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Union Territories of India

Union Territories of India

Union territory, one of the first-order administrative units in the Republic of India. Union territories are governed, in part or wholly, by the union government of India. There are eight union territories in India:

  • Delhi
  • Jammu & Kashmir
  • Ladakh
  • Chandigarh
  • Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu
  • Puducherry
  • Lakshadweep
  • Andaman and Nicobar Islands

1. Delhi- The National Capital Territory

  • Delhi is a city and a union territory of India.
  • New Delhi is the capital of India.
  • Delhi is on the banks of the Yamuna river, which is unfortunately very highly polluted.
  • It shares its borders with Indian states of Uttar Pradesh and Haryana.
  • Delhi has UNESCO world heritage sites.
  • In the past, Delhi was the capital of the Mughal empire, Delhi Sultanates, and British India.

  • Capital: ------

  • Founded on: Founded on: 13 Feb. 1931

  • Offical language: Hindi and English

    Sex Ratio: 929 females per 1000 males

    Literacy Rate: 86.21%

2. Jammu and Kashmir – Union Territory of India

  • On 31st October 2019, Jammu & Kashmir was removed from its status as a state and converted into a union territory.
  • Ladakh was separated from Jammu and Kashmir and was designated as a separate union territory.
  • The winter capital of Jammu & Kashmir is Jammu
  • The summer capital of Jammu and Kashmir is Srinagar.
  • The offcial languages of the union territory of Jammu and Kashmir are Hindi, English, Dogri, Urdu and Kashmiri.
  • Jammu and Kashmir is bordered by the union territory ofLadakh in the North and South by Himachal Pradesh and Punjab.
  • It is also bordered by Pakistan in the West.

  • Capital: Jammu(winters) and Kashmir(summer)

  • Founded on: 31 oct. 2019

  • Offical language: Hindi, English, Dogri, Urdu,Kashmiri.

    Sex Ratio: 880 females per 1000 males

    Literacy Rate: 67.16%

3. Ladakh – Union Territory of India

  • Leh is the capital city of Ladakh.
  • The largest town in Ladakh is Leh.
  • The famous Indus, Nubra, and Shyok river valleys are found in Ladakh.
  • After the Government of India passed the Jammu and Kashmir reorganization act in 2019, Ladakh was carved out as a separate union territory.
  • Ladakh is bordered by the union territory of Jammu and Kashmir, the Indian state of Himachal Pradesh to the south, Tibet Autonomous Region to the east.

  • Capital: Leh

  • Founded on: 31 oct. 2019

  • Offical language: Hindi and English

    Sex Ratio: 750 females per 1000 males

    Literacy Rate: 65.63%

4. Chandigarh – Union Territory of India

  • Chandigarh is not only a union territory of India but also the joint capital of the states of Haryana and Punjab.
  • English is the official language of Chandigarh. The majority of the people speak Hindi, followed by Punjabi.
  • Chandigarh is famously known as “Pensioner’s Paradise”.
  • In post-independent India, Chandigarh is one of the earliest planned cities.It was designed by Le Corbusier, a Swiss-French architect.
  • The capitol complex in Chandigarh was declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 2016.

  • Capital: ------

  • Founded on: 7 Oct. 1953

  • Offical language: English

    Sex Ratio: 818 females per 1000 males

    Literacy Rate: 86.05%

5. Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu – Union Territory of India

  • The two union territories of “Dadra and Nagar Haveli” and“Daman and Diu” were merged and a single union territory was established on 26th January 2020.
  • All these territories were former colonies of the Portuguese.
  • The languages spoken in the union territory of Dadra and Nagar Haveli and *Daman and Diu are Gujarati, Marathi, Portuguese, Hindi, Varli, and Konkani.

  • Capital: Daman

  • Founded on: 26 Jan. 2020

  • Offical language: Gujarati, Hindi and English

    Sex Ratio: 774 females per 1000 males

    Literacy Rate: 76.24%

6. Puducherry – Union Territory of India

  • Historically, Puducherry was known as Pondicherry.
  • The union territory of Puducherry has former French establishments of Yanam, Karaikal, and Mahe — all scattered in various places in South India.
  • 4 small geographically unconnected parts constitute the union territory of Puducherry.
  • Mahe district is enclosed by Kerala,Yanam, district is enclosed by Andhra Pradesh, and Puducherry and Karaikal are enclosed by the state of Tamil Nadu.
  • The most widely spoken language in Puducherry is Tamil. The other native languages spoken by the people of the union territory of Puducherry are Telugu, Malayalam, and Urdu.

  • Capital: Puducherry

  • Founded on: 1 Nov. 1954

  • Offical language: Tamil,Malayalam,English,Telugu, French

    Sex Ratio: 1046 females per 1000 males

    Literacy Rate: 85.85%

7. Lakshadweep – Union Territory of India

  • Lakshadweep islands are located in the Arabian sea.
  • It consists of 36 islands in the Arabian sea.
  • The name Lakshadweep in Malayalam and Sanskrit means "a hundred thousand islands."
  • Lakshadweep is also known as Laccadives.
  • All the islands of Lakshadweep are located at a distance of220 Km to 440 Km away from Kochi

  • Capital: Kavaratti

  • Founded on: 1 Nov. 1973

  • Offical language: Malayalam

    Sex Ratio: 946 females per 1000 males

    Literacy Rate: 91.85%

8. Andaman and Nicobar Islands – Union Territory of India

  • The total area of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands is 8,249 km2
  • The union territory of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands has 38 inhabited islands.
  • Port Blair is the capital of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands.
  • The union territory of Andaman and Nicobar Islands is separated from Thailand and Myanmar by the Andaman Sea.
  • An uncontacted tribe named Sentinelese people are located in the Andaman Islands.

