The administrative divisions of India are subnational administrative units of India; they are composed of a nested hierarchy of administrative divisions. India consists of 28 States and 8 Union Territories. These are divided into districts (some states group a set of districts as a division), followed by subdistricts (known in different local names like tehsils and talukas), which are divided into blocks, which consist of villages.

Indian states and territories frequently use different local titles for the same level of subdivision (e.g., the mandals of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana correspond to tehsils of Uttar Pradesh and other Hindi-speaking states but to talukas or taluks of Gujarat, Goa, Karnataka, Kerala, Maharashtra, and Tamil Nadu).[1]

The smaller subdivisions (villages and development blocks) exist only in rural areas. In urban areas, urban local bodies exist instead of these rural subdivisions.

Tiers of India

The diagram below outlines the six tiers of administrative divisions:

Country
(India)
State
(e.g. West Bengal State)
Division
(e.g. Medinipur Division)
District
(e.g. Bankura District)
Sub-division
(Revenue Subdivision)
(e.g. Bankura Sadar subdivision)
Sub-district
(Tehsil/Taluka, Circle, Sub-division)
(e.g. Bavla (Tehsil))
Block
(e.g. Bankura II Block)
Village
(e.g. Bikna village)

Notes:

Tiers of Government

The diagram below outlines the three tiers of government : union, state and local government.

Union Government
(Government of India)
State Government
(e.g. Government of Kerala)
Urban
(Urban Local Bodies)		Rural
(Panchayati Raj Institutions)
District Panchayat
Zilla Parishad
(e.g. Raigad District Council)		Block Panchayat
(Panchayat Samiti)		Village Panchayat
Gram Panchayat
(e.g. Binodpur Gram Panchayat)
Urban
(Urban Local Bodies)
Municipal Corporation
(e.g. Municipal Corporation of Delhi)		Municipality
(e.g. Darjeeling Municipality)		Town Panchayat (e.g Bhatgaon)

Sub-national zones

Administrative zones

The states of India have been grouped into six zones having an Advisory Council "to develop the habit of cooperative working" among these States. Zonal Councils were set up vide Part-III of the States Reorganisation Act, 1956. The North Eastern States' special problems are addressed by another statutory body - The North Eastern Council, created by the North Eastern Council Act, 1971.[2] The present composition of each of these Zonal Councils is as under:[3]

Cultural zones

Each zone has a zonal headquarters where a zonal cultural center has been established.[7] Several states have membership in multiple zones, but no state subdivisions are utilised in the zonal divisions. In addition to promoting the culture of the zones they are responsible for, each zonal center also works to cross-promote and create exposure to other cultural zones of India by organising functions and inviting artistes from other zones.

Zone Zonal Centre Extent
South Culture Zone South Zone Cultural Centre, Thanjavur, Tamil Nadu Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Lakshadweep, Puducherry, Tamil Nadu, Telangana[8]
South Central Culture Zone South-Central Zone Cultural Centre, Nagpur, Maharashtra Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Goa, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Telangana[9]
North Culture Zone North Zone Cultural Centre, Patiala, Punjab Chandigarh, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Ladakh, Punjab, Rajasthan, Uttarakhand[10]
North Central Culture Zone North Central Zone Cultural Centre, Prayagraj, Uttar Pradesh Bihar, Delhi, Haryana, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand[11]
East Culture Zone East Zone Cultural Centre, Kolkata, West Bengal Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Assam, Bihar, Jharkhand, Manipur, Odisha, Sikkim, Tripura, West Bengal[12]
North East Culture Zone North East Zone Cultural Centre, Dimapur, Nagaland Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Sikkim, Tripura[13]
West Culture Zone West Zone Cultural Centre, Udaipur, Rajasthan Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu, Goa, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Rajasthan[14]

States and union territories within zones

India is composed of 28 states and eight union territories (including a national capital territory).[15]

