Prime Minister of India (30 MCQs)
Who is the head of government in India,
exercising executive authority?
a) President
b) Prime Minister
c) Vice-President
d) Chief Justice
Answer: b) Prime Minister
Explanation: The Prime Minister leads the
government, heading the Council of Ministers,
while the President is the ceremonial head.
Which article of the Indian Constitution outlines
the Prime Minister’s duties?
a) Article 74
b) Article 75
c) Article 78
d) Article 80
Answer: c) Article 78
Explanation: Article 78 details the Prime
Minister’s role as a link between the President
and the Cabinet.
The Prime Minister must be a member of which
body?
a) Lok Sabha only
b) Rajya Sabha only
c) Either Lok Sabha or Rajya Sabha
d) Neither, if appointed
Answer: c) Either Lok Sabha or Rajya Sabha
Explanation: The Prime Minister can be from
either house but must have Lok Sabha’s
confidence.
Who appoints the Prime Minister of India?
a) Lok Sabha Speaker
b) President
c) Chief Justice
d) Election Commission
Answer: b) President
Explanation: The President appoints the leader
with majority support in the Lok Sabha as Prime
Minister.
Who was India’s first Prime Minister, serving
from 1947 to 1964?
a) Lal Bahadur Shastri
b) Jawaharlal Nehru
c) Indira Gandhi
d) Morarji Desai
Answer: b) Jawaharlal Nehru
Explanation: Jawaharlal Nehru served 17 years,
initiating projects like the Bhakra Dam on the
Sutlej River.
Which Prime Minister had the shortest tenure?
a) Charan Singh
b) Gulzarilal Nanda
c) H. D. Deve Gowda
d) I. K. Gujral
Answer: b) Gulzarilal Nanda
Explanation: Gulzarilal Nanda served as interim
PM for 13 days each in 1964 and 1966.
Which Prime Minister oversaw the 1974 “Smiling
Buddha” nuclear test?
a) Morarji Desai
b) Indira Gandhi
c) Rajiv Gandhi
d) P. V. Narasimha Rao
Answer: b) Indira Gandhi
Explanation: Indira Gandhi led India’s first
nuclear test in Pokhran, not directly tied to rivers.
Who was the first non-Congress Prime Minister?
a) Atal Bihari Vajpayee
b) Morarji Desai
c) Charan Singh
d) V. P. Singh
Answer: b) Morarji Desai
Explanation: Morarji Desai (Janata Party) served
from 1977 to 1979, breaking Congress’s hold post-
Emergency.
Which Prime Minister declared the Emergency
(1975-1977)?
a) Jawaharlal Nehru
b) Lal Bahadur Shastri
c) Indira Gandhi
d) Rajiv Gandhi
Answer: c) Indira Gandhi
Explanation: Indira Gandhi’s Emergency
impacted rural areas, including those along the
Ganga River.
Who is India’s Prime Minister as of July 7, 2025?
a) Manmohan Singh
b) Narendra Modi
c) Rajiv Gandhi
d) P. V. Narasimha Rao
Answer: b) Narendra Modi
Explanation: Narendra Modi, in his third term
since June 2024, leads river-cleaning efforts like
Namami Gange.
Which Prime Minister initiated economic
liberalization in 1991?
a) Rajiv Gandhi
b) P. V. Narasimha Rao
c) Atal Bihari Vajpayee
d) Manmohan Singh
Answer: b) P. V. Narasimha Rao
Explanation: P. V. Narasimha Rao’s reforms
boosted industries near rivers like the Godavari.
The Prime Minister is accountable to which
house?
a) Rajya Sabha
b) Lok Sabha
c) Both houses
d) Supreme Court
Answer: b) Lok Sabha
Explanation: The Prime Minister needs majority
support in the Lok Sabha for governance.
Which Prime Minister signed the Tashkent
Declaration after the 1965 war?
a) Jawaharlal Nehru
b) Lal Bahadur Shastri
c) Indira Gandhi
d) Morarji Desai
Answer: b) Lal Bahadur Shastri
Explanation: Shastri’s declaration impacted
Punjab, near the Indus River system.
Who was India’s first female Prime Minister?
a) Sonia Gandhi
b) Indira Gandhi
c) Sarojini Naidu
d) Pratibha Patil
Answer: b) Indira Gandhi
Explanation: Indira Gandhi (1966-1977, 1980-
1984) launched projects like the Sardar Sarovar
Dam on the Narmada.
Which Prime Minister’s tenure saw Bangladesh’s
creation in 1971?
a) Jawaharlal Nehru
b) Indira Gandhi
c) Morarji Desai
d) Rajiv Gandhi
Answer: b) Indira Gandhi
Explanation: Indira Gandhi led during the 1971
war, linked to the Ganga-Brahmaputra delta.
