The Prime minister of India (Bhārat kē Pradhānmantrī) is the chief executive officer of the Government of India. The prime minister leads the executive branch of the union government and chairs the Council of Ministers. It is the third highest office of political authority in the Republic of India. The current prime minister is Narendra Modi, who has held the premiership since 2014.
The prime minister is appointed by the president of India; however the prime minister has to enjoy the confidence of the majority of Lok Sabha members, who are directly elected every five years, lest the prime minister shall resign. The prime minister can be a member of the Lok Sabha or of the Rajya Sabha, the upper house of the parliament. The prime minister unilaterally controls the selection and dismissal of members of the Council of Minister; and allocation of posts to members within the government. The council, which is collectively responsible to the Lok Sabha as per Article 75(3), assists the president regarding the operations under the latter's powers; however, by the virtue of Article 74 of the Constitution, such 'aid and advice' tendered by the council is binding. The prime minister ranks third in the Indian order of precedence.
The longest-serving prime minister was Jawaharlal Nehru, also the first prime minister, whose rule lasted 16 years and 286 days. His premiership was followed by Lal Bahadur Shastri's short tenure and Indira Gandhi's 11- and 4-year-long tenures, both politicians belonging to the Indian National Congress. After Indira Gandhi's assassination, her son Rajiv took charge until 1989, when a decade with six unstable governments began. This was followed by the full terms of Atal Bihari Vajpayee, Manmohan Singh, and Narendra Modi. Modi is the 14th and current prime minister of India, serving since 26 May 2014.