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In India, the Governor is the Head of the State who is appointed by the President of India for a term of five years. Governor is the constitutional head of a state. Governor’s term may be extended or may be transferred to another State. Sometimes, he/she may be relieved from office before completing the term by the President. But, the State Government cannot remove the Governor from his/her post.
Qualification to become a Governor
- Must be a citizen of India
- Must be at least \(35\) years old
- Should not hold any office of profit during the tenure
When nominating a Governor, the President will follow the advice of the Union Cabinet. The State Government will also be consulted while making this decision. A person is not appointed as Governor in his/her own state.
Powers and functions
- He / She is the Chief Executive in a State upon whom the entire executive powers are vested.
- He /She appoints the Chief Minister and Council of Ministers.
- He / She appoints important posts such as the Advocate General, Chairman and members of the State Public Service Commission, etc.
- He / She is the Chancellor of State Universities
- Based on the Governor’s report, the President can impose an emergency under Article 356.
- He / She has the right to summon and prorogue the State Legislature.
- He/she can dissolve the Legislative Assembly.
- Money bills can be introduced only with the recommendations of the Governor.
- He / She may proclaim ordinances when the Legislative Assembly or both the houses of the legislature (when there are two houses) are not in session.
- He can nominate a member from Anglo-India Community.
- He / She can nominate 1/6 members of the Legislature Council.
- Social Service and Co-operative Movement may also be nominated by the Governor.
- The Governor should give his/her approval for the annual budget of the State Government when it is laid before the legislature.
- All the bills, including money bills passed in the legislature, must be approved by the Governor and the Contingency fund of the state is also approved by the Governor.
Position of the Governor
Even though the Governor’s position compared to the President of India as a nominal executive, he/she is not always a nominal executive. On some occasions, he/she can exercise his/her powers in the real sense. In general, he/she acts as an agent of the Central Government. The Governor is responsible for maintaining a smooth relationship between the State and Central Government.
The Governor may advise the Council of Ministers at the time of difficulties. The Governor takes autonomous decisions while exercising discretionary powers. He may gather information from the Council of Ministers on matters related to various functions of the Government.
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