Union Territories of India: List of 8 UTs with Capitals, Map, and Difference from States

India is divided into 28 states and 8 union territories. The union territories of India are regions that the Central Government administers directly or through a Lieutenant Governor or Administrator it appoints. Three of them, Delhi, Puducherry, and Jammu and Kashmir, also have their own elected assemblies.

If you have ever wondered why Chandigarh is not a state, or why Ladakh and Lakshadweep have no chief minister, this guide answers it. You will learn what union territories are, see all 8 with their capitals, find where each lies on the map, and understand exactly how they differ from states.

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What Are Union Territories? Definition and Meaning

A union territory (UT) is a part of India that is governed directly by the Central Government instead of by a state government. The President of India administers each UT through an appointed Lieutenant Governor or Administrator, under Article 239 of the Constitution.

In simple language, a state is like a family that runs its own household, while a union territory is more like a household the national government helps manage. The Centre decides who leads the administration, and Parliament can make laws for the territory.

This does not mean every UT is run the same way. Delhi, Puducherry, and Jammu and Kashmir elect their own assemblies and chief ministers. The other five do not. The Constitution recognises UTs in Article 1, which describes India’s territory as the states, the union territories, and any other territory acquired.

How Many Union Territories Are There in India?

India has 8 union territories. The number has been 8 since 26 January 2020, when Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu were merged into one UT. Before that, India had 9 UTs for a short time.

Two reorganisations shaped the present count:

31 October 2019: The Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act, 2019 took effect. The former state became two UTs, Jammu and Kashmir, and Ladakh.
26 January 2020: Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu became a single UT.

Geographically, the 8 UTs are spread widely. Two are island groups (Andaman and Nicobar, Lakshadweep), two are in the Himalayan north (Jammu and Kashmir, Ladakh), two sit in the northern plains (Delhi, Chandigarh), and two lie on the coasts (Puducherry and Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu).

List of 8 Union Territories of India with Capitals

S. No.	Union Territory	Capital	Key Fact
1	Andaman and Nicobar Islands	Sri Vijaya Puram (formerly Port Blair)	An island group in the Bay of Bengal, led by a Lieutenant Governor
2	Chandigarh	Chandigarh	Also the joint capital of Punjab and Haryana
3	Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu	Daman	Formed by a merger on 26 January 2020
4	Delhi (National Capital Territory)	Delhi	Has its own legislature under Article 239AA
5	Jammu and Kashmir	Srinagar (summer), Jammu (winter)	Became a UT on 31 October 2019, with a legislature
6	Ladakh	Leh	Largest UT by area, no legislature
7	Lakshadweep	Kavaratti	Smallest UT by area, a group of coral islands
8	Puducherry	Puducherry	Former French territory with its own assembly

Notable points about this list:

Seasonal capital: Jammu and Kashmir has two capitals, Srinagar in summer and Jammu in winter.
Name change: The Andaman and Nicobar capital, long known as Port Blair, was officially renamed Sri Vijaya Puram in 2024. Many textbooks and exam keys still print the old name, so students should know both.
Delhi vs New Delhi: New Delhi is the capital of India. The UT itself is the National Capital Territory of Delhi.
Shared capital: Chandigarh serves three roles: capital of the UT, of Punjab, and of Haryana.

Union Territories of India Map: Location and Geography

Use a clearly labelled political map of India that shows all 8 UTs. Place it right after this section’s introduction. Use the official map from the Survey of India or a publisher-verified map, because border depiction is a legal matter in India.

Suggested caption: Political map of India highlighting the 8 union territories and their capitals.

Suggested alt text: Union territories of India map showing all 8 union territories and their geographical locations.

Here is where each UT lies, in student-friendly terms:

Type	Union Territories	Where to find them
Island	Andaman and Nicobar Islands	Bay of Bengal, east of the mainland
Island	Lakshadweep	Arabian Sea, off the Kerala coast
Coastal	Puducherry	Four parts on the coasts of Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, and Kerala
Coastal	Daman and Diu (part of the merged UT)	Gujarat coast; Diu is itself an island
Inland	Dadra and Nagar Haveli (part of the merged UT)	Between Gujarat and Maharashtra
Inland	Delhi	North India, on the Yamuna river
Inland	Chandigarh	Between Punjab and Haryana, near the Shivalik foothills
Inland (Himalayan)	Jammu and Kashmir, Ladakh	Far north, bordering Pakistan and China

Notice that the merged UT of Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu is not one continuous block of land. Its parts lie in different places along and near the Gujarat and Maharashtra border.

