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Did you know Uttar Pradesh is the most populous state in India, or that Rajasthan is the largest state by area? India, the 7th largest country in the world, has 28 states and 8 union territories. Each state of India is unique in its own way. If you want to understand the 28 states of India and their capitals, you are in the right place. In this blog, you will find answers to most of your questions related to Indian states. You will get to know about the governors of these states and the chief ministers. Furthermore, you will understand which state is no longer a state, and facts about Indian states you didn’t know before.
Table of Contents
- 1 What are the 28 States and Capitals of India?
- 2 Difference Between States and Union Territories in India
- 3 Which State is Removed from the 29 States?
- 4 Why Do Some Indian States Have Two Capitals?
- 5 Governors and Chief Ministers of 28 States in India
- 6 Which State Has a Female CM?
- 7 Who is the Youngest CM of India?
- 8 Which is the Oldest State in India?
- 9 Which is the Smallest State in India?
- 10 28 States of India and Their Capitals: 7 Facts You Didn’t Know
- 11 FAQs
What are the 28 States and Capitals of India?
India has a total of 28 states. The 28 states of India and their capitals are provided below
| S.No. | Name of 28 States of India | Capital |
| 1 | Andhra Pradesh | 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 |
| 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 |
| 28 | West Bengal | Kolkata |
Difference Between States and Union Territories in India
Apart from the 28 states of India and their capitals, there exist union territories. There are a total of 8 Union territories in India. However, the Union territories and the states in India are not the same. The states have elected governments with legislative power. On the other hand, Union territories are directly administered by the centre. The states of India enjoy a federal relationship with the centre. For Union territories, the legislative and executive power lies with the centre.
| Aspect | State | Union Territory |
| Governance | Has its own elected government and legislature | Administered by the Central Government; some have legislatures |
| Legislative Powers | Can make laws on subjects in the State List and the Concurrent List | Limited legislative powers; mostly governed by laws made by Parliament |
| Autonomy | Enjoys significant autonomy | Lesser autonomy compared to states |
| Examples | Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka | Delhi, Chandigarh, Lakshadweep |
Which State is Removed from the 29 States?
The state that is removed from the list of 29 states is Jammu and Kashmir. Jammu and Kashmir was divided into Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh. The state was bifurcated as per the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act, 2019. Moreover, the special status that the state enjoyed under Article 370 was also revoked. When Jammu and Kashmir became a Union Territory, the list of Indian states became 28. Therefore, at present, there are only 28 states in India.
Why Do Some Indian States Have Two Capitals?
We know that there are 28 states of India, and their capitals are distinct. However, some Indian states have two capitals. There can be several reasons for it. That is, deal with seasonal climate challenges, regional imbalances, or ensure balanced development. The states in India with two capitals are provided below:
| A state in India with Two Capitals | Capitals |
| Andhra Pradesh | Visakhapatnam (Executive), Amaravati (Legislative), Kurnool (Judicial) |
| Maharashtra | Mumbai (Administrative), Nagpur (Winter) |
| Jammu & Kashmir* | Srinagar (Summer), Jammu (Winter) |
Also Read: 18 Facts About B. R. Ambedkar- Architect of the Indian Constitution
Governors and Chief Ministers of 28 States in India
The 28 states of India and their capitals have a Chief Minister or CM, and a governor. The names of these people are provided below:
| State | Governor | Chief Minister |
| Andhra Pradesh | Shri Justice (Retd.) S. Abdul Nazeer | Shri N. Chandrababu Naidu |
| Arunachal Pradesh | Lt. Gen. Kaiwalya Trivikram Parnaik (Retd.) | Shri Pema Khandu |
| Assam | Shri Lakshman Prasad Acharya | Shri Himanta Biswa Sarma |
| Bihar | Shri Arif Mohammed Khan | Shri Nitish Kumar |
| Chhattisgarh | Shri Ramen Deka | Shri Vishnu Deo Sai |
| Goa | Shri P.S. Sreedharan Pillai | Shri Pramod Sawant |
| Gujarat | Shri Acharya Dev Vrat | Shri Bhupendra Patel |
| Haryana | Shri Bandaru Dattatraya | Shri Nayab Singh Saini |
| Himachal Pradesh | Shri Shiv Pratap Shukla | Shri Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu |
| Jharkhand | Shri Santosh Kumar Gangwar | Shri Hemant Soren |