States

State ISO Vehicle
code 		Zone Capital Largest city Statehood Population
(2011)[16][17] 		Area
(km2) 		Official
languages[18] 		Additional official
languages[18]
Andhra Pradesh IN-AP AP Southern Amaravati[19] Visakhapatnam 1 November 1956 49,506,799 162,975 Telugu Urdu[20]
Arunachal Pradesh IN-AR AR North-Eastern Itanagar 20 February 1987 1,383,727 83,743 English —
Assam IN-AS AS North-Eastern Dispur Guwahati 26 January 1950 31,205,576 78,438 Assamese, Boro Bengali, Meitei[21]
Bihar IN-BR BR Eastern Patna 26 January 1950 104,099,452 94,163 Hindi Urdu
Chhattisgarh IN-CG CG Central Raipur[a] 1 November 2000 25,545,198 135,194 Hindi Chhattisgarhi
Goa IN-GA GA Western Panaji Vasco da Gama 30 May 1987 1,458,545 3,702 Konkani Marathi
Gujarat IN-GJ GJ Western Gandhinagar Ahmedabad 1 May 1960 60,439,692 196,024 Gujarati, Hindi —
Haryana IN-HR HR Northern Chandigarh Faridabad 1 November 1966 25,351,462 44,212 Hindi Punjabi[22]
Himachal Pradesh IN-HP HP Northern Shimla (Summer)
Dharamshala (Winter)[23] 		Shimla 25 January 1971 6,864,602 55,673 Hindi Sanskrit[24]
Jharkhand IN-JH JH Eastern Ranchi Jamshedpur 15 November 2000 32,988,134 79,714 Hindi Angika, Bengali, Bhojpuri, Bhumij, Ho, Kharia, Khortha, Kurmali, Kurukh, Magahi, Maithili, Mundari, Nagpuri, Odia, Santali, Urdu[25][26]
Karnataka IN-KA KA Southern Bengaluru 1 November 1956 61,095,297 191,791 Kannada —
Kerala IN-KL KL Southern Thiruvananthapuram 1 November 1956 33,406,061 38,863 Malayalam English[27]
Madhya Pradesh IN-MP MP Central Bhopal Indore 1 November 1956 72,626,809 308,252 Hindi —
Maharashtra IN-MH MH Western Mumbai (Summer)
Nagpur (Winter)[28][29] 		Mumbai 1 May 1960 112,374,333 307,713 Marathi —
Manipur IN-MN MN North-Eastern Imphal 21 January 1972 2,855,794 22,327 Meitei English
Meghalaya IN-ML ML North-Eastern Shillong 21 January 1972 2,966,889 22,429 English —
Mizoram IN-MZ MZ North-Eastern Aizawl 20 February 1987 1,097,206 21,081 Mizo, English —
Nagaland IN-NL NL North-Eastern Kohima Dimapur 1 December 1963 1,978,502 16,579 English —
Odisha IN-OD OD Eastern Bhubaneswar 26 January 1950 41,974,218 155,707 Odia —
Punjab IN-PB PB Northern Chandigarh Ludhiana 1 November 1966 27,743,338 50,362 Punjabi —
Rajasthan IN-RJ RJ Northern Jaipur 26 January 1950 68,548,437 342,239 Hindi English
Sikkim IN-SK SK North-Eastern Gangtok 16 May 1975 610,577 7,096 Nepali, Sikkimese, Lepcha, English[30] Gurung, Limbu, Magar, Mukhia, Newari, Rai, Sherpa, Tamang
Tamil Nadu IN-TN TN Southern Chennai 1 November 1956 72,147,030 130,058 Tamil English
Telangana IN-TS TG[31] Southern Hyderabad[b] 2 June 2014 35,193,978[36] 112,077[36] Telugu Urdu[37]
Tripura IN-TR TR North-Eastern Agartala 21 January 1972 3,673,917 10,491 Bengali, English, Kokborok —
Uttar Pradesh IN-UP UP Central Lucknow 26 January 1950 199,812,341 240,928 Hindi Urdu
Uttarakhand IN-UK UK Central Bhararisain (Summer)
Dehradun (Winter)[38] 		Dehradun 9 November 2000 10,086,292 53,483 Hindi Sanskrit[39]
West Bengal IN-WB WB Eastern Kolkata 26 January 1950 91,276,115 88,752 Bengali, English Nepali,[c] Hindi, Odia, Punjabi, Santali, Telugu, Urdu, Kamatapuri, Rajbanshi, Kurmali, Kurukh[d]
Total 1,178,310,321 3,054,066
  1. Nava Raipur is planned to replace Raipur as the capital city of Chhattisgarh.
  2. Andhra Pradesh was divided into two states, Telangana and a residual Andhra Pradesh on 2 June 2014.[32][33] Hyderabad, located entirely within the borders of Telangana, is to serve as the capital for both states for a period of time not exceeding ten years.[34] The Government of Andhra Pradesh and the Andhra Pradesh Legislature completed the process of relocating to temporary facilities in the envisaged new capital city Amaravati in early 2017.[35]
  3. Bengali and Nepali are the official languages in the Darjeeling and Kurseong sub-divisions of the Darjeeling district.
  4. Hindi, Odia, Punjabi, Santali, Urdu, Kamatapuri, Rajbanshi, Kurmali and Kurukh are treated as additional official languages in blocks, divisions or districts where the speakers exceed 10% of the population.

