India is located in South Asia and is officially known as the Republic of India. It is governed by a parliamentary form of government. There are 28 states and 8 union territories (UT’s) in India as of March 2020. Each state and union territory of India has an administrative, legislative and judicial capital. Every state is ruled by a Chief Minister. Here we have covered the list of the Indian States, Union Territories, and their capitals.
States and Capitals of India Map
Difference Between States And Union Territories
Before we get into the State and Capitals, let us first understand the difference between a state and a union territory. Out of the eight union territories in India, Delhi, Puducherry (formerly Pondicherry) and Jammu & Kashmir have their own legislatures. Each union territory has a capital of its own or the main area of administration.
| State | Union Territories |
| The state has its own administrative units with their own elected government. | Union Territories are constituent units which are controlled and administered by the Central Government. |
| Executive Head is the Governor | Executive Head is the President |
| The relationship with the Centre is Federal. | Unitary with the Centre. i.e. all the powers rests in the hands of Union. |
| Administered by the Chief Minister and elected by the people. | Administered by the Administrator which is appointed by the President. ( except Delhi, Puducherry and Jammu & Kashmir) |
| Chief Minister is the real head. | Lieutenant is the real head. |
State and Capitals of India
With knowledge of states and union territories, now let us have a look at the state and capitals of India. The states and the capitals are very commonly asked in the GK Questions of a no. of competitive exams held in the country timely. The 28 Indian States and their capitals are as follows.
| States and Capitals of India | ||
|---|---|---|
| S.no | States | Capitals |
| 1 | Andhra Pradesh | Hyderabad (Proposed Capital Amaravati) |
| 2 | Arunachal Pradesh | Itanagar |
| 3 | Assam | Dispur |
| 4 | Bihar | Patna |
| 5 | Chhattisgarh | Raipur |
| 6 | Goa | Panaji |
| 7 | Gujarat | Gandhinagar |
| 8 | Haryana | Chandigarh |
| 9 | Himachal Pradesh | Shimla |
| 10 | Jharkhand | Ranchi |
| 11 | Karnataka | Bengaluru (formerly Bangalore) |
| 12 | Kerala | Thiruvananthapuram |
| 13 | Madhya Pradesh | Bhopal |
| 14 | Maharashtra | Mumbai |
| 15 | Manipur | Imphal |
| 16 | Meghalaya | Shillong |
| 17 | Mizoram | Aizawl |
| 18 | Nagaland | Kohima |
| 19 | Odisha | Bhubaneswar |
| 20 | Punjab | Chandigarh |
| 21 | Rajasthan | Jaipur |
| 22 | Sikkim | Gangtok |
| 23 | Tamil Nadu | Chennai |
| 24 | Telangana | Hyderabad |
| 25 | Tripura | Agartala |
| 26 | Uttar Pradesh | Lucknow |
| 27 | Uttarakhand | Dehradun, Gairsain (Summer) |
| 28 | West Bengal | Kolkata |
Union Territories Of India: Updates
Before we get into the Union Territories and their capitals, let us first have a look at the recent updates on UT’s as of March 2020.
- With effect from 26th January 2020, India has 8 union territories. The Union Territories of Daman and Diu, Dadra and Nagar Haveli have become a single union territory since January 26 through a Bill passed by the Parliament in the winter session.
- On August 5, the central government had announced the abrogation of the special status given to Jammu and Kashmir under Article 370 and its division into two Union Territories i.e. UTs of Jammu and Kashmir, and Ladakh.
- With the merger of Daman and Diu, and Dadra and Nagar Haveli, the number of UT’s have come down to eight.
Union Territories and Capitals
At Present India has 8 Union Territories and 28 States. The erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir has been bifurcated into two Union Territories (UT) of J&K and Ladakh. The newly formed union territories have been formed under a reorganization act passed by the Parliament on 5-6 August 2020. At present India has 8 Union Territories.
| Union Territories of India | ||
|---|---|---|
| S.no | Union territories | Capital |
| 1 | Andaman and Nicobar Islands | Port Blair |
| 2 | Chandigarh | Chandigarh |
| 3 | Dadra and Nagar Haveli, Daman & Diu |
Daman |
| 4 | Delhi | New Delhi |
| 5 | Lakshadweep | Kavaratti |
| 6 | Puducherry (Pondicherry) | Puducherry (formerly Pondicherry) |
| 7 | Jammu and Kashmir | Srinagar (Summer), Jammu (Winter) |
| 8 | Ladakh | Leh |
How Delhi, Puducherry, J& K are different from other Union Territories?
- In India, all the states and three union territories, i.e. Puducherry, Delhi, and Jammu and Kashmir possess elected legislature and government.
- There are total eight union territories in India, out of which 3, i.e. Jammu and Kashmir, Delhi, and Puducherry, have their elected members and the Chief Minister, as these are granted with partial statehood, by an amendment to the Constitution.
- Jammu and Kashmir, Delhi, and Puducherry possess their own legislative assembly and executive council and operate like states. The remaining union territories are controlled and regulated by the Union of the country, that’s why named as a union territory.
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