Union Territories of India: Meaning and Examples

Five examples show how different UTs can be.

Delhi: The seat of the national government. It is a UT with a special status, called the National Capital Territory, and an elected assembly of 70 members.
Chandigarh: A planned city designed under the guidance of architect Le Corbusier. It became a UT on 1 November 1966, when Punjab was split into Punjab and Haryana, so it could serve both states without belonging to either.
Puducherry: A former French colony. It has four geographically separate parts, Puducherry, Karaikal, Mahe, and Yanam, each near a different state.
Ladakh: A high-altitude, cold desert region of the Himalayas. It has had UT status since 31 October 2019 and is governed by a Lieutenant Governor.
Andaman and Nicobar Islands: An island chain of more than 500 islands, though only a few dozen are inhabited. It sits near key sea routes, which gives it strategic importance.

Difference Between States and Union Territories in India

The main difference is who governs. A state has its own elected government that shares power with the Centre under the Constitution. A union territory is administered by the President through a representative, though some UTs also have elected governments with limited powers.

Factor	State	Union Territory
Meaning	A self-governing unit of the Indian federation	A territory administered by the Centre
Administrative control	State government	Central Government (President through LG or Administrator)
Constitutional framework	Part VI of the Constitution	Part VIII (Articles 239 to 241)
Head of administration	Governor (appointed by the President)	Lieutenant Governor or Administrator (appointed by the President)
Elected government	Always	Only in Delhi, Puducherry, and Jammu and Kashmir
Legislative assembly	Every state has one	Only three UTs have one
Law-making powers	Can make laws on State List and Concurrent List subjects	Parliament can legislate on any subject; assemblies in UTs have limited powers
Relationship with Centre	Federal partner with defined powers	Dependent on the Centre for key decisions
Examples	Kerala, Punjab, Rajasthan	Delhi, Ladakh, Lakshadweep

Important exceptions: The table shows the general rule. Delhi, Puducherry, and Jammu and Kashmir have elected governments, but the Centre still holds important powers. In Delhi, for example, public order, police, and land remain with the Centre. A UT with a legislature is therefore not the same as a state.

Which Union Territories Have Legislative Assemblies?

Three union territories have legislative assemblies: Delhi, Puducherry, and Jammu and Kashmir. Each has an elected assembly and a Council of Ministers headed by a Chief Minister. The Lieutenant Governor is the Centre’s representative and holds the executive authority formally.

UT	Legal basis	Notes
Delhi	Article 239AA (added by the 69th Amendment, 1991) and the Government of NCT of Delhi Act, 1991	70-member assembly. Centre controls police, public order, and land.
Puducherry	Article 239A (added in 1962) and the Government of Union Territories Act, 1963	30 elected members plus 3 nominated members.
Jammu and Kashmir	Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act, 2019	90 elected seats. The Lieutenant Governor holds powers over police and public order.

The other five UTs, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Chandigarh, Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu, Ladakh, and Lakshadweep, have no legislature. A Lieutenant Governor (Andaman and Nicobar, Ladakh) or an Administrator (Chandigarh, Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu, Lakshadweep) runs each one. Under Article 240, the President can also make regulations for peace, progress, and good government in some of these territories.

Current note on Jammu and Kashmir: The UT’s assembly passed a resolution on 28 September 2026 seeking restoration of statehood, and the matter has been before the Supreme Court. As of this writing, Jammu and Kashmir remains a union territory. Because this is a live issue, check the news on the day you publish.

Why Does India Have Union Territories?

Union territories exist for specific reasons, not by accident.

National administrative needs: Delhi is the seat of the national government, so the Centre keeps a strong role in running it.
Strategic and geographical importance: Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Lakshadweep, and Ladakh sit in or near sensitive border and sea regions.
Historical circumstances: Puducherry joined India from French rule, and Dadra, Nagar Haveli, Daman, and Diu came from Portuguese rule. Each kept a separate administrative identity.
Shared or special arrangements: Chandigarh had to serve both Punjab and Haryana after their separation.
Small size and limited resources: Some territories, like Lakshadweep, are too small to run as full states with all state-level machinery.

