- published: 29 Oct 2009
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India is a federal union of states comprising twenty-eight states and seven union territories. The states and territories are further subdivided into districts and so on.
The Census 2011 codes given in the table have been assigned by Census India from North-West to South-East.
The Constitution of India distributes the sovereign powers exercisable with respect to the territory of any State between the Union and that State. "Article 73 broadly stated, provides that the executive power of the Union shall extend to the matters with respect to which Parliament has power to make laws. Article 162 similarly provides that the executive power of a State shall extend to the matters with respect to which the Legislature of a State has power to make laws. The Supreme Court has reiterated this position when it ruled in the Ramanaiah case that the executive power of the Union or of the State broadly speaking, is coextensive and coterminous with its respective legislative power." (italics in original)
The subcontinent of India has been ruled by many different ethnic groups throughout its history, each imposing their own administrative divisions on the region.[Full citation needed] During the British Raj, the original administrative structure was mostly kept, and India was divided into provinces that were directly governed by the British and princely states which were nominally controlled by a local prince or raja, although the British held ultimate power over them.