Question

Identify the newest (as of January 2020) Union Territory of India from among the following.
1. Puducherry
2. Chandigarh
3. Ladakh
4. Daman and Diu

Answer 1

Correct Answer - Option 3 : Ladakh

The correct answer is Ladakh.

• Ladakh, Jammu & Kashmir Are India's Newest Union Territories.
  • The key reforms included the separation of the region of Ladakh and making it a separate “union territory” (UT).
  • A union territory is a type of administrative division in the Republic of India. Unlike the states of India, which have their own governments, union territories are federal territories governed, in part or in whole, by the Central Government of India.

• Puducherry, also known as Pondicherry, is a union territory of India.
  • It was formed out of four territories of former French India, namely Pondichéry, Karikal, Mahé, and Yanaon, excluding Chandannagar.
  • It is named after the largest district, Puducherry.
  • Historically known as Pondicherry, the territory changed its official name to Puducherry on 20 September 2006.
• Chandigarh is a city, district, and union territory in India that serves as the capital of the two neighboring states of Punjab and Haryana.
• Daman and Diu was a union territory in western India.
  • In 2019, legislation was passed to merge the union territory of Daman and Diu with its neighboring union territory, Dadra and Nagar Haveli, to form the new union territory of Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu with effect from 26 January 2020.
  • The merger of these two UTs takes place by the Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu (Merger of Union Territories) Bill, 2019.
  • This bill was passed by the Lok Sabha on 27^th November 2019, and by Rajya Sabha on 3^rd December 2019.