Capital Cities of India are imperative to the growth and development of the nation, as most of the political, administrative, and financial and business hubs are located in these regions. These capital cities depict the vast dimensions and magnitude of Indian culture. The Indian capital cities have attained its prestigious status because they are a core of modernisation and consumerism. Moreover, the capital cities are also prospering commercial and financial centres. New Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata and Chennai are called the metropolitan cities of India. However, in the present age, these massive cities are now taking up the shape of bigger metropolis with the advancement of technology and industrialisation. Accelerating urbanisation in the Indian capital cities is powerfully affecting the transformation of Indian society.

Capital Cities in North India
The capital cities of North India are New Delhi, Chandigarh, Shimla, Srinagar, Jaipur, Dehradun and Lucknow. New Delhi is the capital city of India with a total area of 42.7 Sq km. It is situated within the metropolis of Delhi and serves as the seat of the Government of India and the Government of the National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT). Chandigarh, also called The Beautiful City, serves as the capital of 2 states, Punjab and Haryana, and is a union territory of India. Shimla is the capital city of Himachal Pradesh and in 1864, Shimla was declared the summer capital of the erstwhile British Rule in India. It is located in northwest Himalayas at an altitude of 2,130 m.

Dehradun is the capital city of the Uttarakhand and is also the headquarters of Dehradun District. Jaipur, also popularly known as the Pink City, is the capital of Rajasthan state. Maharaja Sawai Jai Singh II, the ruler of Amber, founded this city in 1727. Srinagar is the capital of the northernmost state of Jammu and Kashmir that is situated in extreme north of India. Srinagar is situated in Kashmir Valley and lies on the banks of the Jhelum River. Lucknow is the capital city of Uttar Pradesh, the most populous state of India and has a population of around 4.5 million. Lucknow is also the administrative headquarters of Lucknow District and Lucknow Division.

Capital Cities in Western India
In western India, the Indian capital cities include Mumbai, Gandhinagar, Panaji, Daman and Silvassa. Mumbai, formerly known as Bombay, is the capital of the Indian state of Maharashtra. The city is one of the most populated cities in the world with approximately 20.5 million people and, along with the neighbouring suburbs of Navi Mumbai and Thane District. This Indian capital city lies on the west coast of India and has a deep natural harbour. Gandhinagar is the capital of Gujarat and is one of the 3 planned cities of India. Located on the banks of the Sabarmati River, Gandhinagar city is the administrative centre of Gandhinagar District. Panaji is the capital of the Indian state of Goa. It lies on the banks of the Mandovi estuary, in the district of North Goa. Panaji is Goa`s third largest city after Vasco da Gama and Margao. Daman is the capital city and a municipal council in Daman district in the union territory of Daman and Diu. Silvassa is the capital of the Indian Union Territory of Dadra and Nagar Haveli. This city has a large number of factories and industries providing noteworthy government revenue, which allows the city to maintain a low level of taxation.

Capital Cities in South India
In South India, the Indian capital cities are Chennai, Thiruvananthapuram, Bengaluru and Hyderabad. Chennai, formerly known as Madras is the fourth largest metropolitan area of India and the capital city of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is located on the Coromandel Coast of the Bay of Bengal. The city is an important centre for the Bharatnatyam. The Tamil film industry, known as Kollywood, the second largest film industry in India, based in Chennai.

Hyderabad, once known as Bhagyanagar, is the capital city of Andhra Pradesh. The city has been classified, as an A-1 status city joining the list of other A-1 cities such as Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata, Chennai and Bengaluru. Trivandrum is the capital of the Indian state of Kerala and is located on the west coast of India near the extreme south of the mainland. Trivandrum is characterised by its undulating terrain of low coastal hills and busy commercial alleys. Bengaluru is the capital of the Indian state of Karnataka. Bengaluru is located on the Deccan Plateau in the south-eastern part of Karnataka. This city is India`s 3rd most populous city and 5th-most populous urban agglomeration. Bengaluru is known as the Silicon Valley of India because of its unsurpassed position as the nation`s leading IT employer and exporter.

Capital Cities in Eastern India
The capital cities in eastern India include Kolkata, Patna, Bhubaneshwar and Ranchi. Kolkata, formerly known as Calcutta is the capital of the Indian state of West Bengal. It is located in eastern India on the east bank of the Hooghly River. The population of Kolkata is around 4,486,679. Kolkata is the main business, commercial and financial hub of eastern India and the north-eastern states. Bhubaneshwar is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Orissa. Both Bhubaneswar and Cuttack are known as the Twin Cities of Orissa. With its vast variety of Hindu temples, Bhubaneswar is often referred to as the Temple City of India.

Ranchi is the capital city of the Indian state of Jharkhand that was separately formed on 15th November 2000 by carving out the Bihar divisions of Chota Nagpur and Santhal Parganas. Ranchi is a prominent political, commercial, industrial and educational hub of eastern India. Patna is the capital of the Indian state of Bihar, and one of the oldest incessantly inhabited places in the world. The modern city of Patna lies on the southern bank of the Ganges.

Capital Cities in Central India
Central India boasts the prospering Indian capital cities like Bhopal and Raipur. Bhopal is the capital of the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh and the administrative headquarters of Bhopal District. Bhopal is the second largest city in Madhya Pradesh and is known as the Lake City. Raipur is the capital city of the state of Chhattisgarh and is the administrative headquarters of Raipur District. It was formerly a part of Madhya Pradesh before the state of Chhattisgarh was formed on November 1st, 2000.

North east India has the capital states of Agartala, Dispur, Kohima, Gangtok, Imphal, Itanagar and Aizawl. Agartala is the capital of the Indian state of Tripura and lies on the Haora River. Gangtok is the capital and largest town of the Indian state of Sikkim. This city is located in the Shivalik Hills of the eastern Himalayan range at an altitude of 1,437 m. Gangtok is at the centre of Sikkim`s tourism industry.

Kohima is the hilly capital of India`s north-eastern border state of Nagaland, which shares its borders with Burma. Aizawl is the largest city as well as the capital of the state of Mizoram. Shillong is the capital of Meghalaya, one of the smallest states in India. Imphal is the capital of the Indian state of Manipur. Dispur is the capital of Assam that earlier existed as a locality on the outskirts of Guwahati, took its present status as the capital of Assam in 1973. Itanagar, situated at the foothills of Himalayas is the capital of the Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh.

India is flaunted by two picturesque series of islands, namely the Lakshadweep Islands in Arabian Sea and Andaman and Nicobar Islands in Bay of Bengal. The two capital cities of these two islands are Kavaratti and Port Blair respectively. Kavaratti is a census town and the capital city of the Indian Union Territory of Lakshadweep. Port Blair is the capital city of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. It lies on the east coast of South Andaman Island and is the main entry point to the islands. Port Blair is home to several museums and a major base for the Indian Navy and the Indian Coast Guard.

The Indian capital cities are continuously growing and developing new sectors of additional income through tourism, agriculture, IT, government sectors, textiles, processing units and so on.