Union territories

State[40] ISO[41] Vehicle
code[42] 		Zone[43] Capital[40] Largest city[44] Established[45] Population
(2011)[46] 		Area
(km2)[47] 		Official
languages[48] 		Additional official
languages[48]
Andaman and Nicobar Islands IN-AN AN Southern Port Blair 1 November 1956 380,581 8,249 Hindi, English —
Chandigarh IN-CH CH Northern Chandigarh 1 November 1966 1,055,450 114 English —
Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu IN-DH DD Western Daman Silvassa 26 January 2020 587,106 603 Hindi, English Gujarati
Delhi IN-DL DL Northern New Delhi Delhi 1 November 1956 16,787,941 1,484 Hindi, English Urdu, Punjabi[49]
Jammu and Kashmir IN-JK JK Northern Srinagar (Summer)
Jammu (Winter)[50] 		Srinagar 31 October 2019 12,258,433 42,241 Dogri, English, Hindi, Kashmiri, Urdu —
Ladakh IN-LA LA Northern Leh (Summer)
Kargil (Winter)[51] 		Leh 31 October 2019 290,492 59,146 Hindi, English —
Lakshadweep IN-LD LD Southern Kavaratti 1 November 1956 64,473 32 English Malayalam
Puducherry IN-PY PY Southern Pondicherry 16 August 1962 1,247,953 479 Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam English, French
Total 32,672,429 112,348

Divisions within states and UT

Divisions exist within the respective states and union territories, and are of two types, namely the "Administrative Divisions" (directly under the control of the state government) and the "Autonomous Administrative Divisions" (relatively with the higher degree of autonomy governed by the directly elected council).

Autonomous administrative divisions

The Sixth Schedule of the Constitution of India allows for the formation of autonomous administrative divisions which have been given autonomy within their respective states and union territories.[52]

Presently, 10 Autonomous Councils in Assam, Meghalaya, Mizoram and Tripura are formed by virtue of the Sixth Schedule[53] with the rest being formed as a result of other legislation.

