Article 52 of the Indian Constitution says, `There shall be a President of India.` The President is the Head of the State. He is also the Head of the Union Executive. Article 53(i) more specifically states `The executive power of the Union shall be vested in the President and shall be exercised by him either directly or through officers subordinate to him in accordance with this Constitution.` The position of the Indian President in the Indian polity is one of the highest honour, dignity and prestige. He is the first citizen of India and the Supreme Commander of the armed forces.

There are certain qualifications which are required for becoming the Indian President or Rashtrapati. Article 58 and 59 states the qualifications for electing the Rashtrapati:

Article 58 states:
No person shall be eligible for election as President unless he
(a) is a citizen of India,
(b) has completed the age of thirty-five years, and
(c) is qualified for election as a member of the House of the People.

(2) A person shall not be eligible for election as President if he holds any office of profit under the Government of India or the Government of any State or under any local or other authority subject to the control of any of the said Governments.

Article 59 of the Constitution deals with the conditions of the President`s office:
(1) The President shall not be a member of either House of Parliament or of a House of the Legislature of any State, and if a member of either House of Parliament or of a House of the Legislature of any State be elected President, he shall be deemed to have vacated his seat in that House on the date on which he enters upon his office as President.

(2) The President shall not hold any other office of profit.

The method of electing the Indian President is rather complicated. He is elected indirectly by an electoral college specially constituted for the purpose. He is elected for a term of 5 years. After serving for five years a person may seek re-election. The Electoral College that elects the Rashtrapati consists of the elected members of both the Houses of Parliament and all the State Legislative Assemblies. Each member included in the Electoral College for the presidential election has single transferable vote.

Article 54 of the Constitution states: The President shall be elected by the members of an electoral college consisting of-
(a) the elected members of both Houses of Parliament; and
(b) the elected members of the Legislative Assemblies of the States.

Article 55
(1) says, As far as practicable, there shall be uniformity in the scale of representation of the different States at the election of the President.

(2) For the purpose of securing such uniformity among the States inter se as well as parity between the States as a whole and the Union, the number of votes which each elected Member of Parliament and of the Legislative Assembly of each

State is entitled to cast at such election shall be determined in the following manner:-
(a) every elected member of the Legislative Assembly of a State shall have as many votes as there are multiples of one thousand in the quotient obtained by dividing the population of the State by the total number of the elected members of the Assembly;

(b) if, after taking the said multiples of one thousand, the remainder is not less than five hundred, then the vote of each member referred to in sub-clause (a) shall be further increased by one;

(c) each elected member of either House of Parliament shall have such number of votes as may be obtained by dividing the total number of votes assigned to the members of the Legislative Assemblies of the States under sub-clauses (a) and

(b) By the total number of the elected members of both Houses of Parliament, fractions exceeding one half being counted as one and other fractions being disregarded.

(3) The election of the President shall be held in accordance with the system of proportional representation by means of the single transferable vote and the voting at such election shall be by secret ballot.

The system of Presidential election in India is based on two essential principles. Firstly, parity is maintained between the Union and the states as a whole that is between total votes of all members of Parliament and the total votes of all the members of the State Assemblies. Secondly as far as possible it maintains uniformity in the scale of representation of different states.

The election of the Indian President or Rashtrapati is held in accordance with the system of proportional representation by means of single transferable vote and the voting shall be by secret ballot. Each elector casts his vote in order of preference in the ballot against the names of the candidates. A candidate is required in order to get elected, to secure a definite number of votes,

called quota which is worked out with in the following manner:
Total valid votes cast +1 = Quota
Number of Seat+1

Any candidate securing the required number of votes in the first counting is declared elected. But, when none of the candidates obtain the quota number of votes, the necessary of second counting arises. In that case, the person who gets the least number of first preference votes is eliminated from the contest and the second preference votes in his ballots are transferred to other candidates. This process of elimination from the bottom along with the transference of preference continues until one candidate obtains the quota to get elected. The election process of the Indian President is indirect. This decision was taken by the Constitution makers for a number of reasons. It is difficult as well as expensive to conduct direct election in India where millions of people are involved. Under the Constitution the President is little more than a constitutional head. If elected directly he may demand real powers and this is not allowed in any parliamentary system as in India. Finally the indirect election process is quite democratic in view as the Electoral College consists of all the representatives irrespective of any party affiliation. The system of proportional representation ensures the election of the President by the majority of the electors.

The framers of the Constitution of India had expressed in the Constituent Assembly their intention of making the office of the President that of a constitutional dignitary similar to the British Monarch. The Indian Constitution states in Article 53(1), the executive power of the Union shall be vested in the President and shall be exercised by him either directly or through officers subordinates to him in accordance with the Constitution.

Article 60
The President of India shall, before entering upon his office, make and subscribe in the presence of the Chief Justice of India or, in his absence, the senior-most Judge of the Supreme Court available, an oath or affirmation that he/she shall protect, preserve and defend the Constitution.

The President of India has certain executive powers. He is the Head of the Union and consequently all the executive powers are exercised in his name. He appoints the Governors of the state, the judges of the Supreme Court and High Courts, the Comptroller and Auditor General, the Chief Election Commissioner and other Election Commissioners, the Chairman and other Members of the Union Public Service Commission, ambassadors and High Commissioners to other countries. He also appoints the Prime Minister and other ministers of the Union council of ministers. The President is ordinarily duty bound to summon the leader of the political party which secures an absolute majority in the Lok Sabha to become the Prime Minister.

