The presidency of Ram Nath Kovind began on , when Ram Nath Kovind took the oath as the fourteenth president of India administered by Chief Justice Jagdish Singh Khehar. Kovind was the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) nominee and defeated the Indian National Congress (Congress)-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) nominee and former speaker of Lok Sabha, Meira Kumar. Prior to being the presidential nominee, he was the governor of Bihar and a member of parliament in Rajya Sabha. Kovind secured approximately two-thirds of the electoral college vote of the elected members of the federal, state and union territory legislatures.
During his presidency, he has undertaken state visits to 28 countries. He has received the highest state honors from six countries, Madagascar, Equatorial Guinea, Eswatini, Croatia, Bolivia and the Republic of Guinea. Just a few weeks after starting his presidency, Venkaiah Naidu, the BJP candidate for vice president won the 2017 Indian vice presidential election; President Kovind administered the oath of the office. In 2019, he administered the oath of office to Narendra Modi upon his re-election. He has held the office during the COVID-19 pandemic in India and subsequent lockdowns. He is the first leader from Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh to occupy the office of president of India.
He appointed Dipak Misra, Ranjan Gogoi, Sharad Arvind Bobde and N. V. Ramana as chief justice of the Supreme Court, and other judges of the Supreme Court and the High Courts.
Presidential election of 2017
The presidential election took place on , with the votes counted and the results announced on . President Pranab Mukherjee, whose term of office was due to expire on , declined to seek re-election due to health concerns and old age, so the INC nominated Meira Kumar as its candidate for president. Kovind thus resigned from the post of Governor of Bihar on , to contest the election. Party (Alliance)CandidateElectoral VotesVote PercentageStates carriedBJP (NDA) Ram Nath Kovind702,04465.65%21INC (UPA) Meira Kumar367,31434.35%10
Kovind won the election, getting roughly two-thirds of the electoral college vote. He defeated the Indian National Congress (Congress) nominee and former speaker of Lok Sabha, Meira Kumar. He was the first leader from Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh to occupy the office of president of India.
Meira Kumar's vote share was the second-highest for a losing candidate; Neelam Sanjiva Reddy's vote share in the 1969 Presidential elections was the highest ever. The National Democratic Alliance (NDA) coalition share was around 25,000 electoral votes, but they expected other small parties MLA's and MP's to vote for their candidate.
Kovind took the presidential oath on , administered by Justice J.S. Khehar India, at a swearing-in ceremony in the central hall of Parliament, in New Delhi.
Domestic affairs
President's rule Under Article 356 of the Constitution of India, if a state government cannot function according to Constitutional provisions, the Union government can take direct control of the state machinery by imposing the President's rule in the state. President Kovind has imposed President's rule in three states during his presidency.
Kovind imposed President's rule in the former state of Jammu and Kashmir from , to , as chief minister Mehbooba Mufti resigned. It continued until , when the state was split into two Union Territories on Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh. After the states were split, President's rule continued in the union territory of Jammu and Kashmir imposed under section 73 of the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act, 2019.
As no party could form a government after a fractured election outcome because of the 2019 Maharashtra political crisis, Kovind imposed President's rule in Maharashtra from , to . It was lifted when Devendra Fadnavis was sworn in as chief minister; he soon resigned and Uddhav Thackeray became the chief minister.
In Puducherry, President's rule was imposed from , upon the resignation of the chief minister when there was no alternate claimant to form the next government.
Oaths administered President Kovind administered oath to judges Dipak Misra, Ranjan Gogoi, Sharad Arvind Bobde and N. V. Ramana as chief justices of the Supreme Court and 29 Supreme Court justices. They were: Sr. No.NameDate of AppointmentParent High CourtSource1 Indu MalhotraBar Council2Indira BanerjeeCalcutta3Vineet SaranAllahabad4K. M. JosephKerala5Hemant GuptaPunjab and Haryana6Ramayyagari Subhash ReddyTelangana7Mukesh ShahGujarat8Ajay RastogiRajasthan9Dinesh MaheshwariRajasthan10Sanjiv KhannaDelhi11Bhushan Ramkrishna GavaiBombay12Surya KantPunjab and Haryana13Aniruddha BoseCalcutta14A. S. BopannaKarnataka15Krishna MurariAllahabad16Shripathi Ravindra BhatDelhi17V. RamasubramanianMadras18Hrishikesh RoyGauhati19A. S. OkaBombay20Vikram NathAllahabad21Jitendra Kumar MaheshwariMadhya Pradesh22Hima KohliDelhi23B. V. NagarathnaKarnataka24C. T. RavikumarKerala25M. M. SundreshMadras26Bela TrivediGujarat27P. S. NarasimhaBar Council28Sudhanshu DhuliaUttarakhand29Jamshed Burjor PardiwalaGujarat
Addresses to the parliament
Upon taking the oath On , the recently sworn in President Ram Nath Kovind addressed the gathering with his inaugural speech in Hindi. He pledged to protect the Constitution and said the key to India's success and fraternity is 'unity in diversity'. He cherished the ideas of Mahatma Gandhi and his contribution to the independence of India, and his thousands of supporters. He appreciated the work and dedication of former President Pranab Mukherjee, and assured citizens of his promise to stay true to the trust they had bestowed on him.