There are 10 Autonomous District Councils created by the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution of India:

State Body Headquarters Formation Last Election Ruling Party
Assam Bodoland Territorial Council Kokrajhar 2003 2025 BPF[54]
Dima Hasao Autonomous Council Haflong 1952 2024 BJP[55]
Karbi Anglong Autonomous Council Diphu 1952 2022 BJP[56]
Meghalaya Garo Hills Autonomous District Council Tura 1973 2021 NPP[57]
Jaintia Hills Autonomous District Council Jowai 1973 2025 NPP[58]
Khasi Hills Autonomous District Council Shillong 1973 2025 VPP[59]
Mizoram Chakma Autonomous District Council Kamalanagar 1972 2023 Governor's rule[60]
Lai Autonomous District Council Lawngtlai 1972 2025 ZPM[61]
Mara Autonomous District Council Siaha 1972 2022 BJP[62]
Tripura Tripura Tribal Areas Autonomous District Council Khumulwng 1982 2021 TMP[63]

Some states have created autonomous councils by an Act of their state legislatures. The two autonomous councils in the union territory of Ladakh was created by the state of Jammu and Kashmir (1952 – 2019).

State/UT Autonomous Council Headquarters Formation Last Election Last Ruling Party
Assam Tiwa Autonomous Council Morigaon 1995[64] 2020 BJP[65]
Mising Autonomous Council Dhemaji 1995[66] 2019 SGS[67]
Rabha Hasong Autonomous Council Dudhnoi 1995[68] 2025 RHJM[69]
Sonowal Kachari Autonomous Council Dibrugarh 2005[70] 2019 BJP[67]
Thengal Kachari Autonomous Council Titabar 2005[71] 2022 BJP[72]
Deori Autonomous Council Narayanpur 2005[73] 2022 BJP[74]
Moran Autonomous Council Tinsukia 2020[75]
Matak Autonomous Council Chring Gaon 2020[75]
Bodo Kachari Welfare Autonomous Council Simen Chapori 2020[76]
Kamtapur Autonomous Council Abhayapuri 2020[75]
Manipur Chandel Autonomous District Council Chandel 1971[77] 2015 NPF[78]
Churachandpur Autonomous District Council Churachandpur 1971[77] 2015 Ind[78]
Sadar Hills Autonomous District Council Kangpokpi 1971[77] 2015 INC[78]
Manipur North Autonomous District Council Senapati 1971[77] 2015 NPF[78]
Tamenglong Autonomous District Council Tamenglong 1971[77] 2015 NPF[78]
Ukhrul Autonomous District Council Ukhrul 1971[77] 2015 NPF[78]
Mizoram Sinlung Hills Council Aizawl 2018[79] 2024 MNF[80]
Ladakh Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council, Kargil Kargil 2003[81] 2023 JKNC[82]
Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council, Leh Leh 1995[83] 2020 BJP[84]
West Bengal Gorkhaland Territorial Administration Darjeeling 2012[85] 2022 BGPM[86]

Administrative divisions

Many of the Indian states are subdivided into divisions, which have official administrative governmental status, and each division is headed by a senior IAS officer called Divisional Commissioner.

States like Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Goa, etc. don't have separate divisions or regions. Instead, they're directly split into districts for administrative purposes.

As of September 2022, divisions exist in 18 of the 28 states and 3 of the 8 union territories. As of September 2022, there are a total of 102 divisions in India.

No. of divisions in each state or UT
State/union territory No. of
divisions 		Population
2011 Census[87] 		Average Pop'n
per division
Andhra Pradesh - 49,386,799 -
Arunachal Pradesh 3 1,383,727 461,242
Assam 5 31,169,272 6,233,854
Bihar 9 104,099,452 11,566,606
Chhattisgarh 5 25,545,198 5,109,040
Goa - 1,458,545 -
Gujarat 4 60,439,692 -
Haryana 6 25,351,462 4,225,244
Himachal Pradesh 3 6,864,602 2,288,201
Telangana - 35,193,978 -
Jharkhand 5 32,988,134 6,597,627
Karnataka 4 61,095,297 15,273,824
Kerala 3 33,406,061 -
Madhya Pradesh 10 72,626,809 7,262,681
Maharashtra 6 112,374,333 18,729,056
Manipur - 2,721,756 -
Meghalaya 3 2,966,889 1,483,445
Mizoram - 1,097,206 -
Nagaland 1 1,978,502 1,978,502
Odisha 3 41,974,218 13,991,406
Punjab 5 27,743,338 5,548,668
Rajasthan 10 68,548,437 6,854,844
Sikkim - 610,577 -
Tamil Nadu - 72,147,030 -
Tripura - 3,673,917 -
Uttar Pradesh 18 199,812,341 11,100,686
Uttarakhand 2 10,086,292 5,043,146
West Bengal 5 91,276,115 18,255,223
Andaman and Nicobar Islands - 380,581 -
Chandigarh - 1,055,450 -
Dadra and Nagar Haveli
and Daman and Diu 		- 586,956 -
Jammu and Kashmir 2 12,258,433 6,129,217
Ladakh 1 290,492 290,492
Lakshadweep - 64,473 -
Delhi 1 16,787,941 16,787,941
Puducherry - 1,247,953 -
Total  111 1,210,854,977 11,755,874