  • Capital: Port Blair

  • Founded on: 1 Nov. 1956

  • Offical language: Hindi and English

    Sex Ratio: 876 females per 1000 males

    Literacy Rate: 86.43%

Some Knowledgeable Facts

There are nine coastal states and four union territories in India. Two of the four union territories are on the mainland of India, while the other two are on islands. Length of coastline 7516.6 km, Mainland: 5422.6 km ,Island Territories: 2094 km.

Nine states

  • Gujarat – 1214.7 km
  • Andhra Pradesh – 937.7 km
  • Tamil Nadu - 906.6 km
  • Maharashtra - 652.6 km
  • Kerala - 569.7 km
  • Odisha - 476.4 km
  • Karnataka - 280 km
  • Goa (with daman and diu)-160.5 km
  • West Bengal - 157.5 km

LandLocked States of India

The term "landlocked" refers to a region of the world that is not bordered by any substantial body of water, such as an ocean. There are 20 landlocked states in India.They are: Jammu & Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Punjab, Haryana, Uttarakhand, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Chattisgarh, Telangana,Jharkhand, Sikkim, Meghalaya, Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Nagaland, Manipur, Tripura, Mizoram.

Five of them do not have a border with another country. They are:

  • Haryana
  • Jharkhand
  • Madhya Pradesh
  • Chattisgarh
  • Telangana

States and their Neigbours

1. Indian State with eight neighbouring states.

  • Uttar Pradesh shares a border with Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, Haryana, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Bihar, and Jharkhand.

2. Indian State with seven neighbouring states.

  • Assam shares a border with West Bengal, Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Manipur, Mizoram, Tripura, and Meghalaya.
  • Chattisgarh shares a border with Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand, Odisha, Telangana, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, and Andhra Pradesh

3. Indian State with six neighbouring states.

  • Maharashtra shares a border with Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Telangana, Karnataka, and Goa.
  • Karnataka shares a border with Goa, Maharashtra, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, and Kerala.

4. Indian State with five neighbouring states.

  • West Bengal shares a border with Assam, Sikkim, Bihar, Jharkhand, and Odisha.
  • Andhra Pradesh shares a border with Chhattisgarh, Odisha, Telangana, Karnataka, and Tamil Nadu.
  • Madhya Pradesh shares a border with Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Maharashtra, and Chhattisgarh.
  • Jharkhand shares a border with Bihar, West Bengal, Odisha, Chhattisgarh, and Uttar Pradesh.
  • Rajasthan shares a border with Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, and Gujarat.

5. Indian State with four neighbouring states.

  • Telangana shares a border with Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka.
  • Odisha shares a border with Jharkhand, West Bengal, Chhattisgarh, Andhra Pradesh.

6. Indian State with one neighbouring states.

Only two Indian states, Meghalaya and Sikkim, have only one neighbouring state. Meghalaya shares only a border with Assam, while Sikkim has only a border with West Bengal.

7. Indian State that shares boundaries with 3 countries.

  • Sikkim shares international borders with China, Bhutan, Nepal.
  • West Bengal shares international borders with Bhutan, Nepal, Bangladesh
  • Arunachal Pradesh shares international borders with China, Bhutan,Myanmar.
  • Ladakh shares international borders with China, Pakistan,Afghanistan

8. Indian State that shares boundaries with 2 countries.

  • Assam shares international borders with Bhutan, Bangladesh.
  • Uttrakhand shares international borders with China, Nepal.
  • Mizoram shares international borders with Bangladesh,Myanmar.

The states of India through which the tropic of cancer passes.

The Tropic of Cancer is an imaginary line with 23.50 degrees. It runs north of the Equator and through the heart of India. The Cancer Tropic crosses through 17 countries, one of which is India. In India, the Cancer Tropic runs across eight states:

  • Mizoram (Champhai) 23.45 degrees
  • Tripura (Udaipur) 23.53 degrees
  • West Bengal (Krishnanagar) 23.4 degrees
  • Jharkhand (Lohardaga) 23.4 degrees
  • Chattisgarh (Sonhat) 23.47 degrees
  • Madhya Pradesh (Shajapur) 23.43 degrees
  • Rajasthan (Kalinjarh) 23.43 degrees
  • Gujarat (Jasdan) 22.03 degrees

The states of India through which the Indian Standard Meridian passes.

The Standard Meridian of India, which passes through Mirzapur in Uttar Pradesh and has a longitude of 82°30'E, is used to determine the standard time for the whole country. India's standard meridian travels across the states listed below:

  • Uttar Pradesh
  • Madhya Pradesh
  • Chattisgarh
  • Orissa
  • Andhra Pradesh

Tropic of Cancer and Indian standard Time both intersect at Koriya District in Chhattisgarh.

Largest and Smallest State of India

Area wise Rajasthan is the largest state of India and Goa is smallest. Population wise Uttar Pradesh is highest and Sikkim is the smallest. Population density wise Bihar is highest in density and Arunachal Pradesh is lowest in density wise.

Largest and Smallest Union Territory of India

Area wise Ladakh is the largest UT of India and Lakshadweep is smallest. Population wise Delhi is highest and Lakshadweep is the smallest. Population density wise Delhi is highest in density and Andaman & Nicobar island is lowest in density wise.