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Question 71 of 78 · Union Executive: President, VP & PM
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The 13th President of India was:

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Answer: Option D — Pranab Mukherjee

Detailed Solution

Pranab Mukherjee was the 13th President of India, serving from 25 July 2012 to 25 July 2017.

Election as President:

He was the candidate of the UPA in the 2012 presidential election.

He defeated P.A. Sangma, the opposition candidate, winning about 69 percent of the electoral college votes.

Early life:

  • He was born on 11 December 1935 in Mirati village, Birbhum district, West Bengal.
  • He was a teacher and journalist before entering politics.

Political career:

  • He entered the Rajya Sabha in 1969 and became one of the senior-most leaders of the Congress.
  • He was Finance Minister in the Indira Gandhi government in the early 1980s, at a time when Manmohan Singh was the RBI Governor.
  • He later served as Deputy Chairman of the Planning Commission, Minister of External Affairs and Minister of Defence.
  • In the UPA government, he was Finance Minister again from 2009 to 2012 and was the Leader of the Lok Sabha.
  • He was known as a "troubleshooter" of the government and headed many Groups of Ministers.

As President:

  • He decided a large number of mercy petitions, rejecting many of them.
  • He was known for his knowledge of the Constitution and parliamentary procedure.
  • He wrote several books, including "The Dramatic Decade", "The Turbulent Years", "The Coalition Years" and "The Presidential Years".

Honours:

  • He received the Padma Vibhushan in 2008.
  • He was awarded the Bharat Ratna in 2019.

Death:

He died on 31 August 2020 in New Delhi.

Recent Presidents of India:

11th: A.P.J. Abdul Kalam (2002 to 2007).

12th: Pratibha Patil (2007 to 2012), the first woman President.

13th: Pranab Mukherjee (2012 to 2017).

14th: Ram Nath Kovind (2017 to 2022).

15th: Droupadi Murmu (from 2022), the first tribal woman President.

Why not the other options?

  • ✗Pratibha Patil was the 12th President.
  • ✗Ram Nath Kovind was the 14th President.

A.P.J. Abdul Kalam was the 11th President.

Quick tip

Remember: 11th Kalam, 12th Pratibha Patil, 13th Pranab Mukherjee, 14th Ram Nath Kovind, 15th Droupadi Murmu.

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Union Executive: President, VP & PM — Preparation

This question tests your understanding of Union Executive: President, VP & PM, a key topic in the General Knowledge section. The detailed solution above uses a step-by-step approach to show the reasoning, and where available, a shortcut that helps you solve similar questions in under 90 seconds during the actual exam.

This topic covers the Union Executive: the President, the Vice-President, the Prime Minister and the Council of Ministers, and the Attorney General. It includes their election or appointment, qualifications, powers, removal, and the relationship between the President and the Council of Ministers. Common questions cover the electoral college that elects the President, impeachment under Article 61, the President's ordinance-making power (Article 123) and pardoning power (Article 72), and the fact that the Vice-President is the ex-officio Chairman of the Rajya Sabha. Lists of past Presidents and Prime Ministers are also tested. Practise the Union Executive questions below, written in the style of the general awareness sections of exams such as SSC, banking, railways, CUET GAT, MAH CET and CLAT. Each question comes with a detailed explanation that adds related facts, so every question helps you revise more than one point.

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