In the dominion of the Indian Constitution, the Governors have appraised powers and functions at the state level as that of the President of India at the capital. In this regard, it should be noted that like the governors at the National Capital of New Delhi and the lieutenant governors in the union territories enjoys the same power and position as the President of the nation. On the other hand, it should be observed that in conformity with the measures of the Indian Constitution, the governor acts as the nominal head whereas the real power remains within the periphery of the Chief Minister and with the council minister of the Chief minister.

In general, a Governor is elected for a term of 5 years. Different types of powers including the Executive Powers (all the executive powers of the state government), Legislative Powers and also the Discretionary Powers are also given to the Governors. In the appointment of the Chief Minister of a State the Governors performs as the main person. In the appointment of the Council of Ministers, the instrumental role player is the governor. The Governor also plays a cardinal role in the appointment of the judges of the District Courts.

In contrast the Governor writes the sessions of both houses of the State Legislature and holds over them. The governors are entrusted with the power to dissolve the State Legislature or the Vidhan Sabha. A bill that has passed by the State Legislature will not be eligible until and unless the Governor gives his/her assent to it. The Governor has the power to earmark certain bills for the President.

At certain situations the Governor can act according to own judgment. Though it is very important on the part of the Governors to act in accordance with the recommendation of the Council of ministers that is headed by the Chief Minister, and thereby to take decisions. These are enforced at the critical situations, and are called the `discretionary powers` of the Governor.

The present governors of India are:

State	Name of The Governor	Date of Appointment
Lt.Governor of Andaman and Nicobar	Lt.General(Retd)Bhopinder Singh
Andhra Pradesh (Additional Charge)	Shri Narayan dutt Tiwari
Arunachal Pradesh	Shri K. Shankaranarayanan
Assam	Lt. Gen. (Retd.) Ajai Singh, PVSM, AVSM
Bihar (Additional Charge)	Shri R.S. Gavai
Chattisgarh	Shri E.S.L. Narasimhan
Lt. Governor of Delhi	Shri Tejender Khanna
Goa	Shri S. C. Jami
Gujarat	Shri Nawal Kishore Sharma
Haryana	Dr. A. R. Kidwai
Himachal Pradesh	Shri Justice Vishnu Sadashiv Kokje (Retd.)
Jammu & Kashmir	Lt. Gen. (Retd.) S.K. Sinha
Jharkhand	Shri Syed Sibtey Razi
Karnataka	Shri Rameshwar Thakur
Kerala	Shri R. L. Bhatia
Madhya Pradesh	Shri Balram Jakhar
Maharashtra	Shri S.M. Krishna
Manipur	Shri Shivinder Singh Sidhu
Meghalaya	Shri B.L. Joshi
Mizoram	Lt Gen (Retd) M M Lakhera
Nagaland	Shri Sankaranarayan
Orissa	Shri Murlidhar Chandrakant Bhandare
Lt. Governor of Pondicherry	Shri Mukut Mithi
Punjab	General (Retd.) S.F. Rodrigues
Rajasthan	Shri Shilendra Kumar Singh
Sikkim	Shri V. Rama Rao
Tamilnadu	Shri Surjit Singh Barnala
Tripura	Shri Dinesh Nandan Sahaya
Uttar Pradesh	Shri T. V. Rejeswar
Uttaranchal	Shri Sudershan Agarwal
West Bengal	Shri Gopal Krishna Gandhi