Uttarakhand Public Service Commission (UKPSC) GK

• 09 Aug 2021

Last Updated: May 2024

Uttrakhand GK

Formation	09 November 2000
Capital	Dehradun
Population	1,00,86,292
Area	53,483 sq. km.
Total Districts	13
Ancient Name of the State	Uttaranchal
Number of Administrative Divisions	02 (Garhwal and Kumaon)
High Court	Nainital

State Symbol
State Animal: Musk Deer		State Flower: Brahma Kamal
State Bird: Monal		State Tree: Buransh
State Folk Art: Aipan		State Festival: Harela

Uttarakhand : General Introduction

• State Name – Uttarakhand (Former Name – Uttaranchal)
• Bill for state formation passed by Lok Sabha on – 1^st August, 2000
• Bill for state formation passed by Rajya Sabha on – August 10, 2000
• Assent by the President (then President– KR Narayanan) on the Uttaranchal State Bill – August 28, 2000
• Date of State Formation – 9^th November, 2000
• State of Indian Republic – 27^th
• Geographical location of the state – 28º 43' to 31º 27' North Latitude and 77º 34' to 81º 02' East Longitude.
• The area of ​​the state is – 53, 483 sq. km. (1.63% of the country's area)
• The mountainous part in the total area of ​​the state – 46,035 sq.km. (86.07%)
• In the total area of ​​the state, the plain area is – 7,448 sq.km. (13.93%)
• Expansion from north to south – 320 km.
• Extension from east to west – 358 kms.
• State bordering the state – 2 [Himachal Pradesh (in the west), Uttar Pradesh (South– West, South and South– East)]
• Countries bordering the state – 2 [ Nepal in the east and Tibet or China in the north ]
• State emblem – Three mountain peaks under Ashoka's lot and below it The four waves of the Ganges have been inscribed. Satyamev Jayate is written below the forehead of Ashoka.
• State flower – Brahma Kamal (local name – Kaulpadya) (Scientific name – Sosuria ableveta)
• State Tree – Buransh (Rhododendron)
• State animal – Musk deer (Muscus chisoganster)
• State Bird – Monal (Lopoporus impeginus)
• State sport – Football
• Official Song – Uttarakhand Dev Bhoomi, Mathrubhumi, Shat Shat Vandan... (Written by Hemant Bisht)
• State Butterfly – Common Peacock- Papilio bianor (Announced in 2016)
• Official language – First – Hindi, second – Sanskrit (from January 2010)
• State legislature – Unicameral (assembly)
• No. of Vidhan Sabha Members – 71 (70 Elected + 1 Nominated)
• Number of members of the Scheduled Castes in the Legislative Assembly – 13
• Number of Scheduled Tribes members in the Legislative Assembly – 2
• Number of Members in Lok Sabha – 5
• Seats for Rajya Sabha – 3
• Scheduled Castes Reserved Lok Sabha Constituency – 1
• No. of Districts – 13
• No. of Divisions – 2 (Garhwal and Kumaon)
• Tehsil – 110
• Census Town (2011) – 41
• Municipal Corporation – 6 (Dehradun, Haridwar, Haldwani, Kashipur, Rudrapur and Roorkee)
• Municipal Councils – 41
• Nagar Panchayat – 41
• Zilla Panchayat – 13
• Gram Panchayat – 7791
• State High Court – Nainital
• Total population of the state – 1,00,86,292 (0.83% of the country's population)
• Male Population – 51,37,773
• Female Population – 49,48,519
• Rural Population – 70,36,954
• Urban Population – 30,49,338
• Hill population – 64.90% of the total population of the state
• Plains population – 35.10% of the total population of the state
• State's decadal growth rate – 18.81%
• The average population density of the state – 189 persons/sq.km.
• Average sex ratio in the state – 963 per thousand
• Child sex ratio – 890 per thousand in the state
• State average literacy – 78.82%
• Male Literacy – 87.40%
• Female Literacy – 70.00%
• Highest density district – Haridwar (801)
• District with lowest population density – Uttarkashi (41)
• Most Populated District – Haridwar
• Minimum Population District – Rudraprayag
• Largest district in terms of area – Chamoli
• Smallest district in terms of area – Champawat
• Highest Sex Ratio District – Almora (1139)
