Uttar Pradesh

Uttar Pradesh is a state in northern India. With over 241 million inhabitants, it is the most populated state in India as well as the most populous country subdivision in the world – more populous than all but three other countries outside of India. – accounting for 16.5 percent of the total population of India. It was established in 1950 after India had become a republic. It is a successor to the United Provinces, established in 1935 by renaming the United Provinces of Agra and Oudh, in turn, established in 1902 from the North-Western Provinces and the Oudh Province. Lucknow serves as the state capital, with Prayagraj being the judicial capital. The state is divided into 18 divisions and 75 districts. On 9 November 2000, a new state, Uttaranchal, was created from Uttar Pradesh's western Himalayan hill region. The two major rivers of the state, the Ganges and its tributary Yamuna, meet at the Triveni Sangam in Prayagraj, a Hindu pilgrimage site. Other notable rivers are Gomti and Saryu. The forest cover in the state is 6.1 per cent of the state's geographical area. The cultivable area is 82 per cent of the total geographical area and the net area sown is 68.5 per cent of the cultivable area.