a state of N India: the most populous state; originated in 1877 with the merging of Agra and Oudh as the United Provinces; augmented by the states of Rampur , Benares , and Tehri-Garhwal in 1949; the N Himalayan region passed to the new state of Uttaranchal (now Uttarakhand ) in 2000; now consists mostly of the Upper Ganges plain ; agricultural. Capital: Lucknow . Pop: 166 052 859 (2001). Area: 243 350 sq km (93 933 sq miles)
Andhra Pradesh
a state of SE India , on the Bay of Bengal . Capital: Hyderabad . Pop: 49 386 799 (2011). Area: 162 970 sq km (62 920 sq miles)
Madhya Pradesh
a state of central India, situated on the Deccan Plateau : rich in mineral resources , with several industrial cities: formerly the largest Indian state, it lost much of the SE to the new state of Chhattisgarh in 2000. Capital: Bhopal . Pop: 60 385 118 (2001). Area: 308 332 sq km (119 016 sq miles)
Vindhya Pradesh
a former state of central India : merged with the reorganized Madhya Pradesh in 1956
Arunachal Pradesh
a state in NE India , formed in 1986 from the former Union Territory . Capital: Itanagar. Pop: 1 091 117 (2001). Area: 83 743 sq km (32 648 sq miles)
Himachal Pradesh
a state of N India , in the W Himalayas: rises to about 6700 m (22 000 ft) and is densely forested . Capital: Shimla. Pop: 6 077 248 (2001). Area: 55 658 sq km (21 707 sq miles)