GK Test - 53

• Indira Priyadarshini Gandhi was an Indian politician and a central figure of the Indian National Congress.
• She was the first and, to date, only female Prime Minister of India.
• Indira Gandhi was the daughter of Jawaharlal Nehru, the first prime minister of India.
• She served as prime minister from January 1966 to March 1977 and again from January 1980 until her assassination in October 1984, making her the second longest-serving Indian prime minister after her father.

The duty of the Prime Minister to furnish information to the President is enshrined in Article 78 of the Indian Constitution 

• According to this article, it is the duty of the Prime Minister to:
  • Communicate to the President all decisions of the Council of Ministers relating to the administration of the affairs of the Union and proposals for legislation.
  • Furnish such information relating to the administration of the affairs of the Union and proposals for legislation as the President may call for.
  • Submit for the consideration of the Council of Ministers any matter on which a decision has been taken by a Minister but which has not been considered by the Council, if the President so requires.

• Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel was the first Deputy Prime Minister of India.
• He was also the first Home Minister of India.
• He is known as the 'Unifier for India' and 'Iron Man of India'.
• He established the modern All India Services system in India.
• The Statue of Unity which depicts Vallabhbhai Patel is the world's tallest statue (182 metres) located in Gujarat.
• It is located between the mountain ranges of Vindhyachal and Satpuda.
• Noted sculptor Ram V. Sutar, a Padma Bhushan Awardee, who has created over 40 monumental sculptures over the past 40 years was designated as the sculptor for the Statue of Unity.

Lal Bahadur Shastri was the second Prime minister in India.

• He served as the Prime minister of India from 1964 to 1965.
• He was the Prime Minister of India during the Indo-Pak war in 1965.
• His birthday also falls on 2^nd October along with Mahatma Gandhi's birthday.
• The famous slogan "Jai Jawan, Jai Kisan" was raised by Lal Bahadur Shastri.
• He signed on Tashkent Declaration along with the then-President of Pakistan Muhammad Ayub Khan on 10^th January 1966.
• He is the first prime minister to die abroad.
• He was honoured with the Bharat Ratna in 1966.
• He was the first person to receive Bharat Ratna posthumously.
• The resting place of Lal Bahadur Shastri is called Vijayghat.

• According to Article 75,
  • The Prime Minister shall be appointed by the President and the other Ministers shall be appointed by the President on the advice of the Prime Minister.
  • The Minister shall hold office during the pleasure of the President.
  • The Council of Ministers shall be collectively responsible to the House of the People.
• Prime Minister is the real executive authority that is the de facto executive.
• President is the nominal executive authority that is the de jure executive.
• The Prime Minister may be a member of any of the two houses of Parliament.
• The salary and allowances of the Prime Minister are determined by the parliament from time to time.

• Lal Bahadur Shastri was born on 2 October 1904 in Mughal Sarai, Uttar Pradesh.
• He received the title of 'Shastri' in the year 1926.
• He participated in the Civil Disobedience Movement in 1930.
• He was also arrested during the Non-Cooperation Movement but was released due to his young age.
• The country suffered severe drought during the 1965 war with Pakistan. Then Shastriji appealed to the countrymen to fast for a day.
• He gave the slogan of "Jai Jawan Jai Kisan".
• He died on 11 January 1966 in Tashkent.
• Indira Gandhi was the first woman prime minister of India.
• Jawaharlal Nehru was the first prime minister of India.

On June 10, 2026, Prime Minister Narendra Modi surpassed Jawaharlal Nehru's record of 4,398 days to become India's longest continuously serving democratically elected Prime Minister.

• The only Indian Prime Minister to die outside India is Lal Bahadur Shastri.
• The first Prime Minister to born in the 20th Century (2nd October 1904) at Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh.
• Lal Bahadur Shastri is the first person to receive Bharat Ratna posthumously in 1966.
• He was the second PM to die in harness after Nehru.
• Lal Bahadur Shastri is known as the Man of Peace.
• The famous slogan 'Jai Jawan Jai Kisan' was raised by Lal Bahadur Shastri.
• Lal Bahadur Shastri Airport is formerly known as Varanasi Airport.
• Resting place - Vijayghat

• Giani Zail Singh was the first Sikh to serve as president of India (1982–87).
• Served in the Rajya Sabha (upper chamber of the Indian parliament) in 1956–62 and was chief minister of Punjab in 1972–77. 
• Giani Zail Singh further inflamed the government by refusing to sign into law a 1987 bill permitting official censorship of private mail.
• As the question asks who was the President when Rajiv Gandhi was sworn in as Prime Minister, the answer will be Giani Zail Singh.

• Charan Singh was the 5th Prime Minister of India between 1979 and 1980.
• He was the 3rd Deputy Prime Minister of India.
• He became the Deputy Prime Minister of India in the Morarji Desai government in 1977.
• Charan Singh was the first prime minister in India to head a minority government in the center.
• He is one of the the shortest-serving prime minister in India whose tenre was of 170 days.
• Kisan ghat is the resting place of Charan Singh.