A governor is the administrative leader and head of a polity or political territory, reporting to the head of state and serving as the head of state’s formal representative in some situations, such as governor-generals. A governor may be appointed or elected, depending on the sort of political region or polity, and the governor’s authority might vary greatly based on local public laws. The adjective gubernatorial comes from the Latin root ‘gubernare’, which means governor.
In India, there are 28 states and 8 Union Territories, and each state has a Governor who is the state’s chief executive and functions as a representative of the central government.
List of Current Governors of India
The table below shows the list of Governors in India by state, along with the dates on which they assumed office. In addition, the names of the first state governors of Independent India are included below:
State | Current Governor | Took over the post on |
Andhra Pradesh | Shri Biswa Bhusan Harichandan | July 24, 2019 |
Arunachal Pradesh | Brig. (Dr.) B. D. Mishra (Retd.) | October 3, 2017 |
Assam | Prof. Jagdish Mukhi | October 1, 2017 |
Bihar | Shri Phagu Chauhan | July 29, 2019 |
Chhattisgarh | Sushri Anusuiya Uikey | July 29, 2019 |
Goa | Shri Bhagat Singh Koshyari (Additional Charge) | August 19, 2020 |
Gujarat | Shri Acharya Dev Vrat | July 22, 2019 |
Haryana | Shri Satyadeo Narayan Arya | August 25, 2018 |
Himachal Pradesh | Himachal Pradesh | September 11, 2019 |
Jharkhand | Shrimati Droupadi Murmu | May 18, 2015 |
Karnataka | Shri Vajubhai Vala | September 1, 2014 |
Kerala | Shri Arif Mohammed Khan | September 6, 2019 |
Madhya Pradesh | Shri Lal Ji Tandon | July 29, 2019 |
Maharashtra | Shri Bhagat Singh Koshyari | September 5, 2019 |
Manipur | Dr. Najma Heptulla | August 21, 2016 |
Meghalaya | Shri Satya Pal Malik | April 18, 2020 |
Mizoram | Shri P.S. Sreedharan Pillai | November 5, 2019 |
Nagaland | Shri R. N. Ravi | August 1, 2019 |
Odisha | Prof. Ganeshi Lal | May 29, 2018 |
Punjab | Shri V.P. Singh Badnore | August 22, 2016 |
Rajasthan | Shri Kalraj Mishra | September 9, 2019 |
Sikkim | Shri Ganga Prasad | August 26, 2018 |
Tamil Nadu | Shri Banwarilal Purohit | October 6, 2017 |
Telangana | Dr. Tamilisai Soundararajan | September 8, 2019 |
Tripura | Shri Ramesh Bais | July 29, 2019 |
Uttar Pradesh | Smt. Anandiben Patel | July 29, 2019 |
Uttarakhand | Smt. Baby Rani Maurya | August 26, 2018 |
West Bengal | Shri Jagdeep Dhankhar | July 30, 2019 |
List of First Governor of States of Independent India:-
The table below shows the list of first Governors of each states of independent India, so let us have a look at the table:
State | First State Governor of Independent India |
Andhra Pradesh | Chandulal Madhavlal Trivedi |
Arunachal Pradesh | Bhishma Narain Singh |
Assam | Sir Muhammad Saleh Akbar Hydari |
Bihar | Jairamdas Daulatram |
Chhattisgarh | D.N. Sahay |
Goa | Major General K.P. Candeth |
Gujarat | Mehdi Nawaz Jung |
Haryana | Shri Dharma Vira |
Himachal Pradesh | S. Chakravarti |
Jharkhand | Prabhat Kumar |
Karnataka | Jayachamarajendra Wadiyar |
Kerala | Burgula Ramakrishna Rao |
Madhya Pradesh | Dr. Pattahbhi Sitaramayya |
Maharashtra | Raja Sir Maharaj Singh |
Manipur | B. K. Nehru |
Meghalaya | Braj Kumar Nehru |
Mizoram | S.P. Mukherjee |
Nagaland | Vishnu Sahay |
Odisha | Dr. Kailash Nath Katju |
Punjab | Chandulal Madhavlal Trivedi |
Rajasthan | Raj Pramukh Sawai Sh. Mansingh |
Sikkim | B.B. Lal |
Tamil Nadu | Maharaja Shri Sir Krishna Kumarsingji Bhavsingji |
Telangana | E.S.L. Narasimhan |
Tripura | B.K. Nehru |
Uttar Pradesh | Sarojini Naidu |
Uttarakhand | Surjit Singh Barnala |
West Bengal | Chakravarthi Rajagopalachari |
Roles and Responsibilities of governers of India
Each state’s constitutional leader is the governor. The Governor and the Lieutenant Governor/Administrator share numerous tasks as the nominal head of state. These obligations are summarized below:
- The Governor reserves the right to make advances from the State Contingency Fund in the event of unanticipated events
- The State Governor consents to the election of the Chief Justice of a State High Court
- If no political party obtains a majority in the Lok Sabha election, the Governor has the authority to choose the Chief Minister of their respective states
- State legislators must plan the state budget while taking the Governor’s advice into account
Some Key Points
When it comes to the state governor, lieutenant governor, or administrator in India, there are a few things to keep in mind:
- Because he serves at the pleasure of the President, the Governor’s position has no defined term
- The monthly compensation for a Governor is Rs. 3.5 lakhs
- You must be a citizen of India, at least 35 years old, occupy no profit-making position, and not be a member of any state or union territory legislature to become a Governor
- The same Governor can be appointed to multiple states
- The Governor is entitled to a fixed pension and lives at the state’s Raj Bhavan during his or her term
- Sarojini Naidu was the first woman to be elected Governor of a state in India
Facts about India’s Governors in 2021
Here are some facts about India’s governors. Candidates should read them because questions based on them may appear on competitive exams.
- The Indian Constitution contains complete information about the Governor in Articles 153 through 162
- The Indian Constitution contains information on Governor eligibility requirements in Articles 157 and 158
- In the case of political turmoil, the Governors Committee (1971) established responsibilities for managing a state
- The Governors were appointed by the Government of India Act 1935 “by the Raj, for the Raj, and by the Raj”
Conclusion
The state executive is made up of the Governor, Chief Minister, Council of Ministers, and State Advocate-General. In his function as President, the Governor is in command of the state administration. Articles 153-167 are the articles of the Indian Constitution that deal with state governments. The Indian President appoints Governors for each state by warrant signed by him and sealed. The federal government appoints the governors of each state.