States of India — Reference Sheet

Andhra Pradesh

🏛 Amaravati Telugu

• Home to Tirupati Balaji, the world's most visited pilgrimage site. • Has the longest coastline of any state on the Bay of Bengal (972 km). • Kuchipudi classical dance form originated here.

Arunachal Pradesh

🏛 Itanagar English, Nyishi, Adi

• Called the "Land of the Rising Sun" — the first place in India to see sunrise. • Has more than 26 major tribes and 100 sub-tribes. • Tawang Monastery is the largest in India and second largest in the world.

Assam

🏛 Dispur Assamese, Bengali, Bodo

• Produces over 50% of India's tea and 17% of the world's tea. • Kaziranga National Park has the world's largest population of one-horned rhinoceroses. • The Brahmaputra river, one of the world's largest, flows through it.

Bihar

🏛 Patna Hindi, Maithili, Bhojpuri

• Bodh Gaya, where Gautama Buddha attained enlightenment, is here. • Nalanda was the world's first residential university (5th century CE). • The ancient Mauryan and Gupta empires had their capital in Pataliputra (modern Patna).

Chhattisgarh

🏛 Raipur Hindi, Chhattisgarhi

• Known as the "Rice Bowl of Central India" for its abundant paddy production. • Contains about 44% forest cover — one of the most forested states. • Chitrakote waterfall is the widest waterfall in India, dubbed the "Niagara of India".

Goa

🏛 Panaji Konkani, Marathi, English

• India's smallest state by area, yet its most popular tourist destination. • Was a Portuguese colony for 451 years until 1961. • Has the highest per capita income among all Indian states.

Gujarat

🏛 Gandhinagar Gujarati

• Birthplace of Mahatma Gandhi (Porbandar) and Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel. • The Statue of Unity — world's tallest statue (182 m) — stands here. • The only place in the world where Asiatic lions survive in the wild (Gir Forest).

Haryana

🏛 Chandigarh Hindi, Haryanvi

• The Kurukshetra war of the Mahabharata was fought on its soil. • Has the highest per capita income among Indian states (excluding city-states). • Produces the most Olympic medals per capita of any Indian state.

Himachal Pradesh

🏛 Shimla Hindi, Pahari

• Shimla served as the summer capital of British India. • Known as the "Apple State of India" — grows 25% of India's apples. • Spiti Valley is one of the world's highest inhabited cold desert regions.

Jharkhand

🏛 Ranchi Hindi, Santali, Bengali

• Contains about 40% of India's mineral wealth, including coal and iron ore. • Birthplace of cricket legend MS Dhoni. • The Hundru Falls (98 m) is one of India's highest waterfalls.

Karnataka

🏛 Bengaluru Kannada

• Bengaluru is India's IT capital and home to the most tech startups. • Has the second largest number of UNESCO World Heritage Sites in India. • Jog Falls is the second highest untiered waterfall in India (253 m).

Kerala

🏛 Thiruvananthapuram Malayalam

• Has the highest Human Development Index and literacy rate in India (96.2%). • The only state to have achieved 100% primary education (Akshara Keralam). • Kathakali classical dance and Kalaripayattu — one of the world's oldest martial arts — originate here.

Madhya Pradesh

🏛 Bhopal Hindi

• Called the "Heart of India" — it is geographically at the centre of the country. • Has the most tiger reserves in India (7 out of 53). • The Khajuraho temples, famous for their erotic sculptures, are a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Maharashtra

🏛 Mumbai Marathi

• Mumbai is home to Bollywood — the world's largest film industry by ticket sales. • The Ajanta & Ellora caves are among the world's greatest rock-cut monuments. • Maharashtra has India's largest economy among states.

Manipur

🏛 Imphal Meitei (Manipuri)

• Known as the "Jewel of India" for its scenic beauty. • The only floating national park in the world — Keibul Lamjao — is here. • Polo is believed to have originated in Manipur; the world's oldest polo ground is in Imphal.

Meghalaya

🏛 Shillong Khasi, Garo, English

• Mawsynram receives the highest annual rainfall of any place on Earth. • Known for its living root bridges — trees shaped over decades to span rivers. • Called the "Scotland of the East" for its rolling green hills.

Mizoram

🏛 Aizawl Mizo, English

• Has India's second highest literacy rate (91.6%) after Kerala. • The "Blue Mountain" (Phawngpui) is its highest peak at 2,157 m. • Every 48 years, bamboo forests flower and cause a rat explosion, historically triggering famine.

Nagaland

🏛 Kohima English, Nagamese

• Known as the "Land of Festivals" — has more than 16 major tribal festivals each year. • The Battle of Kohima (1944) was called the "Stalingrad of the East". • India's first organically certified state for agriculture.

Odisha

🏛 Bhubaneswar Odia

• Konark Sun Temple is a UNESCO World Heritage Site shaped like a giant chariot. • Odisha is the largest producer of stainless steel in India. • Chilika Lake is Asia's largest coastal lagoon and a Ramsar Wetland.

Punjab

🏛 Chandigarh Punjabi

• Called the "Granary of India" — produces ~19% of India's wheat and ~13% of its rice. • The Golden Temple in Amritsar serves a free meal (langar) to 100,000 people daily. • Chandigarh, its capital, was designed by Swiss-French architect Le Corbusier.

Rajasthan

🏛 Jaipur Hindi, Rajasthani

• Largest state of India by area. • The Thar Desert — India's only major hot desert — covers much of western Rajasthan. • Jaipur (the Pink City) was the first planned city of India, built in 1727.

Sikkim

🏛 Gangtok Nepali, Sikkimese, Lepcha

• India's first fully organic state — banned chemical fertilisers and pesticides. • Kangchenjunga (8,586 m), the world's third highest peak, is on its border. • Smallest state in India by population.

Tamil Nadu

🏛 Chennai Tamil

• Tamil is one of the world's oldest living classical languages (over 2,000 years old). • Has the second largest number of UNESCO World Heritage Sites in India. • The Brihadeeswarar Temple in Thanjavur was built in 1010 CE entirely without external support — a feat of Chola engineering.

Telangana

🏛 Hyderabad Telugu, Urdu

• India's newest state, carved from Andhra Pradesh in 2014. • Hyderabad is famous for its Nizami cuisine, especially Hyderabadi biryani. • Produces about 70% of the world's bulk drugs (active pharmaceutical ingredients).

Tripura

🏛 Agartala Bengali, Kokborok

• Second smallest state in India, almost entirely surrounded by Bangladesh. • Has the second largest number of rubber plantations in India after Kerala. • Unakoti has massive 8th-century rock carvings discovered in the forest.

Uttar Pradesh

🏛 Lucknow Hindi, Urdu

• Most populous state in India (over 240 million people — larger than Brazil). • The Taj Mahal, one of the Seven Wonders of the World, is in Agra. • Varanasi (Benares) is one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities on Earth.

Uttarakhand

🏛 Dehradun Hindi, Garhwali, Kumaoni

• Called "Devbhumi" (Land of Gods) — source of the holy rivers Ganga and Yamuna. • Jim Corbett National Park is India's oldest national park (1936). • Rishikesh is the "Yoga Capital of the World".

West Bengal

🏛 Kolkata Bengali

• Kolkata was the capital of British India until 1911. • The Sundarbans mangrove forest — home to the Royal Bengal Tiger — is a UNESCO site. • Produces 80% of India's sweets (known as mishti) and is famous for rasgulla and sandesh.

🇮🇳 States of India