Uttarakhand General Knowledge and Administrative Setup
This domain is state-specific: formation history, geography, districts, and the administrative and cooperative machinery of Uttarakhand. Examiners favour exact facts - dates, district counts, and which authority sits where.
Formation and political geography
- Carved out of Uttar Pradesh under the Uttar Pradesh Reorganisation Act 2000, Uttarakhand became a state on 9 November 2000 as the 27th state; it was initially named Uttaranchal and renamed Uttarakhand in 2007.
- Capital: Dehradun (interim). Gairsain in Chamoli district (Bhararisain) was declared the summer capital in 2020.
- High Court: Nainital. Legislative Assembly: 70 seats.
- 13 districts in two divisions - Garhwal (Dehradun, Haridwar, Pauri, Tehri, Rudraprayag, Chamoli, Uttarkashi) and Kumaon (Almora, Bageshwar, Champawat, Nainital, Pithoragarh, Udham Singh Nagar).
- Nanda Devi is the highest peak entirely within India; the Ganga and Yamuna rise from Gangotri and Yamunotri; the Valley of Flowers is a UNESCO World Heritage site; Corbett is India's oldest national park.
Administrative setup
Secretariat at Dehradun, headed by the Chief Secretary; Divisional Commissioners for Garhwal and Kumaon; District Magistrates at district level; three-tier Panchayati Raj. On the cooperative side, the Registrar of Cooperative Societies heads the department, with the Uttarakhand State Cooperative Bank at the apex and district cooperative banks below it.
Worked example
'Which division does Pithoragarh belong to?' Reasoning: Kumaon division comprises Almora, Bageshwar, Champawat, Nainital, Pithoragarh and Udham Singh Nagar - six districts; everything else falls in Garhwal's seven. Answer: Kumaon.
Traps
- Writing Dehradun as the High Court seat - it is Nainital.
- Mixing the formation date (9 November 2000) with the renaming year (2007).
- Assuming Gairsain is the working capital; it is a declared summer capital.