Puducherry (union territory)

Puducherry
Union Territory
Top to bottom:
Promenade Beach, Pondicherry harbour, Beach in Pondicherry
Official emblem of Puducherry
Emblem of Puducherry
Motto(s): 
Satyameva Jayate
(Truth alone triumphs)
Anthem: "Tamil Thai Valthu"[1]
The map of India showing Puducherry
Location of Puducherry in India
Coordinates: 11°54′40″N 79°48′45″E / 11.911082°N 79.812533°E / 11.911082; 79.812533
CountryIndia
RegionSouth India
Admission to union1 November 1954[2]
Formation1 July 1963[3]
Capital
and largest city		Pondicherry
Districts4
Government
 • BodyGovernment of Puducherry
 • Lieutenant governorKuniyil Kailashnathan
 • Chief ministerN. Rangaswamy (AINRC)
 • Chief secretaryDr.Sharat Chauhan,IAS
LegislatureUnicameral
 • AssemblyPuducherry Legislative Assembly[4] (33 seats)
National ParliamentParliament of India
 • Rajya Sabha1 seat
 • Lok Sabha1 seat
High CourtMadras High Court
Area
 • Total
483 km2 (186 sq mi)
 • Rank34th
Population
 (2011)
 • Total
1,394,467
 • Rank29th
 • Density2,900/km2 (8,000/sq mi)
 • Urban
68.33%
 • Rural
31.67%
Language
 • OfficialTamil • Malayalam • Telugu[5]
 • Additional officialEnglish[5] • French[6]
GDP
 • Total (2023-24)₹0.39 trillion (US$4.7 billion)
 • Rank26th
 • Per capita₹262,166 (US$3,100) (10th)
Time zoneUTC+05:30 (IST)
ISO 3166 codeIN-PY
Vehicle registrationPY 01 – PY 05
HDI (2018)Increase0.740 (High) (7th)
Literacy (2011)86.55%
Sex ratio (2011)1037♀️/1000 ♂️[7]
Websitepy.gov.in
Symbols of Puducherry
Emblem of Puducherry
Song"Tamil Thai Valthu"[1]
BirdKoel[8]
FlowerCannonball tree flower[8]
MammalIndian palm squirrel[8]
TreeBael fruit tree[8]
List of union territory symbols
Territories of French India were completely transferred to the Republic of India de facto.

Puducherry (/ˌpʊdʊˈtʃɛri/; Tamil: [puðut͡ːʃeːɾi]), also known as Pondicherry (/ˌpɒndɪˈtʃɛri/; Tamil: [paːɳɖit͡ːʃeːɾi]), is a union territory of India, consisting of four small geographically unconnected districts. It was formed out of four territories of former French India, namely Pondichéry (now Puducherry), Karikal (Karaikal), Mahé and Yanaon (now Yanam), excluding Chandannagar (Chandernagore), and it is named after the largest district, Puducherry, which was also the capital of French India. Historically known as Pondicherry (Pāṇṭiccēri), the territory changed its official name to Puducherry on 1 October 2006.[9][10]

The Union Territory of Puducherry lies in the southern part of the Indian Peninsula. The areas of Puducherry district and Karaikal district are bound by the state of Tamil Nadu, while Yanam district and Mahé district are enclosed by the states of Andhra Pradesh and Kerala, respectively. Puducherry is the 29th most populous of the 36 states and union territories of India, and the third most densely populated union territory. It has a gross domestic product (GDP) of ₹210 billion (US$2.5 billion) and ranks 25th in India.[11]

  1. ^ "Uniform tune sought for 'Thamizh Thaai Vaazhthu'". The Hindu. 6 October 2007 – via www.thehindu.com.
  2. ^ "Agreement on De Facto Transfer of French Establishments". Ministry of External Affairs, Government of India. 21 October 1954. Retrieved 5 August 2022.
  3. ^ "Indian Affairs Record (Vol. I and II)". Diwan Chand Indian Information Center. 1955. p. 20.
  4. ^ "PUDUCHERRY LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY". Archived from the original on 3 November 2017. Retrieved 26 October 2017.
  5. ^ a b "The Pondicherry Official Languages Act, 1965" (PDF). Laws of India. Archived from the original (PDF) on 3 May 2020. Retrieved 10 June 2019.
  6. ^ Puducherry Code Volume-I (PDF). Law Department, Government of Puducherry. p. 107.
  7. ^ "Handbook of Statistics on Indian States 2020. Social and Demographic Indicators. Table 5: State-wise Sex Ratio". Reserve Bank of India. 13 October 2020. Retrieved 9 September 2021.
  8. ^ a b c d "Tamil Nadu News : Puducherry comes out with list of State symbols". The Hindu. 21 April 2007. Archived from the original on 4 January 2013. Retrieved 10 February 2014.
  9. ^ "South Asia | New name for old French territory". BBC News. 20 September 2006. Archived from the original on 22 February 2014. Retrieved 10 February 2014.
  10. ^ "National : Bill to rename Pondicherry as Puducherry passed". The Hindu. 22 August 2006. Archived from the original on 21 October 2012. Retrieved 10 February 2014.
  11. ^ "State Domestic Product and other aggregates, 2004–05 series". Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation. 27 February 2015. Archived from the original on 23 March 2015. Retrieved 18 June 2015.