Brief History of Union Territories in India

1950: The Constitution grouped territories into Part A, B, C, and D states.
1956: The States Reorganisation Act, 1956, together with the Seventh Amendment, created 14 states and 6 union territories, replacing the old categories.
1961 to 1962: Dadra and Nagar Haveli, Goa, Daman and Diu, and Puducherry were brought into the Indian Union as UTs.
1966: Chandigarh became a UT when Punjab was reorganised.
1971 to 1987: Himachal Pradesh, Manipur, Tripura, Mizoram, Arunachal Pradesh, and Goa moved from UT status to full statehood.
1991: Delhi received special status as the National Capital Territory through the 69th Amendment.
2019: The Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act created the UTs of Jammu and Kashmir, and Ladakh.
2020: Dadra and Nagar Haveli merged with Daman and Diu on 26 January.

Interesting Facts About the 8 Union Territories of India

Ladakh is the largest UT by area (roughly 59,000 sq km), while Lakshadweep is the smallest (about 32 sq km).
Delhi has the largest population of any UT (about 16.8 million in the 2011 Census).
Chandigarh is shared: It is the capital of two states and is itself a UT.
Puducherry has four separate parts located inside the territory of three different states.
Lakshadweep is made of coral islands in the Arabian Sea, and only some are inhabited.
Andaman and Nicobar Islands are in the Bay of Bengal and are among India’s most strategically placed territories.
J&K has two capitals that change with the season.
Delhi’s assembly has limited powers because the Centre keeps police, public order, and land.
The merger of two UTs in 2020 was done to improve administrative efficiency and reduce duplication.
Former French and Portuguese territories are among India’s UTs, a visible link to colonial history.

Easy Ways to Remember the Union Territories of India

Group them by type. Remembering 2 islands, 2 Himalayan, 2 plains, and 2 coastal units makes the list easy.

Group	UTs
Islands	Andaman and Nicobar, Lakshadweep
Himalayan north	Jammu and Kashmir, Ladakh
Northern plains	Delhi, Chandigarh
Coastal	Puducherry, Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu

Use a first-letter sentence. A, L, D, C, P, J, L, D stands for the eight names. Try: “A Lazy Dog Chases Purple Jackals, Leaping Daily.” Match each word to Andaman, Lakshadweep, Delhi, Chandigarh, Puducherry, Jammu and Kashmir, Ladakh, Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu.

Remember the three with assemblies as DPJ: Delhi, Puducherry, Jammu and Kashmir.

Quick tips:

Pair the capital with a clue: Kavaratti for Lakshadweep (K for coral), Leh for Ladakh (L and L).
Draw a blank India map and label the UTs from memory once a week.
Learn the old and new names of the Andaman capital together.

Conclusion

Union territories are parts of India that the Central Government administers directly, and the country has 8 of them alongside 28 states. They exist because of strategic location, history, shared capitals, and national administrative needs. Remember that they are not all alike: Delhi, Puducherry, and Jammu and Kashmir have elected assemblies, while the other five do not. When you study the union territories of India, always learn the capital, the location, and the governing structure together. That trio of facts answers most exam questions and clears the usual confusion between a state and a union territory.

Frequently Asked Questions

What are union territories?

Union territories are parts of India administered directly by the Central Government through a Lieutenant Governor or Administrator appointed by the President. Unlike states, they do not have full self-government. Delhi, Puducherry, and Jammu and Kashmir are exceptions with elected assemblies and chief ministers, but with limited powers.

How many union territories are there in India?

India has 8 union territories. The count became 8 on 26 January 2020, after Dadra and Nagar Haveli merged with Daman and Diu. India also has 28 states, making 36 administrative units in total.

What are the names of all 8 union territories?

The eight are Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Chandigarh, Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu, Delhi, Jammu and Kashmir, Ladakh, Lakshadweep, and Puducherry.

What are the capitals of the union territories of India?

The capitals are Sri Vijaya Puram (formerly Port Blair), Chandigarh, Daman, Delhi, Srinagar (summer) and Jammu (winter), Leh, Kavaratti, and Puducherry, in the order of the list above.

Which is the largest union territory in India by area?

Ladakh is the largest union territory by area, covering roughly 59,000 square kilometres. It became a UT on 31 October 2019. Delhi is the largest by population, not by area.

Which is the smallest union territory in India?

Lakshadweep is the smallest UT by area, at about 32 square kilometres. It is a group of coral islands in the Arabian Sea off the Kerala coast. Its capital is Kavaratti.

What is the difference between a state and a union territory?

A state has its own elected government and shares power with the Centre. A union territory is administered by the Centre through a Lieutenant Governor or Administrator. Only three UTs, Delhi, Puducherry, and Jammu and Kashmir, have elected assemblies, and those have limited powers.