Uttar Pradesh at a Glance- Demography, Economy, Culture, Symbols, Geography, Tourism, Politics of UP

Uttar Pradesh is the most populous state of India. It was formed in 1937 as United Province and was granted statehood in 1950. It was renamed Uttar Pradesh in 1950. In terms of area, UP is the fourth largest state of India. Its capital is Lucknow. It has 75 districts and 18 subdivisions. On 9 November 2000, Uttarakhand was separated from UP.

Uttar Pradesh Map

State Symbols of Uttar Pradesh

State animal of Uttar Pradesh is Swamp Deer (Barasingha).

Swamp Deer

State Bird of Uttar Pradesh is Saras Crane.

Saras Crane

State Tree of Uttar Pradesh is Ashoka.

Ashoka Tree

State Flower of Uttar Pradesh is Palash.

Palash Flower

Politics of Uttar Pradesh

Uttar Pradesh has 80 seats in the Lok Sabha and 31 Rajya Sabha seats.
Uttar Pradesh has bicameral legislature with a total of 404 assembly seats (403 elected and 1 nominated) and 100 council seats.
The tenure of Vidhan Sabha is five years while Vidhan Parishad is a permanent house.
Hindi is the official language of Uttar Pradesh.
Current Governor of Uttar Pradesh: Anandiben Patel
Current Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh: Yogi Adityanath
Deputy Chief Ministers: Brajesh Pathak and Keshav Prasad Maurya
The High court of Uttar Pradesh is located in Prayagraj with its section bench in Lucknow.
The executive powers of the state are vested in the Governor.
Sarojini Naidu was the first Governor of Uttar Pradesh and India’s first woman governor.

Read Highlights of Uttar Pradesh Budget 2023-24

Read Highlights of Union Budget 2023-24

States sharing border with Uttar Pradesh-9 States

The state sharing its border with maximum states is Uttar Pradesh.
Rajasthan is located to the west of UP. Haryana, Himachal Pradesh and Delhi are located to the northwest.
Uttarakhand is located to its north. Bihar is located to its east. Madhya Pradesh is located to its south. Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh are located to its southeast.

Geography of Uttar Pradesh

Uttar Pradesh is located between 23°52’N and 31°28’N latitude and 77°3’N and 84°39’N longitude.
From west to east, UP is spread over 650 kms and from north to south it is spread over 240 kms of area.
UP shares its border with Nepal (landlocked country).
The major rivers that flows in Uttar Pradesh are Ganga, Yamuna, Ghagra, Gomti, Gandak, Son, Kosi, Sarda, Ken, Betwa, Ramganga, etc.
Uttar Pradesh is the largest user of Groundwater repositories.
Canals and reservoirs are the main source of irrigation in Uttar Pradesh.
Keetham Lake, Gokul Barrage, Bela Sagar Tal are some of the important lakes in Uttar Pradesh.
Uttar Pradesh (10) has the highest number of wetlands under the Ramsar list.
Some of the famous dams located in Uttar Pradesh are Rihand Dam, Rohini Dam, Govind Sagar Dam, Sarda Sagar Dam, etc.
The climate of Uttar Pradesh is Tropical monsoon with dry winters- Summer season (March to June), Rainy Season (Mid June to September) and Winter season (October to February).
In Uttar Pradesh, mainly alluvial soil is found due to the alluvium deposited by Ganga and its tributaries. Paddy, Wheat, Gram, Maize, Sugarcane, Millet, Barley, Pea, etc, are grown in alluvial soil.
Uttar Pradesh is among the 5 states having highest forest cover. Tropical Moist Deciduous (Terai region), Tropical Dry Deciduous (Central, Eastern and Western Plains) and Tropical Thorny Forests (southwestern UP) are found in Uttar Pradesh.
Dudhwa National Park located in Lakhimpur Kheri of UP is the largest wildlife reserve. It is the only area in UP where one can spot Tigers and Rhinos together.
Other conservation areas of UP are National Chambal Sanctuary, Pilibhit Tiger Reserve, Mahavir Swami Wildlife Sanctuary, Nawabganj Bird Sanctuary, Bakhira Wildlife Sanctuary, Chandraprabha Wildlife sanctuary, Hastinapur Wildlife Sanctuary, etc.

