States and Union Territories by Population

At present, there are 28 states in India with 8 separate union territories. Each state and union territory has its respective capital. A state in India is defined as having its administrative structure separate from the administration at the center. The Governor of the state is the nominal head. The connection to the central government is provided by the Constitution which states that all states in the country are federally constituted. Union territories in India are not states and therefore do not have state governments per se. They are administered by the central government with the Administrator as the executive head and the President as the nominal head. 

States and Union Territories

According to the population, the Indian states can be arranged as:

There are seven Union Territories in India, not including Jammu and Kashmir, and they can be arranged in the following manner according to their population:

First Population Census in India

The first population census in India took place under the colonial rule of the British. On February 17th, 1881, the first population census in India took place. It was undertaken by the Census Commissioner at that time, W.C. Plowden. Before this, there were several other separate attempts at recording census records in India. Plowden would go on to conduct the first population census in India but it was a synchronous census. A census is important in determining the population of a state. The ranking of states or capitals or cities according to the population is possible only because of the census. In India, the census is calculated every 10 years. The information on states and union territories can glean from the census done every 10 years. 

Largest Administrative Tasks

In India, the census is amongst the largest administrative tasks. The administrative system in India is one of the most extensive and hierarchical systems in the country. Many of its functions and organisations had been derived from the colonial operations of the British. There have been 15 censuses that have taken place in India. The censuses of India and its states and union territories benefit from the information that is recorded like the rural and urban percentage, the area, the population density, and sex ratio. 

Registrar General and Census Commissioner

The registrar General and Census Commissioner is the officer who oversees the census process in India. The Ministry of Home Affairs is responsible for undertaking the census survey and publishing its reports. The present registrar General and Census Commissioner is Vivek Joshi. 

Conclusion

The information on Indian states and union territories is available due to the survey done in the census. It is a credible source on a nation’s demography, housing, education, economic activity, disability, migration, urbanisation, and mortality rates. Such statistical information helps us to understand the political, social, and economic realities of the nation and its states at a glance.