The Prime Minister chairs which body?
a) Planning Commission
b) Council of Ministers
c) Election Commission
d) Supreme Court
Answer: b) Council of Ministers
Explanation: The Prime Minister leads the
Council, shaping policies like Ganga river
conservation.
Which Prime Minister was previously Gujarat’s
Chief Minister?
a) Atal Bihari Vajpayee
b) Narendra Modi
c) Morarji Desai
d) Manmohan Singh
Answer: b) Narendra Modi
Explanation: Narendra Modi (CM, 2001-2014)
promoted the Sardar Sarovar Dam before
becoming PM.
Within how long must a non-MP Prime Minister
become a Parliament member?
a) 3 months
b) 6 months
c) 1 year
d) 2 years
Answer: b) 6 months
Explanation: A non-MP Prime Minister must join
Parliament within 6 months to remain
accountable.
Which Prime Minister launched the Swachh
Bharat Mission in 2014?
a) Manmohan Singh
b) Narendra Modi
c) P. V. Narasimha Rao
d) Atal Bihari Vajpayee
Answer: b) Narendra Modi
Explanation: Modi’s Swachh Bharat Mission
focuses on cleaning rivers like the Ganga.
Who was the Prime Minister during Operation
Blue Star in 1984?
a) Rajiv Gandhi
b) Indira Gandhi
c) Charan Singh
d) Morarji Desai
Answer: b) Indira Gandhi
Explanation: Indira Gandhi ordered Operation
Blue Star in Punjab, near the Sutlej River.
Which Prime Minister introduced the Goods and
Services Tax (GST) in 2017?
a) Manmohan Singh
b) Narendra Modi
c) Atal Bihari Vajpayee
d) P. V. Narasimha Rao
Answer: b) Narendra Modi
Explanation: Modi’s GST unified taxes, impacting
industries along rivers like the Krishna.
Who became Prime Minister after Rajiv Gandhi’s
assassination in 1991?
a) P. V. Narasimha Rao
b) V. P. Singh
c) Chandra Shekhar
d) Atal Bihari Vajpayee
Answer: a) P. V. Narasimha Rao
Explanation: Rao took office in 1991, advancing
reforms and river projects like the Narmada.
Which Prime Minister conducted the Pokhran-II
nuclear tests in 1998?
a) Atal Bihari Vajpayee
b) P. V. Narasimha Rao
c) H. D. Deve Gowda
d) I. K. Gujral
Answer: a) Atal Bihari Vajpayee
Explanation: Vajpayee’s Pokhran-II tests
strengthened India’s defense, unrelated to rivers.
Which article makes the Council of Ministers’
advice binding on the President?
a) Article 74
b) Article 75
c) Article 78
d) Article 80
Answer: a) Article 74
Explanation: Article 74 ensures the Prime
Minister-led Council’s advice guides policies like
river management.
Who was India’s first Sikh Prime Minister?
a) Manmohan Singh
b) Charan Singh
c) V. P. Singh
d) H. D. Deve Gowda
Answer: a) Manmohan Singh
Explanation: Manmohan Singh (2004-2014)
supported irrigation projects on the Indus.
Which Prime Minister launched the Ayushman
Bharat scheme?
a) Narendra Modi
b) Manmohan Singh
c) Atal Bihari Vajpayee
d) P. V. Narasimha Rao
Answer: a) Narendra Modi
Explanation: Modi’s Ayushman Bharat aids over
50 crore people, including those in the Ganga
basin.
Which Prime Minister oversaw Sikkim’s
accession in 1975?
a) Jawaharlal Nehru
b) Indira Gandhi
c) Morarji Desai
d) Lal Bahadur Shastri
Answer: b) Indira Gandhi
Explanation: Indira Gandhi integrated Sikkim,
near the Teesta River, via a 1975 referendum.
The Prime Minister controls the selection of
which group?
a) Supreme Court Judges
b) Council of Ministers
c) Election Commissioners
d) State Governors
Answer: b) Council of Ministers
Explanation: The Prime Minister selects
ministers, driving policies like Namami Gange.
Which Prime Minister has served three
consecutive terms by 2025?
a) Jawaharlal Nehru
b) Indira Gandhi
c) Narendra Modi
d) Manmohan Singh
Answer: c) Narendra Modi
Explanation: Modi’s terms (2014, 2019, 2024)
match Nehru’s record, with focus on river-linking
projects.
Who was the Prime Minister during the 1999
Kargil War?
a) Atal Bihari Vajpayee
b) P. V. Narasimha Rao
c) H. D. Deve Gowda
d) I. K. Gujral
Answer: a) Atal Bihari Vajpayee
Explanation: Vajpayee led during the Kargil War,
impacting Jammu and Kashmir near the Indus.
