Union territories in the context of "List of divisions in India"

Himachal Pradesh (Hindi: Himācal Pradeś, pronounced [ɦɪˈmäːtʃəl pɾəˈd̪eːʃ]; Sanskrit: himācāl prādes; lit. "Snow-laden Mountain Province") is a state in the northern part of India. Situated in the Western Himalayas, it is one of the 13 mountain states and is characterised by an extreme landscape featuring several peaks and extensive river systems. Himachal Pradesh is the northernmost state of India and shares borders with the union territories of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh to the north, and the states of Punjab to the west, Haryana to the southwest, Uttarakhand to the southeast and a very narrow border with Uttar Pradesh to the south. The state also shares an international border to the east with the Tibet Autonomous Region in China. Himachal Pradesh is also known as Dev Bhoomi, meaning 'Land of Gods' and Veer Bhoomi which means 'Land of the Brave'.

The predominantly mountainous region comprising the present-day Himachal Pradesh has been inhabited since pre-historic times, having witnessed multiple waves of human migrations from other areas. Through its history, the region was mostly ruled by local kingdoms, some of which accepted the suzerainty of larger empires. Prior to India's independence from the British, Himachal comprised the hilly regions of the Punjab Province of British India. After independence, many of the hilly territories were organised as the Chief Commissioner's province of Himachal Pradesh, which later became a Union Territory. In 1966, hilly areas of the neighbouring Punjab state were merged into Himachal and it was ultimately granted full statehood in 1971.

The Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act, 2019 is an act of the parliament of India containing provisions to split the state of Jammu and Kashmir into two union territories: Ladakh and the residuary Jammu and Kashmir, and becoming effective on 31 October 2019. A bill for the act was introduced by the Minister of Home Affairs, Amit Shah, in the Rajya Sabha on 5 August 2019 and was passed on the same day. It was then passed by the Lok Sabha on 6 August 2019 and received the president's assent on 9 August 2019.

The act consists of 103 clauses, extends 106 central laws to the union territories, repeals 153 state laws, and abolishes the Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Council, among other things. The introduction of the bill was preceded by a presidential order which indirectly amended Article 370 of the Indian constitution and revoked Jammu and Kashmir's special status. The act has also given powers to the central government to pass a number of executive orders in relation to both the union territories. These orders have resulted in the modification or repeal of over 400 state and central laws with respect to the union territories. The act was challenged in the Supreme Court through a number of petitions. On 11 December 2023, the court declared the act and the related orders to be valid and constitutional, ordering to restore statehood "as soon as possible". A 2023 ruling by the Supreme Court of India resolved its legal dispute.

Indian English (IndE, IE) or English (India) is a group of English dialects spoken in the Republic of India and among the Indian diaspora and is native to India. English is used by the Government of India for communication, and is enshrined in the Constitution of India. English is also an official language in eight states and seven union territories of India, and the additional official language in five other states and one union territory. India has one of the world’s largest English-speaking communities. Furthermore, English is the sole official language of the Judiciary of India, unless the state governor or legislature mandates the use of a regional language, or if the President of India has given approval for the use of regional languages in courts.

Before the dissolution of the British Empire on the Indian subcontinent, the term Indian English broadly referred to South Asian English, also known as British Indian English.

The 2011 census of India or the 15th Indian census was conducted in two phases, house listing and population enumeration. The House listing phase began on 1 April 2010 and involved the collection of information about all buildings. Information for National Population Register (NPR) was also collected in the first phase, which will be used to issue a 12-digit unique identification number to all registered Indian residents by Unique Identification Authority of India. The second population enumeration phase was conducted between 9 and 28 February 2011. Census has been conducted in India since 1872 and 2011 marks the first time biometric information was collected. According to the provisional reports released on 31 March 2011, the Indian population increased to 1.21 billion with a decadal growth of 17.70%. Adult literacy rate increased to 74.04% with a decadal growth of 9.21%. The motto of the census was Our Census, Our Future.

Spread across 28 states and 8 union territories, the census covered 640 districts, 5,924 sub-districts, 7,935 towns and more than 600,000 villages. A total of 2.7 million officials visited households in 7,935 towns and 600,000 villages, classifying the population according to gender, religion, education and occupation. The cost of the exercise was approximately ₹2,200 crore (US$260 million) – this comes to less than US$0.50 per person, well below the estimated world average of US$4.60 per person.

Mainland India is a geo-political term sometimes used to refer to India excluding the region of Northeast India and Kashmir, with the north-east connected by the Siliguri Corridor.

In a geographical context, Mainland India includes the entirety of India (including Northeast India) in continental Asia, excluding islands such as the union territories of Andaman and Nicobar Islands and Lakshadweep.

A lieutenant governor, lieutenant-governor, or vice governor is a high officer of state, whose precise role and rank vary by jurisdiction. Often a lieutenant governor is the deputy, or lieutenant, to or ranked under a governor — a "second-in-command", rather like deputy governor. In Canadian provinces and in the Dutch Caribbean, the lieutenant governor is the representative of the Canadian monarch or Dutch monarch in that jurisdiction, and thus outranks the head of government, but for practical purposes has virtually no power.

In India, lieutenant governors are in charge of union territories in that country.

India is a union of states and union territories as per article 1 of the Indian Constitution. Some states and union territories are further divided into divisions, which are made up of groups of districts. A division is led by an officer of the Indian Administrative Service, known as a divisional commissioner. There are 111 divisions in India.

The states of Andhra Pradesh, Goa, Manipur, Mizoram, Sikkim, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, and Tripura, Kerala as well as five of the union territories are not divided into divisions. Instead, these states and territories go directly from the state to the district level for administrative purposes.
Cite error: There are <ref group=lower-alpha> tags or {{efn}} templates on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist|group=lower-alpha}} template or {{notelist}} template (see the help page).