Regions within states

Some states consist of regions, which have no official administrative governmental status. They are purely geographic regions; some correspond to historic countries, states or provinces. A region may comprise one or more divisions, averaging about three divisions per region. However, the boundaries of the regions and the boundaries of the divisions do not always coincide exactly. So far there has been no movement to give the regions official administrative status. If this was to be done, it would presumably require that the boundaries of the regions be slightly modified so that they correspond exactly with their constituent districts.

Districts within divisions

States and union territories of India are subdivided into districts (zilla), numbering 797 as of November 2023. A district, formally designated a revenue district, serves as the primary administrative unit of a state or union territory.

Each district is headed by a civil servant, usually from the Indian Administrative Service, known variously as the District Collector, District Magistrate, or Deputy Commissioner, depending on the state. The office combines land revenue administration with magisterial and general executive responsibilities. Although created as a revenue unit, district boundaries are widely adopted by other departments—such as police, education, health, and rural development—for administrative efficiency, making the district a multipurpose jurisdiction.

Police administration within a district is under the Superintendent of Police (SP), typically an officer of the Indian Police Service. Police districts are generally coterminous with revenue districts, though in some states a single revenue district may contain more than one police district, or a police district may cover only a subdivision of a revenue district. A forest division is different from a revenue district. Its boundaries vary from state to state and may encompass multiple revenue districts or only a portion of one. Management of forests and wildlife resources within the forest division rests with the Divisional Forest Officer (DFO), an officer of the Indian Forest Service.

Sectoral development functions are carried out by district-level officers of various line departments of the state government, including Public Works, Health, Education, Agriculture, Animal Husbandry, Social Justice, Urban Development, Panchayati Raj, and Rural Development. These officials usually belong to the respective state civil services.

Number of districts & population (as per 2011) in administrative divisions
Administrative divisions No. of districts Total population Population per district
States
Andhra Pradesh 28 49,577,103 1,770,611
Arunachal Pradesh 28 1,383,727 49,419
Assam 35 31,205,576 891,588
Bihar 38 104,099,452 2,739,459
Chhattisgarh 33 25,545,198 774,097
Goa 3 1,458,545 486,182
Gujarat 34 60,439,692 1,777,638
Haryana 23 25,351,462 1,102,237
Himachal Pradesh 12 6,864,602 572,050
Jharkhand 24 32,988,134 1,374,506
Karnataka 31 61,095,297 1,970,816
Kerala 14 33,406,061 2,386,147
Madhya Pradesh 57 72,626,809 1,274,155
Maharashtra 36 112,374,333 3,121,509
Manipur 16 2,570,390 160,649
Meghalaya 12 2,966,889 247,241
Mizoram 11 1,097,206 99,746
Nagaland 17 1,978,502 116,382
Odisha 30 41,974,218 1,399,141
Punjab 23 27,743,338 1,206,232
Rajasthan 41 68,548,437 1,671,913
Sikkim 6 610,577 101,763
Tamil Nadu 38 72,147,030 1,898,606
Telangana 33 35,003,674 1,060,717
Tripura 8 3,673,917 459,240
Uttar Pradesh 76 199,812,341 2,629,110
Uttarakhand 13 10,086,292 775,869
West Bengal 30 91,276,115 3,042,537
Union Territory
Andaman and Nicobar Islands 3 380,581 126,860
Chandigarh 1 1,055,450 1,055,450
Dadra Nagar Haveli, Daman and Diu 3 586,956 195,652
Jammu and Kashmir 20 12,258,093 612,905
Ladakh 7 290,492 41,499
Lakshadweep 1 64,473 64,473
Delhi 13 16,787,941 1,291,380
Puducherry 4 1,247,953 311,988
Total 800 1,210,576,856 1,552,022
Largest and Smallest Districts in India
Largest District Smallest District
By Land Area Kutch district Mahe district
By Population North 24 Parganas district Dibang Valley district