| Karnataka | Shri Thaawarchand Gehlot | Shri Siddaramaiah |
| Kerala | Shri Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar | Shri Pinarayi Vijayan |
| Madhya Pradesh | Shri Mangubhai Chhaganbhai Patel | Shri Mohan Yadav |
| Maharashtra | Shri C.P. Radhakrishnan | Shri Devendra Fadnavis |
| Manipur | Shri Ajay Kumar Bhalla | Shri N. Biren Singh |
| Meghalaya | Shri C. H. Vijayashankar | Shri Conrad Kongkal Sangma |
| Mizoram | General (Dr.) Vijay Kumar Singh (Retd.) | Shri Lalduhoma |
| Nagaland | Shri La. Ganesan | Shri Neiphiu Rio |
| Odisha | Dr. Hari Babu Kambhampati | Shri Mohan Charan Majhi |
| Punjab | Shri Gulab Chand Kataria | Shri Bhagwant Singh Mann |
| Rajasthan | Shri Haribhau Kisanrao Bagde | Shri Bhajan Lal Sharma |
| Sikkim | Shri Om Prakash Mathur | Shri Prem Singh Tamang (Golay) |
| Tamil Nadu | Shri R. N. Ravi | Shri M. K. Stalin |
| Telangana | Shri Jishnu Dev Varma | Shri A. Revanth Reddy |
| Tripura | Shri Indra Sena Reddy Nallu | Dr. Manik Saha |
| Uttar Pradesh | Smt. Anandiben Patel | Shri Yogi Adityanath |
| Uttarakhand | Lt. Gen. Gurmit Singh (Retd.) | Shri Pushkar Singh Dhami |
| West Bengal | Dr. C. V. Ananda Bose | Smt. Mamata Banerjee |
Which State Has a Female CM?
Mamata Banerjee is the Chief Minister of West Bengal. She has been the Chief Minister of West Bengal since 2011. She is the first woman CM of West Bengal, and the founder and leader of the All India Trinamool Congress (TMC). On the other hand, Rekha Gupta is the CM of Delhi, a Union Territory of India, and the National capital.
Who is the Youngest CM of India?
The youngest Cheif Minister of India is Pema Khandu. He is the Chief Minister of Arunachal Pradesh. He assumed office while he was just 37 years old. He is a member of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the son of former CM Dorjee Khandu. He is known for his dynamic governance and youthful leadership.
Which is the Oldest State in India?
Out of the 28 states of India and their capitals, the oldest state in India is Andhra Pradesh. Andhra Pradesh is the first state to be formed on a linguistic basis when the Indian states were reorganised( based on the States Reorganisation Act). Andhra Pradesh became a state on October 1, 1953.
Which is the Smallest State in India?
Goa is the smallest Indian state. The state has an area of 3702 km2. Goa is also known as the “Paradise in a Pocket’’ due to its small size and beautiful scenery. Goa used to be a Portuguese colony for over 450 years, and was liberated on 19th December 1961. The region officially became a state of India on 30 May 1987.
28 States of India and Their Capitals: 7 Facts You Didn’t Know
These are the top 7 facts about Indian states that you didn’t know about
- Hyderabad is the capital of Telangana and a temporary capital of Andhra Pradesh. Amaravati is going to be the future capital of Andhra Pradesh.
- Chandigarh is the capital of two states- Punjab and Haryana
- Assam’s capital, Dispur, is a suburban region that is located within the city of Guwahati.
- Bengaluru, the capital of Karnataka, leads India in terms of startups. The state hosts more than 8000 startups and is also known as “India’s Silicon Valley.”
- Shimla, the capital of Himachal Pradesh, was the summer capital of British India due to its cool climate.
- The Kolkata Port is India’s oldest active port. It was established in 1870.
- Bhopal, the capital of Madhya Pradesh, is also known as the ‘city of lakes’.
Also Read: The Top Interesting Facts About Himachal Pradesh
FAQs
India used to have 29 states. However, one of its states, Jammu and Kashmir, was bifurcated into Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh. They were made Union Territories. Thus, India again became a country with 28 states.
Earlier, India had 28 states. The newly formed state of Telangana became the 29th state of India. However, later on, Jammu and Kashmir, a state, was divided into 2 and made a Union Territory. Therefore, India only has 28 states.
The first Chief Minister of India was Pandit Govind Ballabh Pant. He was appointed as the CM of United Provinces ( now called Uttar Pradesh) first in 1937 and thereafter in 1950. This was made possible only because the British government had called for elections to the provincial legislatures in 1937.
In terms of constitutional hierarchy, the person next to the President is the Vice President. The Vice President of India is Shri Jagdeep Dhankhar.
The best CM in India, as per India Today’s “Mood of the Nation” survey (August 2020), is Adityanath. As per people, he is the best-performing chief minister.
Related Reads
This is all about the 8 union territories of India and their capitals. If you find it fascinating and wish to read more such informative reads, then stay tuned to the Indian Exam page of Leverage Edu.
