India has 28 states and 8 union territories (UTs). Questions on capitals, current Chief Ministers and Governors appear in almost every exam, and 2026 brought many changes. This page gives the full, updated list.
CMs and Governors are as of November 2026 (as reported), including the Governor reshuffles of March 2026 and October 2026. They can change at any time; check the latest before your exam.
States
| State | Capital | Chief Minister | Governor |
|---|---|---|---|
| Andhra Pradesh | Amaravati | N. Chandrababu Naidu | S. Abdul Nazeer |
| Arunachal Pradesh | Itanagar | Pema Khandu | K.T. Parnaik |
| Assam | Dispur | Himanta Biswa Sarma (second term from May 2026) | Lakshman Prasad Acharya |
| Bihar | Patna | Samrat Choudhary (from April 2026; first BJP CM of Bihar) | Syed Ata Hasnain |
| Chhattisgarh | Raipur (Nava Raipur) | Vishnu Deo Sai | Ramen Deka |
| Goa | Panaji | Pramod Sawant | P. Ashok Gajapathi Raju |
| Gujarat | Gandhinagar | Bhupendra Patel | Acharya Devvrat |
| Haryana | Chandigarh | Nayab Singh Saini | Ashim Kumar Ghosh |
| Himachal Pradesh | Shimla (winter: Dharamshala) | Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu | Kavinder Gupta |
| Jharkhand | Ranchi | Hemant Soren | Santosh Kumar Gangwar |
| Karnataka | Bengaluru | D.K. Shivakumar (from June 2026) | Dr Sudha Yadav (October 2026; Karnataka’s second woman Governor) |
| Keralam (formerly Kerala) | Thiruvananthapuram | V.D. Satheesan (from May 2026) | Om Prakash Mathur (October 2026) |
| Madhya Pradesh | Bhopal | Mohan Yadav | Mangubhai C. Patel |
| Maharashtra | Mumbai (winter: Nagpur) | Devendra Fadnavis | Jishnu Dev Varma |
| Manipur | Imphal | Yumnam Khemchand Singh (from February 2026) | Ajay Kumar Bhalla |
| Meghalaya | Shillong | Conrad K. Sangma | C.H. Vijayashankar |
| Mizoram | Aizawl | Lalduhoma | Gen V.K. Singh (retd) |
| Nagaland | Kohima | Neiphiu Rio | Nand Kishore Yadav |
| Odisha | Bhubaneswar | Mohan Charan Majhi | Braj Mohan Ram (October 2026) |
| Punjab | Chandigarh | Bhagwant Mann | Gulab Chand Kataria |
| Rajasthan | Jaipur | Bhajan Lal Sharma | Haribhau Bagade |
| Sikkim | Gangtok | Prem Singh Tamang | Dushyant Kumar Gautam (October 2026) |
| Tamil Nadu | Chennai | C. Joseph Vijay (from May 2026) | Rajendra Arlekar (moved from Keralam, October 2026) |
| Telangana | Hyderabad | A. Revanth Reddy | Shiv Pratap Shukla |
| Tripura | Agartala | Manik Saha | N. Indrasena Reddy |
| Uttar Pradesh | Lucknow | Yogi Adityanath | Anandiben Patel |
| Uttarakhand | Dehradun (summer: Gairsain) | Pushkar Singh Dhami | Dr Dhal Singh Bisen (October 2026) |
| West Bengal | Kolkata | Suvendu Adhikari (from May 2026) | R.N. Ravi |
Kerala is now “Keralam”. Parliament passed the bill in August 2026 and the Centre notified the new name later that month.
Union territories
| UT | Capital | Lt Governor / Administrator | Chief Minister |
|---|---|---|---|
| Andaman & Nicobar Islands | Sri Vijaya Puram (formerly Port Blair) | Adm D.K. Joshi (LG) | – |
| Chandigarh | Chandigarh | Gulab Chand Kataria (Administrator; Punjab Governor) | – |
| Dadra & Nagar Haveli and Daman & Diu | Daman | Praful Khoda Patel (Administrator) | – |
| Delhi (NCT) | New Delhi | Taranjit Singh Sandhu (LG) | Rekha Gupta |
| Jammu & Kashmir | Srinagar (summer), Jammu (winter) | Manoj Sinha (LG) | Omar Abdullah |
| Ladakh | Leh | Vinai Kumar Saxena (LG) | – |
| Lakshadweep | Kavaratti | Praful Khoda Patel (Administrator) | – |
| Puducherry | Puducherry | K. Kailashnathan (LG) | N. Rangaswamy (fifth term from May 2026) |
Only Delhi, Jammu & Kashmir and Puducherry have elected legislative assemblies and Chief Ministers.
When were the states formed?
| Date | States |
|---|---|
| 1 April 1936 | Odisha (Utkal Divas), first state formed on a linguistic basis in British India |
| 1 November 1956 | Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka (as Mysore), Keralam, Madhya Pradesh, Tamil Nadu (as Madras State) under the States Reorganisation Act |
| 1 May 1960 | Maharashtra and Gujarat (from Bombay State) |
| 1 December 1963 | Nagaland |
| 1 November 1966 | Haryana (from Punjab) |
| 25 January 1971 | Himachal Pradesh |
| 21 January 1972 | Manipur, Meghalaya, Tripura |
| 16 May 1975 | Sikkim (36th Amendment) |
| 20 February 1987 | Arunachal Pradesh, Mizoram |
| 30 May 1987 | Goa |
| 1 November 2000 | Chhattisgarh |
| 9 November 2000 | Uttarakhand |
| 15 November 2000 | Jharkhand |
| 2 June 2014 | Telangana (29th state; now 28 states after J&K became a UT) |
| 31 October 2019 | J&K state reorganised into two UTs: J&K and Ladakh |
| 26 January 2020 | Dadra & Nagar Haveli and Daman & Diu merged into one UT |
Name changes to remember
| Old name | New name | Year |
|---|---|---|
| Madras State | Tamil Nadu | 1969 |
| Mysore | Karnataka | 1973 |
| Uttaranchal | Uttarakhand | 2007 |
| Orissa | Odisha | 2011 |
| Port Blair | Sri Vijaya Puram | 2024 |
| Kerala | Keralam | 2026 |
Exam-ready one-liners
- India has 28 states and 8 union territories.
- Samrat Choudhary became Bihar’s first BJP Chief Minister in April 2026.
- C. Joseph Vijay (TVK) became Tamil Nadu CM in May 2026; Suvendu Adhikari became West Bengal CM in May 2026.
- Kerala was officially renamed Keralam in August 2026.
- Only Delhi, J&K and Puducherry among UTs have Chief Ministers.
- Port Blair was renamed Sri Vijaya Puram in 2024.
- Odisha (1936) was the first linguistic state; Telangana (2014) is the newest state.
- Haryana and Punjab share Chandigarh as their capital.
Related reading
- Chief Ministers & Governors tracker (updated with every change)
- Folk dances and festivals of Indian states
- Tiger reserves state-wise
- India’s neighbouring countries
Quiz: test yourself
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Office-holders are as of November 2026 as reported and may change; check india.gov.in and the respective Raj Bhavan / state websites.
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