Subdivisions

A sub-division is an administrative division of a district in India. In some states (Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Tamil Nadu, Kerala) they are called Revenue Divisions.[88] It is headed by a sub-divisional magistrate (also known as assistant collector or assistant commissioner). In some states, the post is designated as Revenue Divisional Officer (RDO) or Sub-Divisional Officer (Civil).[89][90]

Subdivisions, also known as revenue divisions in some states, are designed primarily for land revenue administration and related purposes. These subdivisions serve as an intermediate tier between the district and the tehsil/taluk/subdistrict levels, encompassing multiple of these smaller administrative units. Their core functions revolve around the management of land records, the collection of land taxes, and the implementation of land-related policies, facilitating efficient governance and resource management at the local level.

A district may have multiple sub-divisions, and each of those sub-divisions may contain multiple sub-districts (tehsils/C.D. Blocks) and municipalities.[91] For example, in West Bengal, the Murshidabad district contains five sub-divisions (mahakumas)

Subdistricts

A tehsil (also known as taluk, taluka, or mandal) is a sub-district unit in India, functioning mainly for land and revenue administration. It is headed by a tehsildar, who oversees land records, revenue collection, and related functions.

In some cases, tehsils overlap with community development blocks. Tehsils fall under the revenue department, while blocks come under the rural development department and are headed by a Block Development Officer (BDO), serving different administrative purposes over similar areas.

States use varying names for their sub-districts. Detailed information is as follows (as of 2018):[92]

State/ Union territory Subdistrict title No. of
subdistricts
Andhra Pradesh Mandal 679
Arunachal Pradesh Circle 149
Assam Subdivision 155
Bihar Subdivision 101
Chhattisgarh Tehsil 228
Goa Taluka 12
Gujarat Taluka 248[93]
Haryana Tehsil 67
Himachal Pradesh Tehsil 109
Jharkhand Subdivision 210
Karnataka Taluk 240
Kerala Taluk 78
Madhya Pradesh Tehsil 412
Maharashtra Taluka 353
Manipur Subdivision 38
Meghalaya Subdivision 39
Mizoram Subdivision 22
Nagaland Circle 93
Odisha Tehsil 485
Punjab Tehsil 172
Rajasthan Tehsil 268
Sikkim Subdivision 9
Tamil Nadu Taluk 316[94]
Telangana Mandal 612
Tripura Subdivision 38
Uttar Pradesh Tehsil 350
Uttarakhand Tehsil 113
West Bengal Subdivision 69
Andaman and Nicobar Islands Tehsil 7
Chandigarh Tehsil 1
Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu Tehsil 3
Delhi Tehsil 33
Jammu and Kashmir Tehsil 55
Ladakh Tehsil 4
Lakshadweep Subdivision 4
Puducherry Tehsil 8
Total 6158

Each tehsil is divided into revenue circles or directly into revenue villages. A revenue circle, headed by a circle officer or revenue inspector, oversees revenue collection and land records, and consists of multiple revenue villages, the lowest unit in the land revenue system.

