of the States and the two Union Territories, namely Delhi and Puducherry. The election of the President is held in accordance with a system of proportional representation by means of a single transferable vote. He can be re-elected to the office of the President. The oath of the President is administered by the Chief Justice of India, and in his absence, by the most senior judge of the Supreme Court.

Eligibility

Article 58 of the Indian Constitution says that the presidential candidate must:

·         Be a citizen of India.

·         Have completed the age of thirty-five years.

·         Be qualified for elections as a member of the Lok Sabha.

·         Not hold any office of profit under the Union or any State government, or any local or other authority.

Term of office
Article 56 of the Indian Constitution says that the President shall hold office for a term of five years from the date he takes up his post. He may resign from his office by writing his resignation to the Vice-President of India. But, he will continue to hold his office, in spite of tendering his resignation, until his successor takes up his office. And, before his office gets vacated, an election should be held for the same.

         Article 61 provides for the manner in which he can be impeached on the violation of the Constitution. The Vice-President acts as his substitute in case his office falls vacant on the grounds of his death, resignation or impeachment or otherwise. Such a vacancy should be filled by an election necessarily taking place within six months of his office falling vacant. 

Impeachment of President

Impeachment is the process to remove the President of India from his office before his term expires. The Impeachment can be carried out if the Constitution of India is violated by the President and the proceedings can be initiated in either of the two houses of the Parliament. Two-thirds majority is required to pass the resolution in the House. Thereafter, a notice signed by a quarter of the members of the House and containing the charges is sent to the President. After 14 days the charges are taken into consideration by the other House and in the meantime the President can defend himself. If the charges are approved by the second House also then the President is said to have been impeached. He has to leave his office.

Powers of President

The President of India is vested with the Executive, Legislative, Emergency, Diplomatic, Judicial and Military powers.

Executive powers

All the executive powers of the Union shall be vested in him. These powers should be exercised by him in accordance with the Constitution of India. He appoints the Prime Minister and the Council of Ministers. He also appoints the judges of the Supreme Court and the High Courts in the states, besides appointing the Attorney General and Comptroller and auditor General of India. Among other critical powers, he enjoys the pardoning power, whereby he can pardon the death sentence awarded to a convict.

Legislative powers

He can dissolve the Lok Sabha and end a session of the Parliament. He can also address the Parliament in its first session every year. He can nominate 12 members to the Rajya Sabha. These members must have extra ordinary accomplishments in the fields of science, art, literature and social service. He can also nominate 2 members to the Lok Sabha from the Anglo-Indian Community. When a bill is passed by the Parliament, the President can give or withhold his assent to it. He can also return it to the Parliament, unless it's a Money Bill or a Constitutional Amendment Bill.

Emergency powers

He can declare national, state and financial emergency. National emergency can be declared on the grounds of war, external aggression or armed rebellion in the country. This can be done on the written request of the Cabinet Ministers after the proclamation has been approved by the Parliament. State emergency can be imposed in a state if it fails to run constitutionally. Financial emergency can be proclaimed if there is a likelihood of the financial instability in the country.Financial powers

Only when the President recommends can a money bill be introduced in the Parliament. He lays the Union budget before the Parliament and makes advances out of the Contingency Fund.

Diplomatic, Military and Judicial powers

He appoints ambassadors and high commissioners to other countries. All international treaties are signed on his behalf. Under Military powers, he can declare war and conclude peace. He appoints Chief of Army, Navy and Air Force. He can dismiss judges if two-third majority of the members present of the two Houses of the Parliament pass the resolution to that effect.

Salary and residence of President of India

The salary and allowances of the President are fixed by the Parliament of India. The current salary of the President is Rs 150000 per month. His official residence is Rashtrapati Bhavan in New Delhi. 

