The political map of India has undergone several major changes in recent years. Knowing the exact current count of States and Union Territories (UTs) is the most fundamental question in Indian Civics and Geography.
India is a 'Federal' country, meaning power is divided between a central government (New Delhi) and the individual state governments. However, Union Territories are generally ruled directly by the Central Government through an appointed Lieutenant Governor or Administrator.
As of today, India has:
For many years, students learned that India had 29 states (after Telangana was created in 2014). However, on October 31, 2019, the Government of India officially revoked the special statehood status of Jammu & Kashmir. The state of J&K was split into two separate Union Territories: J&K and Ladakh. Because one state was removed, the total number of states dropped from 29 to 28.
After adding J&K and Ladakh, the number of UTs temporarily became 9. However, on January 26, 2020, the government officially merged two neighboring UTs into a single unit: Dadra and Nagar Haveli was merged with Daman and Diu. Because two UTs became one, the total count settled exactly at 8 Union Territories.
**Rajasthan** is the largest state in India by area, and **Goa** is the smallest state.
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