Development Blocks

Each district is divided into Blocks, also known as Community Development Blocks (CD Block), purely for the purpose of rural development administration. Each Block comprises several rural subdivisions (Panchayats) and is headed by a Block Development Officer (BDO), who is an officer of the state civil service.[95]

Local government

Urban level

Census of India (2011) states the following criteria in defining towns. They are:

Urban agglomerations

Urban agglomerations are two or more separate administrative cities contiguous to each other, some of which may or may not have the formal recognition in the form of a legal body to manage the agglomerations, the examples of such legal bodies are Delhi NCR.

Metropolitan area

Reserve Bank of India (RBI) classifies the cities in India from Tier-I (largest) to Tier-IV (smallest) for the administrative efficiency, economic assessment, urban planning and infrastructure, investment considerations, business environment, and purchasing power of cities based on the criteria entailing the population, economic Development (GDP, etc), infrastructure, educational Institutions and healthcare Facilities, and administrative Importance. Tier-I and tier-II also called the metropolitan cities. The examples of Tier-I metropolitan cities of are: Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Ahmedabad and Pune. Example of Tier-II city are Faridabad and Gurugram in Delhi NCR, Chandigarh, Jaipur, Surat, Raipur, etc; Tier-III cities are Hisar, Bhiwani, and Tier-IV is Hansi.[97]

Statutory towns

All areas under statutory urban administrative units like Municipal Corporation, #India, Cantonment Board, Notified Town Area Committee, Town Panchayat, etc., are known as Statutory Towns.

Census towns

Census towns are areas in India that have urban characteristics but are not defined as towns by state governments. They are governed by rural local bodies like gram panchayats, unlike statutory towns.

Rural level

Blocks

The Community Development Block also known as CD Block or just block, is often the next level of administrative division (for development purposes, whereas tehsil is next to the district for revenue purposes).

Blocks are district sub-divisions primarily for the purpose of Rural Development departments and Panchayati Raj institutions. Cities have similar arrangements under the Urban Development department. Tehsils (also called Taluks) are common across urban and rural areas for the administration of land and revenue departments, primarily to track land ownership and levy land tax.

[98]

State CD Block Number of
CD Blocks
Andaman and Nicobar Islands CD Block 9
Andhra Pradesh Mandal 668
Arunachal Pradesh Block 129
Assam Block 239
Bihar Block 534
Chandigarh Block 3
Chhattisgarh CD Block 146
Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu CD Block 3
Delhi CD Block 342
Goa CD Block 12
Gujarat CD Block 250
Haryana Block 143
Himachal Pradesh CD Block 88
Jammu and Kashmir CD Block 287
Jharkhand Block 264
Karnataka CD Block 235
Kerala Block 152
Ladakh CD Block 31
Lakshadweep CD Block 10
Madhya Pradesh CD Block 313
Maharashtra CD Block 352
Manipur CD Block 70
Meghalaya CD Block 54
Mizoram CD Block 28
Nagaland CD Block 74
Odisha CD Block 314
Puducherry CD Block 6
Punjab CD Block 153
Rajasthan CD Block 353
Sikkim CD Block 33
Tamil Nadu CD Block 388[99]
Telangana Mandal 594
Tripura CD Block 58
Uttar Pradesh CD Block 826
Uttarakhand CD Block 95
West Bengal CD Block 345

Villages

Villages are often the lowest level of subdivisions in India. The governmental bodies at the village level are called Gram Panchayat, of which there were an estimated 256,000 in 2002. Each Gram Panchayat covers a large village or a cluster of smaller villages with a combined population exceeding 500 Gram Sabha. Clusters of villages are also sometimes called Hobli or Patti.

Habitations

Certain governmental functions and activities - including clean water availability, rural development, and education - are tracked at a sub-village level.[100] These hamlets are termed "habitations". India is composed of 1,714,556 habitations [101] In some states, most villages have a single habitation; in others (notably Kerala and Tripura) there is a high ratio of habitations to villages.[102]

Others

India

India outside India

Historical administrative divisions

Listed from higher to lower:

Present day habitation terms

Land forms

Sometimes unofficial and sometimes official classification by the land form:

See also

References

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