Current President of India

Pranab Mukherjee is the current & 13th President of India. He took office on July 25th, 2012. Pranab Mukherjee is a veteran congressman who has served both in the government as well as the opposition. 76 year old Mukherjee has held several high profile portfolios in the government, including Finance, Defence & Foreign Ministry. Born in Birbhum district of West Bengal in1935, Mukherjee went on to get a Master's degree in History & Political Science, as well as a degree in Law . Pranab Mukherjee got a break in politics in 1969,when he was nominated to the Rajya Sabha with the help of Indira Gandhi. Mukherjee briefly left the Congress in the 80s to form his own party - Rashtriya Samajwadi Party, but came back, after he merged the party with the Congress in 1989. Mukherjee ascended in the next two decades to prominence in the Congress party, as one of the key troubleshooters in the party. Once nominated by the UPA for President's chair, Pranab Mukherjee defeated PA Sangma, winning 70% of the electoral-college vote.

Name	Pranab Mukherjee
Preceded by	Pratibha Patil
Date of Birth	Dec 11, 1935
Place of Birth	Mirati, British India
Qualifications	MA degree in political science and history and also an LL.B degree from the department of law of the University of Calcutta
Religion	Hindu
Spouse name	Suvra Mukherjee
Assumed office	Jul 25, 2012
Children	2 Sons & 1 Daughter
List of Presidents of India

President No.	Name	Took office	Left office	Profiles
1	Pranab Mukherjee (born on 1935)	25th July 2012	Incumbent	Thirteenth President of India and a senior leader of the Indian National Congress.
2	Pratibha Patil (born on 1934)	25th July 2007	25th July 2012	Twelfth President of India and the first women to hold the post.
3	Dr. A. P. J. Abdul Kalam (born on 1931)	25th July 2002	25th July 2007	Eleventh President of India and an extremely talented scientist who has worked in organizations such as DRDO and ISRO.
4	Kocheril Raman Narayanan (1920-2005)	25th July 1997	25th July 2002	Tenth President of the Republic of India and one of "the best diplomat of the country".
5	Shankar Dayal Sharma (1918-1999)	25th July 1992	25th July 1997	Ninth President of the Republic of India and a member of the Indian National Congress.
6	Ramaswamy Venkataraman (1910-2009)	25th July 1987	25th July 1992	Eightth President of India and an indian lawyer and politician by profession.
7	Giani Zail Singh (1916-1994)	25th July 1982	25th July 1987	Seventh President of India and a member of the Indian National Congress and a sikh by religion.
8	Neelam Sanjiva Reddy (1913-1996)	25th July 1977	25th July 1982	Sixth President of India and the only person to be elected as the president of India unopposed.
9	Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed (1905-1977)	24th August 1974	11th February 1977	Fifth President of the Republic of India and an active member of the Indian National Congress.
	Basappa Danappa Jatti (1912-2002)	11th February 1977	25th July 1977	Jatti was sworn in as Acting President of India upon Ahmed's death. He earlier was the Chief Minister for the State of Mysore.
10	Varahagiri Venkata Giri (1894-1980)	24th August 1969	24th August 1974	Fourth President of India belonging to a Telugu Brahmin family residing in Andhra Pradesh.
11	Mohammad Hidayatullah (1905-1992)	July 20, 1969	August 24, 1969	Hidayatullah served as Acting President of India until the election of Giri as the President of India.
	Varahagiri Venkata Giri (1894-1980)	May 3, 1969	July 20, 1969	Giri was the Acting President of India following the death of Hussain. However he resigned in a few months to take part in the presidential elections.
	Dr. Zakir Hussain (1897-1969)	May 13, 1967	May 3, 1969	Third President of India and the country's first Muslim President.
12	Dr. Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan (1888-1975)	13th May 1962	13th May 1967	Second President of India and the reason why Teacher's Day is celebrated every year on 5th September.
13	Dr. Rajendra Prasad (1884-1963)	26th January 1950	13th May 1962	First President of the Republic of India and a member of the Indian National Congress