Indian States — Capitals & Languages

Common Exam Traps — Capitals

• Chandigarh: capital of BOTH Punjab and Haryana (itself a UT)
• Gandhinagar: capital of Gujarat (not Ahmedabad)
• Dispur: capital of Assam (not Guwahati)
• Panaji: capital of Goa (not Margao or Vasco)
• Amaravati: new capital of Andhra Pradesh (not Hyderabad)
• Port Blair: HQ of Andaman & Nicobar (not a state capital)
• Itanagar: capital of Arunachal Pradesh (not a widely known city)

States With Two Capitals

• Himachal Pradesh: Shimla (summer) + Dharamshala (winter)
• Uttarakhand: Dehradun (winter) + Gairsain (summer)
• J&K (UT): Srinagar (summer) + Jammu (winter)

Superlatives to Remember

• Largest state (area): Rajasthan
• Smallest state (area): Goa
• Most populous state: Uttar Pradesh
• Highest literacy rate: Kerala
• Richest state (GDP): Maharashtra
• Newest state: Telangana (2014, 29th state)
• Largest UT (area): Ladakh
• Smallest UT (area): Lakshadweep (32 km²)
• Wettest place in India: Mawsynram, Meghalaya

UTs With Legislature (Elected Assembly)

Only 3 UTs have their own legislature: Delhi (NCT), Puducherry, and Jammu & Kashmir. All other UTs are administered directly by the Central Government via a Lt. Governor / Administrator.

Classical Languages of India (6)

Tamil, Sanskrit, Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam, Odia — all have Classical Language status. Tamil is the oldest.