Sikkim, India’s second-smallest state by area (7,096 sq km), is defined by its Himalayan geography, with elevations ranging from 280 metres to 8,586 metres. The state’s population stood at approximately 6.8 lakh in 2021, up from 6.1 lakh in the 2011 Census. Urbanisation has risen sharply, from 11.1% in 2001 to 25.1% in 2011, with growth concentrated around Gangtok and along main roads at higher elevations.
Lakshadweep is the smallest Union Territory (UT) in India with an area of 32 sq km, a most remarkable outlier of all the States and Union Territories of India. The Union Territory has 36 islands, consisting of 12 atolls, 3 reefs, 5 submerged banks of which only 10 are inhabited (Kavaratti, Agatti, Amini, Kadmat, Kiltan, Chetlat, Bitra, Andrott, Kalpeni and Minicoy) and are treated as a single uni-district administration. According to Census 2011, Lakshadweep has a population of 64,473, with its literacy rate, since then, having risen to the second highest in the country, at 91.85 percent, and sex ratio at 946 females per 1,000 males. More than 93 percent of the native people are Muslims and the islands (excluding Minicoy) are counted as a tribal area with the maximum percentage of Scheduled Tribe population in all the Union territories.
Policy UpdateAyana N K Background Meghalaya, meaning “the abode of clouds,” is a hill state in Northeast India covering about 22,430 sq km. According to the 2011 Census, it has a population of around 29.67 lakh. The state is predominantly…
Puducherry is a Union Territory with a distinctive administrative geography. Unlike most states and Union Territories that form one continuous geographical unit, Puducherry consists of four separate regions—Puducherry, Karaikal, Mahe, and Yanam—located along different parts of India's southern coastline.
Old-age pensions are one of the oldest tools of social protection anywhere. In India it sits at the crosshairs of elderly poverty relief and dignity. The Union government's main instrument is the National Social Assistance Programme (NSAP) which is run by the Ministry of Rural Development. It has operated since 1995 and today comprises five components - the largest is the Indira Gandhi National Old Age Pension Scheme (IGNOAPS). IGNOAPS was introduced in 2007 (NSAP, 1995). IGNOAPS offers Below Poverty Line citizens aged 60 and above a monthly pension of ₹200 and which further becomes ₹500 after the recipient turns 80 years old (NSAP, 1995).
Policy UpdatePragya Raghav Background Kerala’s welfare delivery operates in a state where geography, demography and social needs make reaching people effectively particularly important. Spread across 38,863 sq km and home to nearly 3.6 crore people, Kerala combines a densely populated…
An agriculture-driven economy requires technologies and practices suited to its geographical and ecological conditions. This is particularly relevant to the Indian state of Sikkim, where the fragile Himalayan environment and historical farming practices limited the suitability of Green Revolution technologies. Concerns over food security and the ecological costs of chemical-intensive agriculture encouraged the state to pursue traditional and organic farming as a deliberate response to the specific conditions of Himalayan agriculture.