diff --git a/samcli/commands/init/__init__.py b/samcli/commands/init/__init__.py
index 90cf870900..38432cacc3 100644
--- a/samcli/commands/init/__init__.py
+++ b/samcli/commands/init/__init__.py
@@ -8,7 +8,7 @@
 
 from samcli.cli.main import pass_context, common_options
 from samcli.commands.exceptions import UserException
-from samcli.local.common.runtime_template import INIT_RUNTIMES, SUPPORTED_DEP_MANAGERS
+from samcli.local.common.runtime_template import INIT_RUNTIMES, SUPPORTED_DEP_MANAGERS, DEFAULT_RUNTIME
 from samcli.local.init import generate_project
 from samcli.local.init.exceptions import GenerateProjectFailedError
 
@@ -17,7 +17,7 @@
 
 @click.command(context_settings=dict(help_option_names=[u'-h', u'--help']))
 @click.option('-l', '--location', help="Template location (git, mercurial, http(s), zip, path)")
-@click.option('-r', '--runtime', type=click.Choice(INIT_RUNTIMES), default="nodejs8.10",
+@click.option('-r', '--runtime', type=click.Choice(INIT_RUNTIMES), default=DEFAULT_RUNTIME,
               help="Lambda Runtime of your app")
 @click.option('-d', '--dependency-manager', type=click.Choice(SUPPORTED_DEP_MANAGERS), default=None,
               help="Dependency manager of your Lambda runtime", required=False)
diff --git a/samcli/local/common/runtime_template.py b/samcli/local/common/runtime_template.py
index ef67fe93ea..3535553160 100644
--- a/samcli/local/common/runtime_template.py
+++ b/samcli/local/common/runtime_template.py
@@ -13,10 +13,12 @@
 _init_path = str(pathlib.Path(os.path.dirname(__file__)).parent)
 _templates = os.path.join(_init_path, 'init', 'templates')
 
+
+# Note(TheSriram): The ordering of the runtimes list per language is based on the latest to oldest.
 RUNTIME_DEP_TEMPLATE_MAPPING = {
     "python": [
         {
-            "runtimes": ["python2.7", "python3.6", "python3.7"],
+            "runtimes": ["python3.7", "python3.6", "python2.7"],
             "dependency_manager": "pip",
             "init_location": os.path.join(_templates, "cookiecutter-aws-sam-hello-python"),
             "build": True
@@ -32,7 +34,7 @@
     ],
     "nodejs": [
         {
-            "runtimes": ["nodejs8.10", "nodejs10.x"],
+            "runtimes": ["nodejs10.x", "nodejs8.10"],
             "dependency_manager": "npm",
             "init_location": os.path.join(_templates, "cookiecutter-aws-sam-hello-nodejs"),
             "build": True
@@ -46,7 +48,7 @@
     ],
     "dotnet": [
         {
-            "runtimes": ["dotnetcore", "dotnetcore1.0", "dotnetcore2.0", "dotnetcore2.1"],
+            "runtimes": ["dotnetcore2.1", "dotnetcore2.0", "dotnetcore1.0", "dotnetcore"],
             "dependency_manager": "cli-package",
             "init_location": os.path.join(_templates, "cookiecutter-aws-sam-hello-dotnet"),
             "build": True
@@ -81,3 +83,6 @@
 RUNTIMES = set(itertools.chain(*[c['runtimes'] for c in list(
     itertools.chain(*(RUNTIME_DEP_TEMPLATE_MAPPING.values())))]))
 INIT_RUNTIMES = RUNTIMES.union(RUNTIME_DEP_TEMPLATE_MAPPING.keys())
+
+# NOTE(TheSriram): Default Runtime Choice when runtime is not chosen
+DEFAULT_RUNTIME = RUNTIME_DEP_TEMPLATE_MAPPING['nodejs'][0]['runtimes'][0]
diff --git a/samcli/local/init/__init__.py b/samcli/local/init/__init__.py
index 89e4bc52c9..84ec28c6b9 100644
--- a/samcli/local/init/__init__.py
+++ b/samcli/local/init/__init__.py
@@ -14,7 +14,7 @@
 
 
 def generate_project(
-        location=None, runtime="nodejs", dependency_manager=None,
+        location=None, runtime="nodejs10.x", dependency_manager=None,
         output_dir=".", name='sam-sample-app', no_input=False):
     """Generates project using cookiecutter and options given
 
@@ -51,11 +51,9 @@ def generate_project(
 
     for mapping in list(itertools.chain(*(RUNTIME_DEP_TEMPLATE_MAPPING.values()))):
         if runtime in mapping['runtimes'] or any([r.startswith(runtime) for r in mapping['runtimes']]):
-            if not dependency_manager:
+            if not dependency_manager or dependency_manager == mapping['dependency_manager']:
                 template = mapping['init_location']
                 break
-            elif dependency_manager == mapping['dependency_manager']:
-                template = mapping['init_location']
 
     if not template:
         msg = "Lambda Runtime {} does not support dependency manager: {}".format(runtime, dependency_manager)