28 states. 8 union territories.

A long Coromandel coastline, delta agriculture and a fast growing port economy define Andhra Pradesh.

Capital

Amaravati

People

5.3 crore

Districts

26

The land of the dawn-lit mountains, with the largest forest cover share of any Himalayan state.

Capital

Itanagar

People

15.7 lakh

Districts

26

The Brahmaputra valley state, famous for tea gardens, one-horned rhinos and Bihu.

Capital

Dispur

People

3.6 crore

Districts

35

The cradle of Magadha, Nalanda and Buddhism, and one of India's youngest populations.

Capital

Patna

People

12.9 crore

Districts

38

India's mineral heartland, with dense sal forests, waterfalls and a strong steel corridor.

Capital

Raipur

People

3.0 crore

Districts

33

India's smallest state by area, blending Portuguese heritage with a beach and hospitality economy.

Capital

Panaji

People

15.8 lakh

Districts

2

India's longest coastline and a manufacturing, chemicals and diamond powerhouse.

Capital

Gandhinagar

People

7.1 crore

Districts

33

A Green Revolution granary that now anchors the National Capital Region's service economy.

Capital

Chandigarh

People

2.9 crore

Districts

22

A Himalayan state of orchards, hydropower and hill towns, with high human development indicators.

Capital

Shimla

People

75 lakh

Districts

12

A plateau state rich in coal, mica and iron ore, and home to a large Adivasi population.

Capital

Ranchi

People

3.9 crore

Districts

24

India's technology capital, with Hampi's ruins, Western Ghats rainforest and a deep aerospace base.

Capital

Bengaluru

People

6.8 crore

Districts

31

Backwaters, spice trade history and India's highest literacy and human development scores.

Capital

Thiruvananthapuram

People

3.6 crore

Districts

14

The heart of India: tiger reserves, Khajuraho temples and the country's second largest state by area.

Capital

Bhopal

People

8.7 crore

Districts

55

India's largest economy, home to Mumbai's financial markets, Bollywood and the Deccan's sugar belt.

Capital

Mumbai

People

12.6 crore

Districts

36

A valley ringed by hills, known as the birthplace of modern polo and of Manipuri dance.

Capital

Imphal

People

32 lakh

Districts

16

The abode of clouds, with matrilineal societies and the wettest inhabited places on earth.

Capital

Shillong

People

34 lakh

Districts

12

Rolling bamboo hills and one of India's most literate and forested states.

Capital

Aizawl

People

12 lakh

Districts

11

Sixteen major tribes, terraced hills and the Hornbill Festival of the north east.

Capital

Kohima

People

22 lakh

Districts

17

Temple architecture, Chilika lagoon and a mineral and metals corridor along the Bay of Bengal.

Capital

Bhubaneswar

People

4.6 crore

Districts

30

The land of five rivers and the engine of the Green Revolution in Indian agriculture.

Capital

Chandigarh

People

3.1 crore

Districts

23

India's largest state by area: desert forts, palaces and a growing solar energy base.

Capital

Jaipur

People

8.2 crore

Districts

41

India's least populous state, fully organic, sitting beneath Kanchenjunga.

Capital

Gangtok

People

7 lakh

Districts

6

Dravidian temple cities and India's most industrialised southern economy.

Capital

Chennai

People

7.7 crore

Districts

38

India's youngest state, built around Hyderabad's pharma, IT and heritage economy.

Capital

Hyderabad

People

3.8 crore

Districts

33

A small hill state with a long princely history and strong bamboo and handloom crafts.

Capital

Agartala

People

41 lakh

Districts

8

India's most populous state, spanning the Ganga plains from Varanasi to Agra.

Capital

Lucknow

People

24.1 crore

Districts

75

Devbhoomi: the Himalayan land of Char Dham pilgrimage, Ganga's source and alpine parks.

Capital

Dehradun

People

1.1 crore

Districts

13

From the Sundarbans mangroves to Darjeeling's ridges, with Kolkata as its cultural anchor.

Capital

Kolkata

People

10.0 crore

Districts

23

836 islands in the Bay of Bengal, with coral reefs and India's only active volcano.

Capital

Port Blair

People

4.0 lakh

Districts

3

A modernist planned city by Le Corbusier that serves two states as capital.

Capital

Chandigarh

People

12 lakh

Districts

1

A merged coastal territory with Portuguese-era forts and a dense industrial belt.

Capital

Daman

People

6 lakh

Districts

3

The national capital territory: seat of government and a millennium of layered city-building.

Capital

New Delhi

People

2.1 crore

Districts

11

Himalayan valleys and Dogra plains, with dual seasonal capitals in Srinagar and Jammu.

Capital

Srinagar / Jammu

People

1.4 crore

Districts

20

A high-altitude cold desert of monasteries, glacial lakes and the world's highest motorable roads.

Capital

Leh

People

3 lakh

Districts

7

India's smallest territory: 36 coral atolls scattered across the Arabian Sea.

Capital

Kavaratti

People

70 thousand

Districts

1

A four-district territory carrying French colonial urbanism into the Tamil coast.

Capital

Puducherry

People

16 lakh

Districts

4