How Modi, at 75, stacks up against India's other PMs | Number Theory

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Prime Minister Narendra Modi turns 75 today. By the time his current term ends in May 2029, he will be almost 79. Whether he will seek another term is a question best left unanswered for now, even though many senior BJP leaders have said that he will. How does Modi compare with other PMs in terms of age?

PM Narendra Modi is only the second prime minister, after Jawaharlal Nehru, to begin his stint in parliament as the prime minister. (REUTERS FILE PHOTO)

Modi is in the middle of the pack of India’s prime ministers when it comes to age while assuming office

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  Modi is in the middle of the pack of India’s prime ministers when it comes to age while assuming office

  Narendra Modi first took oath as India’s prime minister on May 26 2014. He was 63 years, 8 months, 9 days old on that day. India has had 14 unique prime ministers so far. Rajiv Gandhi was the youngest, 40 years, 2 months, 11 days old, when he assumed office on October 31 1984, after his mother Indira Gandhi’s assassination. Indira Gandhi, who became prime minister on January 24 1966, is India’s second youngest prime minister till date. Modi is the 8th youngest prime minister in this list, which makes him almost the median age prime minister in terms of age of assuming office. He is also the first ever prime minister who was born after India became independent.
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  Modi would be India’s 4th-oldest PM when his term ends in 2029, and the oldest if he continues till 2034

  Assuming that the next prime minister is sworn in exactly five years after the current government took oath on June 9 2024, Narendra Modi would be 78 years, 8 months and 23 days old. If he were to demit office on that day he would be India’s 4th-oldest prime minister at the time of demitting office. However, no prime minister in India has demitted office after having won an election. If the BJP and its allies were to win the 2029 elections and Modi were to become prime minister for the fourth time and complete a full term, he would be the oldest prime minister (83 years, 8 months, and 9 days) when he demits office in May 2034.
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  Modi is already India’s 2nd-longest serving PM to have an uninterrupted term, and third by overall tenure

  Jawaharlal Nehru, India’s first prime minister, held office for 16 years, 9 months and 12 days before he passed away while in office. Indira Gandhi was the prime minister for 11 years and 2 months when she had to demit office after a crushing loss in post-emergency elections held in 1977. On July 27 2025, Narendra Modi overtook Indira Gandhi as India’s second-longest serving prime minister with an uninterrupted stint. He is still behind Nehru on this count. To be sure, Indira Gandhi is still India’s second-longest serving prime minister if one were to count both her terms from 1967-1977 and 1980-1984.
• Modi is also only the second prime minister, after Jawaharlal Nehru, to begin his stint in parliament as the prime minister. All of India’s prime ministers have been members of the Lok Sabha or Rajya Sabha before they became prime ministers, and nine of them have also been members of the union cabinet. Modi is also the sixth prime minister in the country to have assumed the top executive post after having served as the chief minister of a state. Morarji Desai, Charan Singh, PV Narasimha Rao, VP Singh, and H D Deve Gowda are the other prime ministers who were chief ministers before they became prime ministers. To be sure, Modi’s chief ministerial stint (12 years, 7 months) was longer than all of them.