In India, President's rule is the suspension of state government and imposition of direct Union government rule in a state. Under Article 356 of the Constitution of India, if a state government is unable to function according to Constitutional provisions, the Union government can take direct control of the state machinery. Subsequently, executive authority is exercised through the centrally appointed governor, who has the authority to appoint other administrators to assist them. The administrators are usually nonpartisan retired civil servants not native to the state.

When a state government is functioning correctly, it is run by an elected Council of Ministers responsible to the state's legislative assembly (Vidhan Sabha). The council is led by the chief minister, who is the chief executive of the state; the Governor is only a constitutional head. However, during President's rule, the Council of Ministers is dissolved, later on vacating the office of Chief Minister. Furthermore, the Vidhan Sabha is either prorogued or dissolved, necessitating a new election.

Prior to 2019, the constitution of the state of Jammu and Kashmir had a similar system of Governor's rule, under its Section 92. The state's governor issued a proclamation, after obtaining the consent of the President of India allowing Governor's rule for up to six months after which President's rule under Article 356 of the Constitution of India could be imposed. After the revocation of Article 370, President's rule applies to Jammu and Kashmir under section 73 (since Article 356 of Constitution of India does not apply to union territories) of Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act, 2019.

Following the 1994 landmark judgment in S. R. Bommai v. Union of India, the Supreme Court of India restricted arbitrary impositions of President's rule.

Chhattisgarh and Telangana are the only states where the President's rule has never been imposed so far. Manipur is the state where it has been invoked the most frequently, currently under the rule since February 2025 for the eleventh time. The President's rule in force in Manipur since February was extended for a further six month with effect from 13 August 2025.

In practice, President's rule has been imposed in a State under any one of the following different circumstances:

If approved by both Houses, President's rule can continue for 6 months. It can be extended for a maximum of 3 years with the approval of the Parliament done every 6 months; however in extreme rare cases it can be extended repeatedly if the Election Commission of India recommends that elections are not possible. If the Lok Sabha is dissolved during this time, the rule is valid for 30 days from the first sitting of the new Lok Sabha provided that this continuance has already been approved by Rajya Sabha. The 44th Amendment Act of 1978 introduced a new provision to put a restraint on the power of Parliament to extend the President's rule in a state. According to this provision, the president's rule can only be extended over a year, under the following conditions:

President's rule can be revoked at any time by the President and does not need Parliament's approval.