India_map-and-states

India has twenty eight states and seven union territories. Delhi, the capital of India, is the largest metropolis by area and the second-largest metropolis by population. Rajasthan which covers a total area of 342,239 sq km is the largest state of India. Goa is the smallest Indian state with an area of 3702 sq km. The Length of coastline of India including the coastlines of Andaman and Nicobar Islands in the Bay of Bengal and Lakshwadweep Islands in the Arabian Sea is 7517 km. The coastline of Indian mainland is surrounded by Arabian Sea in the west, Bay of Bengal in the east and Indian Ocean in the south. Andaman & Nicobar Islands is the largest union territory in India which cover an area of 8,249 sq km. Lakshadweep with an area of 32 sq km is the smallest Union Territory in India. India, a Union of States , is a Sovereign Socialist Secular Democratic Republic with a Parliamentary System of government. The Republic is governed in terms of the constitution, which was adopted by Constituent Assembly on 26 November 1949 and came into force on 26 January 1950. India comprises of 28 states and seven union territories. The States Reorganization Act of 1956 was a primary force in reorganizing the boundaries of India's states along linguistic lines, and bringing an amendment in the Indian Constitution whereby the three types of states, known as Parts A, B, and C states, were amended with a single type of state. Though additional changes have occurred in the state boundaries since 1947, the Act is still considered as an undisputed player in providing the present shapes and contours of the Indian states. In November 2000, India gained three new states - Chattisgarh was carved out of Madhya Pradesh , Uttaranchal out of Uttar Pradesh , and Jharkhand out of Bihar. The Constitution distributes legislative powers between the Parliament and state legislatures. The Parliament is bicameral - the lower house is known as the Lok Sabha (House of the People) and the upper house is known as the Rajya Sabha (Council of States). At state level some legislatures are bicameral and are run along the lines of the two houses of the national Parliament.