Joint sitting of the two houses of parliament, 2018 On , President Kovind addressed the joint sitting of two houses of Parliament. He appreciated the schemes and initiatives taken by the government, spoke in favor of Jan Dhan Yojana (Prime Minister's People's Wealth Scheme), Beti Bachao Beti Padhao Yojana (Save the girl child, educate the girl child) and Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana (Prime Minister's Lighting Scheme). He also thanked UNESCO for including Kumbh Mela on its Intangible Cultural Heritage List and appreciated the efforts of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) launching 104 satellites in one launch.
Joint sitting of the two houses of parliament, 2019 On , President Kovind addressed the joint sitting of the two houses of Parliament. It was the 150th anniversary year of Mahatma Gandhi's birth. It also marked the centenary of the Jallianwala Bagh massacre. He paid tribute to all those martyrs who sacrificed their lives hoping to bring a bright future to the Indian people.
Joint sitting of the two houses of parliament, 2020 On , President Kovind addressed the joint sitting of the two houses of Parliament. Upon entering the third decade of 21st century, he wished for the protection of the rights of every citizen. Upon the abrogation of Articles 370 and 35-A of the Constitution of India, he congratulated the government and said that the seven decade-old dream of Syama Mukherjee had been fulfilled by the efforts of government. He said the steps the government had taken paved the way for the equitable development of Jammu-Kashmir and Ladakh.
Joint sitting of the two houses of parliament, 2021 On , the joint sitting of Parliament was held during the COVID-19 pandemic in India. India was also entering her 75th year of Independence. President Kovind praised the government's timely efforts to declare lock-downs in the country, to save the lives of the people. He advised citizens to follow all the safety measures against COVID-19, and mentioned the rapid decline in number of cases.
Foreign affairs
State visits of president Djibouti and Ethiopia President Kovind visited Djibouti and Ethiopia from 3 to 6 October 2017. It was significant as India was trying to establish its presence in Africa. The two countries signed an agreement to establish regular India-Djibouti Foreign Office level consultations. He granted assistance of $600 million that included an India-Africa Development Fund of $100 million and an India-Africa Health Fund of $10 million. His visit was the first by an Indian president to Ethiopia in 45 years after President V. V. Giri's trip in 1972. As Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa is the seat of the African Union, he interacted with the Indian community and delivered a speech at the University of Addis Ababa. He had bilateral talks with President Ismail Omar Gulleh and signed an agreement and memorandum of understanding on institutionalization of foreign office consultation and greater economic cooperation with Ethiopia.
Mauritius and Madagascar From 11 to 15 March 2018, President Kovind visited Mauritius and Madagascar. He was the chief guest at the celebrations commemorating the 50th year of Mauritius' independence. He held delegation-level talks with Prime Minister Pravind Jugnauth. The president also signed agreements and memoranda of understanding between India and Mauritius. He inaugurated the World Hindi Secretariat building as well as laid foundation stones for two important India-aided projects—a social housing scheme and a hospital.
The agreements exchanged were on cooperation between Nalanda University in Bihar and Mauritius. Union Minister Ashwini Kumar Choubey, Delhi Member of Parliament Manoj Tiwari, Hukumdev Narayan Yadav and other officials accompanied him. In Madagascar, Prime Minister Olivier Solonandrasan received him at the Ivato International Airport, Antananarivo. He was conferred the Grand Cross of the Second Class by the president of Madagascar, Hery Rajaonarimampianina, the highest honor Madagascar confers on a non-citizen. He inaugurated the Center for Geo-informatics Applications in Rural Development, interacted with members of the India-Madagascar Business Forum, and addressed students and the academic community at the University of Antananarivo.
Equatorial Guinea, Swaziland and Zambia President Kovind visited Equatorial Guinea, Swaziland and Zambia during his state visit to Africa from 7 to 12 April 2018. He signed three memoranda of understanding in the fields of AYUSH (ayurveda, yoga, naturopathy, Unani, Siddha, Sowa-Rigpa and homoeopathy) and traditional medicine, medicinal plants, and an action plan for Information and Communication Technology. He was bestowed with the medal of the Gran Colar de la Independencia by President Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo, for his contribution to the cause of development, security and world peace. He said that India is ready to partner with Equatorial Guinea, which is diversifying its economy and reducing its dependence on oil and gas exports. In Swaziland, he addressed members of the Parliament of Swaziland on . He became the first visiting head of state to do so. He met King Mswati III and was conferred the highest honor of Swaziland, the Order of the Lion. While addressing the Indian community in Malabo, the president said every member of the Indian community is critical to strengthening relations between India and Equatorial Guinea. He also urged the Indian community to help enhance the business and cultural links between the two countries. He visited Zambia at the invitation of President Edgar Chagwa Lungu. This was the final leg of his three-nation tour to Africa. He paid tribute to three former presidents of Zambia, Chiluba, Mwanawasa and Sata at the Embassy Park Presidential Memorial. He signed agreements and memoranda of understanding including visa exemption on diplomatic and official passports, judicial cooperation which would result in long and short-term training in law and justice developments and the establishment of the Entrepreneurship Development Institute in Zambia.
Greece, Suriname and Cuba