Indian States & UTs GK Notes
State-wise GK for every state and union territory: capitals, geography, culture, festivals, parks and firsts.
2 topics22 MCQs5 previous-year questions2 quizzesUpdated
Indian States and UTs is state-wise GK: one topic per state, with the smaller north-eastern states and the union territories grouped together. The list opens with the Formation and Reorganisation of States, then runs from Uttar Pradesh GK, Bihar GK, Rajasthan GK, Madhya Pradesh GK and Haryana GK through Maharashtra, Gujarat, West Bengal, Tamil Nadu and Kerala to Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, and Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh. Two summary topics close it: State Capitals, High Courts and Assemblies, and State-wise Dances, Festivals and Symbols at a Glance.
State PSC and state subordinate exams such as UPPSC, BPSC, RPSC, MPPSC and HSSC ask the most: districts, rivers, dams, wildlife sanctuaries, folk arts, fairs and freedom fighters of the state. SSC CGL, CHSL and GD and RRB NTPC ask a state fact from anywhere in India: which state a dance belongs to, where a national park lies, which high court serves a union territory. Capitals and state symbols are the most repeated questions.
The notes run in syllabus order, but if you are preparing for a state exam, open your own state's topic first and then the two summary topics for the all-India questions. Every topic ends with practice MCQs, previous-year questions carry the exam and year tag, and mixed quiz sets test all states together. GK24 keeps the notes in English and Hindi.
Topic-wise notes
- 1
Formation and Reorganisation of States
Articles 1 to 4, the Dhar Commission and JVP Committee, Andhra State in 1953, the Fazl Ali Commission and the States Reorganisation Act 1956, and every state formed afterwards with its date.
10 MCQs3 previous-year questions
- 2
Uttar Pradesh GK
Formation, capital, rivers, symbols, national park, historic cities, World Heritage sites, crafts, crops and the first office holders of Uttar Pradesh, as exams ask them.
12 MCQs2 previous-year questions
Frequently Asked Questions
How to prepare state-wise GK for a state PSC exam?
Start with your own state's topic and learn it in layers: formation and districts first, then rivers, dams and wildlife sanctuaries, then folk dances, fairs, festivals and tribes, then freedom fighters, firsts and recent awards. Attempt the topic's MCQs after each layer. Then read the Formation and Reorganisation of States topic and the two summary topics, because state PSC papers also ask general India-level questions. Keep the state's current affairs alongside.
Which state GK questions are common in SSC CGL and RRB NTPC?
The usual ones link a fact to its state: a folk dance, a festival, a national park or tiger reserve, a dam or river, a classical art, a state animal or bird, a high court, a border or the year a state was formed. Newly formed states and union territories and the north-eastern states come up often. The summary topics on capitals, high courts and state-wise dances and festivals are the quickest way to cover these.
Do I need to study all states or only my own state?
It depends on the exam. For a state PSC or a state police, patwari or clerk exam, your own state's topic matters most and deserves the most time. For SSC, railway and bank exams the questions can come from any state, so use the summary topics and the mixed quiz sets rather than reading every state note in depth. If you write both kinds of exams, do your own state in depth and the rest at summary level.
How is this subject different from Static GK?
Static GK holds India-wide and world lists: national symbols, capitals and currencies, superlatives, headquarters and firsts, including one topic on state symbols and nicknames. Indian States and UTs goes state by state and puts every fact about one state in one place: geography, culture, institutions and firsts. Use Static GK for the all-India lists and this subject when an exam names a state or when you need one state in depth.
Are festivals and folk dances of states asked in exams?
Yes, regularly. SSC, railway and state exams ask which state a dance or festival belongs to, and state PSCs ask for the district or community linked to a fair, a craft or a folk form. These questions repeat because the pairings do not change. The State-wise Dances, Festivals and Symbols at a Glance topic lists them together and each state note gives the detail; the previous-year questions show the pairings exams like most.
What do exams ask about Union Territories?
Which body administers a union territory, which of them have a legislature, the capital, the high court whose jurisdiction covers it, and facts about its islands, ports or borders. The changes of 2019 and 2020, when Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh became union territories and Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu were merged, are asked often. The Union Territories GK topic and the Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh topic cover these.