Key Concepts & Self-Assessment15 Key Facts
Review key Indian States & Union Territories: Formation & Capitals exam facts and rate your mastery to track revision.
Progress: 0/15 Rated 0 Mastered 0 Review Later
#1
Article 3 authorizes Parliament to form new States, alter State boundaries, or change State names by simple majority, provided the bill is introduced on presidential recommendation.
#2
The States Reorganisation Act 1956, based on recommendations of the Fazal Ali Commission (with members H.N. Kunzru and K.M. Panikkar), created 14 States and 6 Union Territories.
#3
Andhra State became the first state created on a linguistic basis on October 1, 1953, carved out of the State of Madras following Potti Sreeramulu's 56-day hunger strike.
#4
Sikkim was integrated into the Indian Union initially as an Associate State via the 35th Constitutional Amendment (1974) and as a full-fledged 22nd State via the 36th Amendment (1975).
#5
As of 2024, India comprises 28 States and 8 Union Territories following the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act 2019 and the merger of Dadra & Nagar Haveli and Daman & Diu in 2020.
#6
Article 1 of the Constitution declares that India, that is Bharat, shall be a Union of States rather than a federation of states.
#7
Article 2 empowers Parliament to admit into the Union or establish new States on such terms and conditions as it thinks fit.
#8
The Dhar Commission (1948) and the JVP Committee (Jawaharlal Nehru, Vallabhbhai Patel, Pattabhi Sitaramayya, 1948) initially opposed linguistic reorganizations of states.
#9
Bombay State was bifurcated on May 1, 1960 under the Bombay Reorganisation Act into the linguistic states of Maharashtra and Gujarat.
#10
Nagaland was carved out of Assam as the 16th state of the Indian Union on December 1, 1963, placed under the governance of the Ministry of External Affairs until 1972.
#11
Punjab was reorganized on November 1, 1966 on the recommendation of the Shah Commission, creating the Hindi-speaking state of Haryana with Chandigarh as a shared Union Territory.
#12
Goa, Daman and Diu were liberated from Portuguese rule in December 1961 via Operation Vijay; Goa was granted full statehood on May 30, 1987.
#13
Three new states were created in November 2000: Chhattisgarh (carved from Madhya Pradesh), Uttarakhand (carved from Uttar Pradesh), and Jharkhand (carved from Bihar).
#14
Telangana was carved out of Andhra Pradesh as the 29th state of the Indian Union on June 2, 2014 under the Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act, 2014.
#15
The National Capital Territory of Delhi was established via the 69th Constitutional Amendment Act of 1991, inserting Article 239AA with a 70-member Legislative Assembly.
Subject Specialist Commentary
Analytical perspective & practical exam advice from the Master10 academic board
India's territorial framework is defined under Part I of the Constitution, where Article 1 declares India a Union of States. Under Article 3, Parliament can create new states, alter boundaries, or change names by simple majority on presidential recommendation. Reorganization began in 1953 when Andhra became the first linguistic state following Potti Sreeramulu's hunger strike. This led to the Fazal Ali Commission and the States Reorganisation Act of 1956, which originally created 14 states and 6 Union Territories.
In competitive exams like SSC and UPSC prelims, state formation dates are a common question focus. Remember the sequence: Gujarat in 1960, Nagaland in 1963, Haryana in 1966, and three states created in 2000: Chhattisgarh, Uttarakhand, and Jharkhand. A classic trap in multiple-choice questions involves Sikkim; revise that the 35th Amendment made it an Associate State in 1974, while the 36th Amendment granted full statehood in 1975. Today, India comprises 28 states and 8 Union Territories.
Related Knowledge Topics to Discover
Looking for more GK practice?
Explore 52,789+ questions across 65 General Knowledge categories.