Post India’s independence in 1947, there were 562 princely states. Most of the states acceded to India. Many of these princely states were transformed into new states. Later, with the States Reorganization Act of 1956 , Indian states were arranged on a linguistic basis. Hence, it becomes important to know which states were formed when. The topic, ‘Indian States Formation Dates’ envisages to list down the foundation days of the Indian States and UTs. This article will give further information of Reorganization of States.
Knowledge of our states and UTs in all forms will help in UPSC Prelims examination.
List of Formation Dates of Indian States PDF- Download PDF Here
A few important related topics for the IAS Exam can also be checked and are linked below:
The list below comprises the formation dates of Indian States. There are states that were formed as provinces but achieved statehood on a later date which is also mentioned in the table below:
| Indian States | Formation Dates/Years | Formed By | Status Before Foundation |
| Andhra Pradesh | 1 November 1953 | States Reorganisation Act, 1956. | Part of Andhra State and Hyderabad State |
| Arunachal Pradesh | 20 February 1987 | Created as a Union Territory by the North-Eastern Areas (Reorganisation) Act, 1971. Converted to a state by the State of Arunachal Pradesh Act, 1986 | Arunachal Pradesh Union Territory |
| Assam | 1950 | Founded as Ahom Kingdom, reorganised as North-East Frontier Province in 1874, Eastern Bengal and Assam in 1905, Assam Province in 1912, achieved statehood in 1950. | Part of Kamarupa Kingdom |
| Bihar | 1950 | Founded as Bihar and Orissa Province, reorganised as Bihar Province in 1936, achieved statehood in 1950. | Part of Bengal Province, British India |
| Chhattisgarh | 1 November 2000 | The Madhya Pradesh Reorganisation Act, 2000 founded it. | Part of Madhya Pradesh |
| Goa | 30 May 1987 | Founded by the State of Goa Act, 1986. | Part of Goa, Daman and Diu |
| Gujarat | 1 May 1960 | Founded by the Bombay Reorganisation Act, 1960. | Part of Bombay State |
| Haryana | 1 November 1966 | Founded by the Punjab Reorganisation Act, 1966. | Part of East Punjab |
| Himachal Pradesh | 1971 | Founded by the Himachal Pradesh (Administration) Order, 1948 as Himachal Pradesh Province, reorganised as Himachal Pradesh (Part C State) in 1950, Himachal Pradesh Union Territory in 1956, achieved statehood in 1971. | Part of the princely states of former Punjab States Agency |
| Jharkhand | 15 November 2000 | Founded by the Bihar Reorganisation Act, 2000 | Part of Bihar |
| Karnataka | 1 November 1956 | Founded by the States Reorganisation Act, 1956 as Mysore State, renamed Karnataka in 1973 | Part of Bombay State, Coorg State, Hyderabad State and Mysore State |
| Kerala | 1 November 1956 | Founded by the States Reorganisation Act, 1956 | Part of Madras State and Travancore-Cochin |
| Madhya Pradesh | 1 November 1950 | Achieved statehood in 1950 | Part of the Central Provinces and Berar, Princely State of Makrai and the princely states of the former Eastern States Agency |
| Maharashtra | 1 May 1960 | Founded by the Bombay Reorganization Act, 1960. | Part of Bombay State |
| Manipur | 21 January 1972 | Founded by the North-Eastern Areas (Reorganisation) Act, 1971 | Manipur Union Territory |
| Meghalaya | 21 January 1972 | Founded by the North-Eastern Areas (Reorganisation) Act, 1971 | Part of Assam |
| Mizoram | 20 February 1987 | Created as a Union Territory by the North-Eastern Areas (Reorganisation) Act, 1971. Converted to a state by the State of Mizoram Act, 1986 | Mizoram Union Territory |
| Nagaland | 1 December 1963 | Founded by the State of Nagaland Act, 1962 | Nagaland Union Territory |
| Odisha | 1950 | Founded as Orissa Province in 1936, achieved statehood in 1950, renamed Odisha on 1st November, 2011. | Part of Bihar and Orissa Province, British India |
| Punjab | 1947 | Founded by the Punjab Reorganisation Act, 1966 | Part of East Punjab |
| Rajasthan | 30 March 1949 | Rajasthan, earlier known as Rajputana, came into existence | Part of the princely states of former Rajputana Agency |
| Sikkim | 16 May 1975 | Founded by the Thirty-sixth Amendment of the Constitution of India in 1975 | Kingdom of Sikkim |
| Tamil Nadu | 1 November 1956 | Founded by the States Reorganisation Act, 1956 as Madras State, renamed Tamil Nadu in 1969 | Part of Madras State and Travancore-Cochin |
| Telangana | 2 June 2014 | Founded by the Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act, 2014 | Part of Andhra Pradesh |
| Tripura | 21 January 1972 | Founded by the North-Eastern Areas (Reorganisation) Act, 1971 | Tripura Union Territory |
| Uttar Pradesh | 24 January 1950 | Created as the United Provinces of Agra and Oudh during British rule in 1937 and Achieved statehood as UP in 1950. | United Provinces |
| Uttarakhand | 9 November 2000 | Founded by the Uttar Pradesh Reorganisation Act, 2000 as Uttaranchal, renamed Uttarakhand in 2007. | Part of Uttar Pradesh |
| West Bengal | 1950 | Achieved statehood in 1950 | Part of Bengal Province, British India |
Note –
Aspirants can go through the following links to assist their UPSC exam preparation –
| Indian Union Territories | Formation Dates & Years | Foundation | Status Before Foundation |
| Andaman and Nicobar Islands | 1 November 1956 | Founded by the States Reorganisation Act, 1956. | Andaman and Nicobar Islands (Part D State) |
| Chandigarh | 1 November 1966 | Founded by the Punjab Reorganisation Act, 1966. | Part of East Punjab |
| Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu | 26 January 2020 | Founded by the Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu (Merger of Union Territories) Act, 2019. | Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu |
| Delhi | 1 November 1956 | Founded by the States Reorganisation Act, 1956. | Delhi (Part C State) |
| Jammu and Kashmir | 31 October 2019 | Founded by the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act, 2019. | Part of Jammu and Kashmir State |
| Ladakh | 31 October 2019 | Founded by the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act, 2019. | Part of Jammu and Kashmir State |
| Lakshadweep | 1 November 1956 | Founded by the States Reorganisation Act, 1956. | Part of Madras State |
| Puducherry | 1 November 1954 | Achieved union territory status in 1962, renamed Puducherry in 2007. | Pondichéry, French India |
Some relevant links related to exam preparation are provided below –
List of Formation Dates of Indian States PDF- Download PDF Here
You can visit the UPSC Syllabus page to better familiarise yourself with the exam pattern. For more UPSC related preparation materials and articles, visit the links given in the table below: