The

Indian State India is a federal union comprising 28 states and 8 union territories, with a total of 36 entities. The states and union territories are further subdivided into districts and smaller administrative divisions. History Pre-indepen ...

Karnataka Karnataka (; ISO: , , also known as Karunāḍu) is a state in the southwestern region of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, with the passage of the States Reorganisation Act. Originally known as Mysore State , it was renamed ''Karnat ...

consists of 31 districts grouped into 4 administrative divisions. The state geographically has 3 principal regions: the coastal region of

Karavali Kanara, also known as Karavali is the historically significant stretch of land situated by the southwestern coast of India, alongside the Arabian Sea in the present-day Indian state of Karnataka. The region comprises three civil districts, ...

, the hilly Malenadu region comprising the Western Ghats, and the

Bayaluseeme Bayaluseeme or Bayalu Seeme is the area lying to the east of Malenadu, a region of Karnataka state in India. The area is largely open plain, with few hillocks. It includes the districts of Bangalore, Bagalkot, Bijapur, Chitradurga, Davanagere, ...

region, comprising the plains of the

Deccan plateau The large Deccan Plateau in southern India is located between the Western Ghats and the Eastern Ghats, and is loosely defined as the peninsular region between these ranges that is south of the Narmada river. To the north, it is bounded by th ...

History

It took its present shape in 1956, when the former states of

Mysore Mysore (), officially Mysuru (), is a city in the southern part of the state of Karnataka, India. Mysore city is geographically located between 12° 18′ 26″ north latitude and 76° 38′ 59″ east longitude. It is located at an altitude of ...

and Coorg were merged with the Kannada-speaking districts of the former states of

Bombay Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' financial centre of India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Mumbai is the second-m ...

Hyderabad Hyderabad ( ; , ) is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Telangana and the ''de jure'' capital of Andhra Pradesh. It occupies on the Deccan Plateau along the banks of the Musi River, in the northern part of Southern India ...

, and Madras. Unified Mysore state was made up of ten districts, Bengaluru,

Kolar Kolar or Kolara is a city in the Indian state of Karnataka. It is the headquarters of Kolar district. The city is known for its milk production and gold mines. It is also known for Someshwara temple and Kolaramma temple. History The Wes ...

Tumakuru Tumkur, officially renamed as Tumakuru, is a city located in the southern part of Indian state of Karnataka. Tumkur is situated at a distance of northwest of Bangalore, the state capital along NH 48 and NH 73. It is the headquarters of the ...

, Mandya,

Mysuru Mysore (), officially Mysuru (), is a city in the southern part of the state of Karnataka, India. Mysore city is geographically located between 12° 18′ 26″ north latitude and 76° 38′ 59″ east longitude. It is located at an altitude of ...

, Hassana, Chikkamagaluru ,

Shivamogga Shimoga, officially known as Shivamogga, is a city and the district headquarters of Shimoga district in the central part of the state of Karnataka, India. The city lies on the banks of the Tunga River. Being the gateway for the hilly region o ...

Chitradurga Chitradurga is a city and the headquarters of Chitradurga district, which is located on the valley of the Vedavati river in the central part of the Indian state of Karnataka. Chitradurga is a place with historical significance which is locate ...

, and Ballari which had been transferred from Madras state to Mysore in 1953, when the new state of

Andhra Pradesh Andhra Pradesh (, abbr. AP) is a state in the south-eastern coastal region of India. It is the seventh-largest state by area covering an area of and tenth-most populous state with 49,386,799 inhabitants. It is bordered by Telangana to the ...

was created out of Madras' northern districts. Coorg State became a district known as

Kodagu Kodagu (also known by its former name Coorg) is an administrative district in the Karnataka state of India. Before 1956, it was an administratively separate Coorg State, at which point it was merged into an enlarged Mysore State. It occupies ...

, Dakshina Kannada was transferred from Madras State,

Uttara Kannada Uttara Kannada is a district in the Indian state of Karnataka. Uttara Kannada District is a major coastal district of Karnataka, and currently holding the title of the largest district in Karnataka. It is bordered by the state of Goa and Bel ...

Dharwad Dharwad (), also known as Dharwar, is a city located in the north western part of the Indian state of Karnataka. It is the headquarters of the Dharwad district of Karnataka and forms a contiguous urban area with the city of Hubballi. It was merge ...

, Belagavi, and Vijayapura from Bombay State.

Bidar Bidar (/ biːd̪ər/) is a city in the north-eastern part of Karnataka state in India. It is the headquarters of Bidar district, which borders Maharashtra and Telangana. It is a rapidly urbanising city in the wider ''Bidar Metropolitan area ...

Kalaburagi Kalaburagi, formerly known as Gulbarga, is a city in the Indian state of Karnataka. It is the administrative headquarters of the Kalaburagi district and is the largest city in the region of North Karnataka (Kalyana-Karnataka). Kalaburagi is 6 ...

, and Raichuru from Hyderabad State. It received its new name of

in the year 1973. On 15 August 1986, Chief minister Ramakrishna Hegde's administration created districts of, * Bengaluru Rural and

Bengaluru Urban Bangalore Urban district is the most densely populated district in the Indian state of Karnataka. It is surrounded by the Bangalore Rural district on the east and north, the Ramanagara district on the west and the Krishnagiri district of Tami ...

from erstwhile Bengaluru. On 25 August 1997, Chief minister J. H. Patel's administration created districts of, *

Chamarajanagara Chamarajanagar or Chamarajanagara is a town in the southern part of Karnataka, India. Named after Chamaraja Wodeyar IX, the erstwhile king of Mysore, previously known as 'Arikottara'. Chamarajanagara is the headquarters of Chamarajanagar distr ...

from

* Davanagere from

, Ballari and

* Bagalkote from Vijayapura * Gadaga and

Haveri Haveri is a city in Karnataka, India. It is the administrative headquarters of Haveri district. Haveri is famous for its cardamom garlands and Byadagi red chillies. Around 25 km away, there is a place called Bada, which is the birthplace o ...

from Dharwada *

Udupi Udupi (alternate spelling Udipi; also known as Odipu) is a city in the Indian state of Karnataka. Udupi is situated about north of the educational, commercial and industrial hub of Mangalore and about west of state capital Bangalore by road. ...

from Dakshina Kannada * Koppala from Raichuru On 21 June 2007, Chief minister H. D. Kumarswamy's administration created districts of, * Ramanagara from Bengaluru Rural *

Chikkaballapura Chikkaballapur is the district headquarters of the newly created Chikkaballapur district in the state of Karnataka, India, which is carved out from Kolar district. It is located within 3 km of Muddenahalli (the birthplace of eminent enginee ...

from

On 30 December 2009, Chief minister B. S. Yediyurappa's administration created district of, * Yadagiri from

. On 18 November 2020, Chief minister B. S. Yediyurappa's administration created district of, *

Vijayanagara Vijayanagara () was the capital city of the historic Vijayanagara Empire. Located on the banks of the Tungabhadra River, it spread over a large area and included the modern era Group of Monuments at Hampi site in Vijayanagara district, Bell ...

from Ballari. Currently there are demands to carve out the following district, * Chikkodi and Gokak from Belagavi (largest district) * Tipaturu and

Madhugiri Madhugiri is a city in Tumkur district in the Indian state of Karnataka. The city derives its name from a hillock, Madhu-giri (honey-hill) which lies to its south. Madhugiri is one of the 34 educational districts of the Karnataka state. Geogr ...

from

* Sirsi from

* Putturu from Dakshina Kannada * Hunasuru from

* Jamakhandi from Bagalkote * Indi from Vijayapura *

Sedam Sedam or Seram is a town in Kalaburagi district in the Indian state of Karnataka. It is also the headquarters of the Sedam Taluka. Geography The town is spread over an area of .The population and area of major towns in Karnataka has been menti ...

from

* Sindhanuru from Raichuru

Administrative structure

A district of an Indian state is an administrative geographical unit, headed by a District Commissioner, an officer belonging to the

Indian Administrative Service The Indian Administrative Service (IAS) is the administrative arm of the All India Services of Government of India. Considered the premier civil service of India, the IAS is one of the three arms of the All India Services along with the Indian ...

selected through the UPSC examination. The district commissioner is assisted by a number of officers belonging to the

Karnataka Administrative Service Karnataka Administrative Service (KAS) is the civil service of Karnataka state in India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest c ...

selected through the KPSC examination. A Superintendent of Police (India), usually an officer belonging to the

Indian Police Service The Indian Police Service ( IPS) is a civil service under the All India Services. It replaced the Indian Imperial Police in 1948, a year after India became independent from the British Raj. Along with the Indian Administrative Service (I ...

selected through the UPSC examination. is entrusted with the responsibility of maintaining law and order and related issues of the district. He is assisted by the officers of the Karnataka Police Service and other Karnataka Police officials. Big cities like Bengaluru, Belagavi, Hubballi-Dharwad,

Mangaluru Mangalore (), officially known as Mangaluru, is a major port city of the Indian state of Karnataka. It is located between the Arabian Sea and the Western Ghats about west of Bangalore, the state capital, 20 km north of Karnataka–Ker ...

and

are headed by a Commissioner of Police holding the rank of Additional Director General of Police(ADGP) for Bengaluru, Inspector General of Police (IGP) for Mysuru and Deputy Inspector General of Police (DIG) for Belagavi, Hubballi-Dharwad, Kalaburagi and Mangaluru. They are assisted by officers belonging to the

Karnataka Police Service The Karnataka State Police Department is the law enforcement agency for the Indian state of Karnataka. The department is headed by the Director General of Police, Director General and Inspector General of Police. Organization The District Poli ...

selected through the KPSC examination. A Deputy Conservator of Forests, an officer belonging to the

Indian Forest Service The Indian Forest Service (IFS) is one of the three All India Services of the Government of India. The other two All India Services being the Indian Administrative Service and the Indian Police Service. It was constituted in the year 1966 und ...

selected through the UPSC examination is responsible for managing the forests, the environment and wildlife of the district. He is assisted by the officers of the Karnataka Forest Service selected through the KPSC examination. Sect-oral development is looked after by the district head of each development department such as Public Works, Health, Education, Agriculture, Animal husbandry, etc. These officers belong to the various state services.

History

Administrative structure

Administrative divisions

Alphabetical listing of districts

See also

References

External links