Political and Administrative Divisions of India

• India is the seventh largest country in the world. 
• For administrative purposes, India has been politically divided into 28 states and 8 union territories.
• New Delhi is the Capital of India. 
• India is a Sovereign Socialist Secular Democratic Republic with a Parliamentary government that is federal in structure and unitary in nature.
• India measures 3,214 km from north to south and 2,933 km from east to west.
• Daman & Diu and Dadra & Nagar Haveli are on the western coast, while Pudducherry is on the eastern coast.
• Rajasthan is the largest and Goa is the smallest state of India.
• Haryana, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, and Jharkhand are the states which do not have an international border or lie on the coast. 
• Neighboring Countries of India States of India that share a common frontier:
  

  Neighboring Countries of India	States of India that share a common frontier
  Pakistan	Jammu and Kashmir, Punjab, Rajasthan, and Gujarat.
  China	Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Sikkim, Uttarakhand, and Arunachal Pradesh
  Myanmar	Mizoram, Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, and Nagaland
  Bangladesh	Bihar, West Bengal, Jharkhand, Assam, Meghalaya, and Tripura

Before 1947, there were two types of states in India - the provinces and the Princely states. Provinces were ruled directly by British officials, who were appointed by the Viceroy. Princely states were ruled by local, hereditary rulers, who acknowledged sovereignity in return for local autonomy.

Andhra Pradesh's new capital is Amaravati. According to the Andhra Pradesh Reorganization Act, Hyderabad will serve as the capital of both Andhra Pradesh and Telangana until 2024. (For 10 years from the act passed).