This article is about the administrative divisions of India. We will go from very high level details to divisions at the local governance level.
UNION OF INDIA
Union of India is composed of 28 states and 7 union territories (pending Telangana).
Governance of Union of India- The executive power of the Union is vested in the President of India. The term of the office of the President is for 5 years. The Legislative power of the Union is vested in the council of ministers and the Prime Minister of India. The council of ministers (including the Prime Ministers) is elected once every 5 years through Parliamentary/Lok-Sabha elections, by citizens of India. The President of India is further elected by the elected members of both the houses of the Parliament (i.e., Lok-Sabha and Rajya Sabha).
ZONES
Section 15 of the States Reorganization Act 1956 provided that there shall be a Zonal Council for each of the five zones of the country. Today India is divided into six zones for administration. The purpose of dividing the country into zones was to create healthy inter-State and Centre-State environment with a view to solving inter-State problems and fostering balanced socio economic development of the respective zones.
The zones are as follows:-
STATES AND UNION TERRITORIES
India is composed of 28 states and 7 union territories (pending Telangana).
Governance of States - The legislative power of the states would lie with the council of ministers and the chief minister, who would be elected every 5 years through Assembly (Vidhan Sabha) elections. The executive power of the state would be vested in the Governor.
UNION TERRIRORIES (UT)
India is composed of 7 union territories.
Governance of Union Territories - Union territories are directly ruled by union government/central government. Only in case of New Delhi and Puducherry, the constitution of India provides the provision of having a Legislature with elected members.
DIVISIONS
Some of the Indian states are further divided into divisions.The states which are divided into divisions are Assam, Bihar, Haryana, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand and West Bengal. Divisions are comprised of districts.
DISTRICTS
States and Union Territories (or Divisions) are further divided into districts. There are total 593 districts in India as of today.
(source : http://censusindia.gov.in )
SUB-DISTRICTS
Districts are further subdivided into sub-districts. Sub-districts are called by different names in different states.
So a Sub-district = revenue-division = sub-division = Tehsil = Taluka = Police Station = Circle = Development Block = Community Development Block (CD Block) = Mandal etc.
Notes : Sometimes tehsils might come under sub-divisions. Same is applicable for the other names.
BLOCKS
Sub-districts are further divided into block / sub-tehsil / hobli / Firka / Circle / Sajjas. Sub-tehsil is further divided into ILR circle / Patwar circle in some districts.
Governance of Districts, Sub-Districts and Blocks - At the district level the common man comes in direct contact with the administration. The administrative head of a district is called the Deputy Commissioner or District Collector. The Superintendent of Police and heads of other departments of the state are all located in the district headquarters. The Deputy Commissioner is many times assisted by the Additional Deputy Commissioner (ADC).
The sub-divisions/revenue divisions are further headed by Sub-Divisional-Officer (SDO) or Sub-Divisional-Magistrate (SDM) / Revenue Divisional Officer / Sub-Collector / Deputy Collector / Assistant Collector / Assistant Commissioner. Under the SDO (and equivalents) there are Tahsildars/Revenue Officers. The Tahsildar belongs to the state civil service. The Tahsildar is further assisted by Naib / Deputy - Tahsildar / Patwaaris / Kanungos etc. There may be a few more hierarchies below this however it differs from state-to-state.
RURAL LOCAL BODIES
According to the 73rd amendment in the constitution of India, the system of three tier panchayati raj was introduced. The three tier system implies that there are Panchayats at village level (gram panchayat), intermediate level (panchayat samiti), district level (zilla parishad). Any state which has a population of not more than 20 lakhs, may choose not to constitute intermediate panchayats.
The 73rd amendment also introduces the concept of "Gram Sabha" as the most fundamental unit of governance at the rural local level. Gram sabha means a body consisting of persons registered in the electoral rolls relating to a village comprised within the area of Panchayat at the village level. A gram sabha may exercise such powers and perform such functions at the village level as the Legislature of a State may by Law, provide. This essentially implies that if the gram sabha functions properly, then the development of a village is inevitable.
Governance of Rural Local Bodies - The governance of the Panchayats is in the hands of elected candidates. All seats in a panchayat shall be filled by persons chosen by direct election from territorial constituencies in the Panchayat area. Panchayat elections happen every five years. Note that at the village level gram sabha still has an upper hand (only if people are aware of it) and gram sabha consists of citizens of India.
URBAN LOCAL BODIES
The 74th amendment of the constitution of India made the provision of local governance in urban areas. According to the 74th amendment (part IXA) of the constitution of India, a three tier system of local governance in urban areas has been enumerated. In every state, there would be a Nagar Panchayat (Notified area council/city council)(for an rural to urban transitional area), a Municipal Council (Nagar Palika/ Nagar Nigam) for a smaller urban area, Municipal Corporation (Mahanagar Palika/Nigam) for larger urban area.
Governance of Urban Local Bodies - All governance of the Municipalities will be in the hands of elected representatives. All seats in a Municipality shall be filled by persons chosen by direct election from territorial constituencies in the Municipal area and for this purpose each Municipal area is be divided into territorial constituencies know as wards. Ward Committees would be constituted consisting of one or more wards, within the territorial area of a Municipality having a population of 3 lakhs or more. Municipal elections are held every five years. The elected candidates of each ward is called a counciller/corporator.
UNION OF INDIA
Union of India is composed of 28 states and 7 union territories (pending Telangana).
Governance of Union of India- The executive power of the Union is vested in the President of India. The term of the office of the President is for 5 years. The Legislative power of the Union is vested in the council of ministers and the Prime Minister of India. The council of ministers (including the Prime Ministers) is elected once every 5 years through Parliamentary/Lok-Sabha elections, by citizens of India. The President of India is further elected by the elected members of both the houses of the Parliament (i.e., Lok-Sabha and Rajya Sabha).
