1.3. India’s Administrative Division

India, that is Bharat, is a union of states. India has total twenty-eight1 states and seven Union Territories (Figure 3). New Delhi is the capital of India. Rajasthan is the largest state while Goa is the smallest state in terms of geographical area. The Tropic of Cancer (23° 30'N) passes through Mizoram, Tripura, West Bengal, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Gujarat (8 states). Jammu and Kashmir makes northern border while Tamil Nadu makes southern border. Similarly, Gujarat and Arunachal Pradesh are the western most and eastern most states respectively. Except Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Haryana, all states share international or marine boundary.