Article 53 of the Constitution of India further states:
(1) Without prejudice to the generality of the foregoing provision, the supreme command of the Defence Forces of the Union shall be vested in the President and the exercise thereof shall be regulated by law.

(2) Nothing in this article shall-
(a) Be deemed to transfer to the President any functions conferred by any existing law on the Government of any State or other authority; or

(b) Prevent Parliament from conferring by law functions on authorities other than the President

The Indian President has financial powers too. The President causes the annual budget of the Union Government to be laid before the parliament every year. Any proposal for spending money or raising revenues for purposes of Government cannot be introduced in Parliament without previous permission of the President. He can also make advances out of the Contingency Fund of India to meet any unforeseen expenditure. The President of India constitutes the Finance Commission every 5 years to recommend the distribution of taxes between the States and the Centre.

Judicial powers of the Indian President constitutes in the appointment of the judges of the Supreme Court and the High Court. Under Article 72, he has the power to grant pardon, reprieves, respites or remissions of punishment. He can suspend, remit or commute the sentence of any person convicted by the Court Martial and in all cases where the sentence is one of death. The president even dismisses the judges and only if the two Houses of the Parliament pass resolutions to that effect by two-thirds majority of the members present.

President of India has enormous Legislative powers and functions as well. The President is a part of Parliament. The Union Legislature of Parliament consists of the President and the two Houses of the Parliament. He is, therefore, an integral part of the Union Legislature. He summons both Houses of the Parliament either separately or jointly and prorogues them. He can even dissolve the Lok Sabha. These powers are formal, and by convention, the President uses these powers according to the advice of the Council of Ministers headed by the Prime Minister. The Indian President inaugurates the Parliament by addressing it after the general elections and also at the beginning of the first session each year. Their address on these occasions is generally meant to outline the new policies of the government. A bill that the Parliament has passed can become a law only after the President gives his or her assent to it. The President can return a bill to the Parliament, if it is not a money bill, for reconsideration. However, if the Parliament sends it back to them for the second time, the President is obliged to assent to it. Except when both Houses of Parliament are in session, the President may promulgate Ordinances. These ordinances are submitted to the Parliament at its next session. They remain valid for no more than six weeks from the date the Parliament is convened unless approved by it earlier.

Diplomatic Powers of the Rashtrapati or the President of India are such as, all international treaties and agreements are negotiated and concluded on behalf of the President. In practice, such negotiations are usually carried out by the Prime Minister along with his Cabinet. Such treaties are subject to the approval of the Parliament. The President represents India in international forums and affairs where such a function is chiefly ceremonial. The President may also send and receive diplomats like Ambassadors and High Commissioners. The President also exercises Military Powers. He is the supreme commander of the defence forces of India. He has the capacity of appointing Army, Navy and Air Chiefs. The President can declare war or conclude peace, subject to the approval of parliament.

The Constitution has given the President Powers relating to Proclamation of three kinds of Emergencies:
National Emergency as described in Article 352. (1) `If the President is satisfied that a grave emergency exists whereby the security of India or of any part of the territory thereof is threatened, whether by war or external aggression or armed rebellion, he may, by Proclamation, make a declaration to that effect.` Under Article 352 of the India Constitution the President can declare such an emergency only on the basis of a written request by the Council of Ministers headed by the Prime Minister. Such a proclamation must be approved by the Parliament within one month. Such an emergency can be imposed for six months. It can be extended by six months by repeated Parliamentary approval. Fundamental Rights of Indian citizens can be suspended.

The President is empowered to make a proclamation in case of failure of constitutional machinery in states. Under Article 356 of the Constitution, if the President is satisfied, either on the basis of the report of the Governor of a state or otherwise, that a situation has arisen in which the government of a state cannot be carried on in accordance with the provisions of the Constitution, the President may by proclamation assume to himself all or any of the functions of the state and declare that the powers of the Legislature of the state shall be exercised by the Parliament.

If the President is satisfied that a situation has arisen whereby the financial stability or credit of India or of any part of the territory thereof is threatened, he may make declaration to that effect. It is stated in the Article 360 of the Indian constitution. Such proclamation may be revoked by a subsequent proclamation. A proclamation issued under Article 360 shall be laid before each House of Parliament. It shall cease to operate at the expiration of two month unless approved by Parliament.

Article 61 of the Constitution has dealt with the procedure of removal of the President from office, known as impeachment. A charge against the President for violation of the constitution may be preferred by either House of the Parliament by moving after at least 14 days of notice a resolution to that effect by the majority of not less than one -fourth of the total membership of the House and passed by a majority of two thirds of the said House. The other House of Parliament investigates the charge. If the second house also approves the charges made by two-third majority again, the President stands impeached and is deemed to have vacated his/her office from the date when such a resolution stands passed.

India is proud to have several luminaries from the field of arts, science as well as literature who have served as the Indian Presidents. Dr. Rajendra Prasad was the first President of Independent India. He was an independence activist and a leader of the Congress Party. He set several important rules for later Presidents to follow. Sarvapalli Radhakrishnan was a philosopher and statesman among the Presidents of India. He was one of the first scholars of comparative religion and philosophy in his time. Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam is the President of India was a notable scientist and engineer; he is often referred to as the Missile Man of India for his work and is considered a leading progressive, mentor, innovator and visionary in India. The country has also witnessed first woman Indian president, Pratibha Patil.