Demography of Uttar Pradesh

As per Census 2011, the population of Uttar Pradesh is 19,98,12,341 with 10,44,80,510 (52.29%) male and 9,53,31,831 (47.71%) female population.
Decline in population rate during 2001-2011- 20.29%
The density of population in Uttar Pradesh (per sq. km) is 829.
Prayagraj is the most populous district of Uttar Pradesh and Mahoba is the least populous district of Uttar Pradesh.
The literacy rate in Uttar Pradesh is 69.72%. The male literacy rate in UP is 79.24% and female literacy rate is 59.26%.
Sex ratio in Uttar Pradesh is 912 females per 1000 males.
As per census 2011, Uttar Pradesh has a population of around 20 crores.
There are total 915 cities and towns in UP.
Lakhimpur Kheri is the largest district of UP and Hapur is the smallest district of UP in terms of area.

Economy of Uttar Pradesh

Agriculture is the major contributor in GDP of state.
After Maharashtra, UP is the second largest economy.
Paddy, Wheat, Barley, Millet, Maize, Urad, Moong, and Arhar are some of the main crops grown in Uttar Pradesh.
Uttar Pradesh is the largest producer of food grains and vegetables in India.
Uttar Pradesh is the highest producer of sugarcane in India.
Limestone, Dolomite, Glass-sand, Marble, Bauxite, Nonplastic Fireclay, Felspar, Uranium, Barytes & Andalusite, Sand-stone, Pebbles, Reh, Salt punter, Sulphur, Magnesite are some minerals found in Uttar Pradesh.
Main industries of Uttar Pradesh: Cement, Vanaspati oil, Cotton textile, cotton yarn, bangle and glass industry, sugar, jute, etc.
Kanpur is known as the Manchester of Uttar Pradesh.
Chikan work, Zari work, Wooden toys and furniture, clay toys, dari, carpet, silk, brassware are the main handicrafts of Uttar Pradesh.
IT and IT enabled services is also one of the major contributor to the state economy. UP is an emerging IT hub.
UP is also one of the major milk producing state of India.
Narora Atomic Power Plant is the only nuclear power plant located in Uttar Pradesh.
NTPC- Singrauli, Dadri, Unchahar, Tanda are the thermal power plants in Uttar Pradesh.

Culture of Uttar Pradesh

Birha, Chaiti, Kajri, Phag, Rasia, Aalha, Puran Bhagat, Bhartihari are the main folk songs of Uttar Pradesh.
Charkula, Karma, Pandav, Tharu, Dhobia, Nautanki, Rasiya, Rasleela are the main folk dances of Uttar Pradesh.
Kathak dance from Uttar Pradesh is one of the classical dances of India.
Prominent Tribes in Uttar Pradesh: Agariya, Aheria, Baiga, Bind, Patari, Ghasia, Kol, Korwa
Chikankari craft from Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh has got GI Tag.

UP Tourism

Taj Mahal located in Agra, UP is one of the seven wonders of the world. Additionally, it is listed under the UNESCO World Heritage Site List.
Some places of historical importance in Uttar Pradesh: Piparhava, Kaushambi, Shravasti, Sarnath, Kushinagar, Chitrakoot, Lucknow, Agra, Jhansi, Meerut, etc.
Agra Fort, Tomb of Akbar the Great and Fatehpur Sikri are the most attractive tourists spots in Uttar Pradesh.
Varanasi is referred to as Spiritual capital of India while Lucknow is called City of Nawabs.

Research Institutions located in Uttar Pradesh

Central Drug Research Institute- Lucknow
Govind Ballabh Pant Social Science Institute- Prayagraj
National Sugar Institute- Kanpur
Indian Institute of Pulses Research- Kanpur
National Botanical Research Institute- Lucknow
Central Agroforestry Research Institute- Jhansi
Central Institute of Sub-Tropical Horticulture- Lucknow
Central Pulp & Paper Research Institute- Saharanpur
Centre for Development of Advanced Computing- Noida
Indian Grassland and Fodder Research Institute- Jhansi
Indian Veterinary Research Institute- Bareilly
National Institute of Cancer Prevention and Research- Noida
Northern India Textile Research Association (NITRA)- Ghaziabad
Footwear Design and Development Institute- Noida
India Pharmacopoeia Commission- Ghaziabad

Knowing all the important facts about Uttar Pradesh is very useful to prepare for the preparation of UPPSC exam as UPPCS 2023 Notification is now available and you can apply online for UP PCS 2023 exam.