How Many States and Union Territories are there in India?

As of today, India officially has:

• 28 States
• 8 Union Territories (UTs)

For a long time, India had 29 States and 7 UTs. However, two massive political events recently changed the map completely:

• The Breakup of Jammu & Kashmir (2019): The government revoked Article 370 and officially stripped Jammu & Kashmir of its 'State' status. They split it down the middle, creating two completely new Union Territories: J&K and Ladakh. This instantly dropped the number of states from 29 down to 28, and increased the UTs to 9.
• The Merger of UTs (2020): Just a few months later, to save administrative costs, the government forcefully merged two separate UTs ('Daman & Diu' and 'Dadra & Nagar Haveli') into one single massive Union Territory. This dropped the UT count from 9 back down to 8.

• A State (like Maharashtra or Tamil Nadu) has its own massive elected government, its own Chief Minister, and makes its own laws.
• A Union Territory (like Lakshadweep or Andaman) is usually too incredibly small or politically sensitive to survive as an independent state. Therefore, it is directly ruled and funded by the Central Government (the Union) in New Delhi through an appointed Lieutenant Governor.