ZONES
Section 15 of the States Reorganization Act 1956 provided that there shall be a Zonal Council for each of the five zones of the country. Today India is divided into six zones for administration. The purpose of dividing the country into zones was to create healthy inter-State and Centre-State environment with a view to solving inter-State problems and fostering balanced socio economic development of the respective zones.
The zones are as follows:-
- Northern Zonal Council, comprising the States of Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu & Kashmir, Punjab, Rajasthan, National Capital Territory of Delhi and Union Territory of Chandigarh
- Central Zonal Council, comprising the States of Chhattisgarh, Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh
- Eastern Zonal Council, comprising the States of Bihar, Jharkhand, Orissa and West Bengal
- Western Zonal Council, comprising the States of Goa, Gujarat, Maharashtra and the Union Territories of Daman & Diu and Dadra & Nagar Haveli
- Southern Zonal Council, comprising the States of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and the Union Territory of Puducherry
- North Eastern Council set up under the North Eastern Council Act, 1972, consists of Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, Tripura, Mizoram, Meghalaya, Nagaland and Sikkim
STATES AND UNION TERRITORIES
India is composed of 28 states and 7 union territories (pending Telangana).
Governance of States - The legislative power of the states would lie with the council of ministers and the chief minister, who would be elected every 5 years through Assembly (Vidhan Sabha) elections. The executive power of the state would be vested in the Governor.
UNION TERRIRORIES (UT)
India is composed of 7 union territories.
Governance of Union Territories - Union territories are directly ruled by union government/central government. Only in case of New Delhi and Puducherry, the constitution of India provides the provision of having a Legislature with elected members.
DIVISIONS
Some of the Indian states are further divided into divisions.The states which are divided into divisions are Assam, Bihar, Haryana, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand and West Bengal. Divisions are comprised of districts.
DISTRICTS
States and Union Territories (or Divisions) are further divided into districts. There are total 593 districts in India as of today.
(source : http://censusindia.gov.in )
SUB-DISTRICTS
Districts are further subdivided into sub-districts. Sub-districts are called by different names in different states.
So a Sub-district = revenue-division = sub-division = Tehsil = Taluka = Police Station = Circle = Development Block = Community Development Block (CD Block) = Mandal etc.
Notes : Sometimes tehsils might come under sub-divisions. Same is applicable for the other names.
BLOCKS
Sub-districts are further divided into block / sub-tehsil / hobli / Firka / Circle / Sajjas. Sub-tehsil is further divided into ILR circle / Patwar circle in some districts.
Governance of Districts, Sub-Districts and Blocks - At the district level the common man comes in direct contact with the administration. The administrative head of a district is called the Deputy Commissioner or District Collector. The Superintendent of Police and heads of other departments of the state are all located in the district headquarters. The Deputy Commissioner is many times assisted by the Additional Deputy Commissioner (ADC).
The sub-divisions/revenue divisions are further headed by Sub-Divisional-Officer (SDO) or Sub-Divisional-Magistrate (SDM) / Revenue Divisional Officer / Sub-Collector / Deputy Collector / Assistant Collector / Assistant Commissioner. Under the SDO (and equivalents) there are Tahsildars/Revenue Officers. The Tahsildar belongs to the state civil service. The Tahsildar is further assisted by Naib / Deputy - Tahsildar / Patwaaris / Kanungos etc. There may be a few more hierarchies below this however it differs from state-to-state.
RURAL LOCAL BODIES
According to the 73rd amendment in the constitution of India, the system of three tier panchayati raj was introduced. The three tier system implies that there are Panchayats at village level (gram panchayat), intermediate level (panchayat samiti), district level (zilla parishad). Any state which has a population of not more than 20 lakhs, may choose not to constitute intermediate panchayats.
The 73rd amendment also introduces the concept of "Gram Sabha" as the most fundamental unit of governance at the rural local level. Gram sabha means a body consisting of persons registered in the electoral rolls relating to a village comprised within the area of Panchayat at the village level. A gram sabha may exercise such powers and perform such functions at the village level as the Legislature of a State may by Law, provide. This essentially implies that if the gram sabha functions properly, then the development of a village is inevitable.
Governance of Rural Local Bodies - The governance of the Panchayats is in the hands of elected candidates. All seats in a panchayat shall be filled by persons chosen by direct election from territorial constituencies in the Panchayat area. Panchayat elections happen every five years. Note that at the village level gram sabha still has an upper hand (only if people are aware of it) and gram sabha consists of citizens of India.
URBAN LOCAL BODIES
The 74th amendment of the constitution of India made the provision of local governance in urban areas. According to the 74th amendment (part IXA) of the constitution of India, a three tier system of local governance in urban areas has been enumerated. In every state, there would be a Nagar Panchayat (Notified area council/city council)(for an rural to urban transitional area), a Municipal Council (Nagar Palika/ Nagar Nigam) for a smaller urban area, Municipal Corporation (Mahanagar Palika/Nigam) for larger urban area.
Governance of Urban Local Bodies - All governance of the Municipalities will be in the hands of elected representatives. All seats in a Municipality shall be filled by persons chosen by direct election from territorial constituencies in the Municipal area and for this purpose each Municipal area is be divided into territorial constituencies know as wards. Ward Committees would be constituted consisting of one or more wards, within the territorial area of a Municipality having a population of 3 lakhs or more. Municipal elections are held every five years. The elected candidates of each ward is called a counciller/corporator.
The schematic representation might look something like this.
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