Federations of the World

Federation Maps and Fact Sheets

India
A federation since 1950
Website Directory: Federal Government of India

Constituent units

• 28 states: Andhra Pradesh; Arunachal Pradesh; Assam; Bihar; Goa; Gujarat; Haryana; Himachal Pradesh; Jammu and Kashmir; Karnataka; Kerala; Madhya Pradesh; Maharashtra; Manipur; Meghalaya; Mizoram; Nagaland; Orissa; Punjab; Rajasthan; Sikkim; Tamil Nadu; Tripura; Uttar Pradesh; West Bengal;
  since 2000: Chattisgarh; Jharkhand; Uttaranchal.
• National Capital Territory of Delhi.
• 6 centrally administered Union Territories: Andaman and Nicobar Islands; Chandigarh; Dadra and Nagar Haveli; Daman and Diu; Lakshadweep; Pondicherry.
  • Map of states and territories
  • Official Websites of States and Territories

Constitutional distribution of powers

• The Constitution of India, in particular:
  • Relations between the Union and the States: Part XI and Part XXI
  • Powers: Seventh Schedule
    • List I - Union
    • List II - State
    • List III - Concurrent
    
    (Source: Official Website of the Indian Parliament)

Legislative institutions

• Federal: A bicameral Parliament composed of the Council of States and the House of the People. The Council of States (Rajya Sabha) represents the states.
  • Fact sheet: Election and nomination to the Council of States (Rajya Sabha)
  • Indian Parliament: Council of States and House of the People
• States: Most states have a unicameral legislature.
  • State/territorial governments: from official sites of State and Territorial governments

Official languages

• The Constitution stipulates that Hindi is the official language of the Union. 18 other languages are protected by the Constitution (Schedule language).
• The Constitution of India, in particular: Part XVII and Schedule 8
• Linguistic Map of India
• Scheduled language

Other links of interest

• Political Structure
• Federations magazine (Forum of Federations), notably:
  • Elections may herald a new opening in Kashmir, Vol. 3, No. 1 / February-March 2003 (PDF)
  • Major changes for India's constitution?, Vol. 2, No. 4 / June-July 2002 (PDF)
  • India creates three new states, Vol.1, No.3 / March 2001 (PDF)