• District with lowest sex ratio – Haridwar (880)
• Highest literacy district – Dehradun (84.25%)
• District with minimum literacy – Udham Singh Nagar (73.10%)
• The first governor of the state – Surjit Singh Barnala
• First interim Chief Minister of the state – Nityanand Swami
• First elected Chief Minister of the state – Narayan Dutt Tiwari
• First Speaker of the State Legislative Assembly (Interim) – Prakash Pant
• First Speaker of the State Legislative Assembly – Yashpal Arya
• State's first Advocate General – Meherban Singh Negi
• First Chief Justice of State High Court – Ashok Abhendra Desai
• First Chairman of State Human Rights Commission – Vijendra Jain
• First Chairman of State Public Service Commission – N.P. Navani
• The first Chief Information Commissioner of the state – Dr. R S. gang
• First Chief Secretary of the state – Ajay Vikram Singh
• First Director General of Police of the state – Ashok Kant Sharan
• First President of State Women's Commission – Santosh Chauhan
• The longest river in the state – Kali
• River with highest water flow in the state – Alaknanda
• River valley with the largest area – Kali river valley
• District with most lakes – Chamoli
• The largest glacier of the state – Gangotri or Gomukh
• District with highest forest cover percentage – Rudraprayag
• District with maximum forest area – Uttarkashi
• District with minimum forest area – Haridwar
• Largest National Park – Gangotri
• Smallest National Park – Valley of Flowers
• Largest Wildlife Sanctuary – Kedarnath Wildlife Sanctuary (Chamoli + Rudraprayag)
• Smallest Wildlife Sanctuary – Mussoorie Wildlife Sanctuary (Dehradun)
• Wildlife Sanctuary with maximum musk deer – Ascot Wildlife Sanctuary (Pithoragarh)
• District with highest net sown land area in the state – Udham Singh Nagar
• The district with the least net sown land area in the state – Champawat
• State's oldest canal – Upper Ganga Canal
• The district with the highest number of enterprises in the state – Haridwar
• Least entrepreneurship district in the state – Rudraprayag
• District with maximum handicraft enterprise in the state – Haridwar
• The district with the lowest handicraft enterprise in the state – Tehri
• State's largest jaggery market – Mangalore, Haridwar
• The first engineering college in the country and state – Roorkee (established in 1847)
• State's first women's engineering college – Dehradun
• The first agricultural university of the country and the state – G.B. Pant University of Agriculture and Technology, Pant Nagar (1960)
• State's first deemed university – Gurukul Kangri University, Haridwar (1962)

Other Important Facts

• The first woman mayor of the state (who was also elected as a Rajya Sabha member) – Manorama Sharma Dobriyal
• State's first war memorial (Shaurya– Smarak) – Dehradun
• State's first woman IAS – Jyotirao Pandey
• The first leader of the Chipko movement – Gaura Devi
• First leader of Maiti movement – Kalyan Singh Rawat
• World's longest religious pilgrimage to be organized in the state – Nanda Devi Rajjat ​​Yatra (280 kms on foot, in 19 & 20 days)
• Largest temple group of the state – Jageshwar (District – Almora)
• Asia's highest dam built in the state – Tehri
• First woman of the state and country to host the tricolor on both poles (within one year) – Doctor. Vinita Fartyal (geologist and botanist)
• Youngest (20 years) twin sisters to conquer Everest – Tashi and Nungshi Malik
• State's first woman naval lieutenant – Vartika Joshi
• Country's first conservation reserve – Asan Conservation Reserve, Dehradun
• State's first woman MP – Kamalendumati Shah (Tehri, 1952–57)
• First woman MP after state formation – Mala Rajya Laxmi Shah (Tehri, 2014)
• State's first newspaper (English fortnightly) – The Hills (In 1842 Mussoorie)
• State's first daily paper – Parvatiya