Template:Infobox subdivision typeThe southern Indian state of Karnataka consists of 31 districts grouped into 4 administrative divisions, viz., Belagavi, Bengaluru
, Gulbarga, and Mysore. Geographically, the state has three principal variants: the western coastal stretch, the hilly belt comprising the Western Ghats, and the plains, comprising the plains of the Deccan Plateau.
History
Template:Main Karnataka took its present shape in 1956, when the former states of Mysore and Coorg were unified into a linguistically homogenous Kannada-speaking state along with agglomeration of districts of the former states of Bombay, Hyderabad, and Madras as part of the States Reorganisation Act of 1956. The unified Mysore State was made up of ten districts, viz., Bangalore, Kolar, Tumkur, Mandya, Mysore, Hassan, Chikkamagalur, Shimoga, Chitradurga, and Ballari which had been transferred from Madras Presidency to Mysore State earlier in 1953, when the new state of Andhra Pradesh was created out of Madras' northern districts.[1] Coorg State became Kodagu district,[2] South Canara was transferred from Madras State, North Canara, Dharwad, Belgaum, and Bijapur from Bombay State. Bidar, Gulbarga, and Raichur from Hyderabad State. The state received its new name of Karnataka in the year 1973.
Formations of districts
| Date | New district | Formerly part of | Administration |
|---|---|---|---|
| 15 August 1986 | Bengaluru Urban | Bengaluru | Ramakrishna Hegde's ministry |
| Bengaluru Rural | |||
| 25 August 1997 | Chamarajanagara | Mysuru | J. H. Patel's ministry |
| Davanagere | Chitradurga, Ballari and Shivamogga | ||
| Bagalakote | Vijayapura | ||
| Gadaga | Dharwad | ||
| Udupi | Dakshina Kannada | ||
| Koppala | Raichur | ||
| 21 June 2007 | Ramanagara | Bengaluru Rural | H.D. Kumaraswamy's ministry[3] |
| Chikkaballapura | Kolar | ||
| 30 December 2009 | Yadagiri[4] | Kalaburagi | B.S. Yediyurappa's second ministry |
| 18 November 2020 | Vijayanagara[5] | Ballari | B.S. Yediyurappa's fourth ministry |
Administrative structure
District administration
A district of an Indian state is an administrative geographical unit, headed by a Deputy Commissioner (DC), an officer belonging to the Indian Administrative Service (IAS). The Deputy Commissioner reports to the Regional Commissioner. The Deputy Commissioner is also the Collector and District Magistrate of the district. The Deputy Commissioner is assisted by an Additional Deputy Commissioner at the district headquarters. The deputy commissioner is assisted by a number of officers belonging to the Karnataka Administrative Service. The deputy commissioner/collector is assisted by assistant commissioners and tahsildars, who are incharge of subdivisions and taluks respectively. The district (revenue district) is divided into subdivisions. Each subdivision consists of several talukas under its administrative purview. Each subdivision is headed by a Sub-Divisional Officer (SDO), who holds the designation of Assistant Commissioner and Sub-Divisional Magistrate. Each taluka is headed by a Tahsildar. These subdivisions and talukas are established for land revenue and land administration purposes. Each taluk contains hobli and villages, headed by Revenue Inspectors and Village Accountants respectively.
Police administration
A Superintendent of Police (SP), usually an officer belonging to the Indian Police Service (IPS), is entrusted with the responsibility of maintaining law and order and related issues of the district. He is assisted by the officers of the Karnataka Police Service and other Karnataka Police officials. Big cities like Bengaluru, Belagavi, Hubballi-Dharwad, Kalaburagi, Mangaluru and Mysuru are headed by a Commissioner of Police holding the rank of Additional Director General of Police(ADGP) for Bengaluru, Inspector General of Police (IGP) for Mysuru and Deputy Inspector General of Police (DIG) for Belagavi, Hubballi-Dharwad, Kalaburagi and Mangaluru. They are assisted by officers belonging to the Karnataka Police Service (KSPS).
Forest
A Deputy Conservator of Forests, an officer belonging to the Indian Forest Service selected through the UPSC examination is responsible for managing the forests, the environment and wildlife of the district. He is assisted by the officers of the Karnataka Forest Service selected through the KPSC examination.
Other department
Sectoral development is looked after by the district head of each development department such as Public Works, Health, Education, Agriculture, Animal husbandry, etc. These officers belong to the various state services.
Administrative divisions
| Belagavi Division | Bengaluru Division | Kalaburagi Division | Mysuru Division |
|---|---|---|---|
Alphabetical listing of districts
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Proposed districts
As of early 2026, The Karnataka government was considering dividing 5 following existing districts into several districts (listed north to south).[17]
| Proposed District | Proposed Since | Current Division & District | COmment |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chikkodi | 1997 | Belagavi Division (Belagavi district) | Chikkodi is 70 km north of Belagavi city and 45 km northwest of Gokak city. |
| Gokak | 1990s | Gokak is 60 km northeast of Belagavi city.
| |
| Sirsi | 1980s | Belagavi Division (Uttara Kannada district) | Sirsi city is 115 km east of Karwar port city (HQ of Uttara Kannada district).
|
| Sullia | 2020s | Mysuru Division (Dakshina Kannada district) | Sullia, an in-land city, is 85 km southeast of Mangaluru coastal city (HQ of Dakshina Kannada district).
|
| Madhugiri | 2020s | Bengaluru Division (Tumakuru district) | Madhugiri is 50 km north of Tumakuru city. |
| Tiptur | 2020s | Tiptur is 75 km west of Tumakuru city.
| |
| Hunsur | 2020s | Mysuru Division (Mysuru district) | Hunsur, an in-land city, is 45 km west of Mysuru city. |
See also
References
- ↑ Petition against transfer of Bellary dismissed. Indian Express(30 September 1953). Retrieved 17 December 2010.
- ↑ Did reorganisation panel ignore Kodava leaders' plea?. The Hindu(15 November 2005). Retrieved 17 December 2010.
- ↑ 2 new districts notified in Bangalore. The Times of India(6 August 2007). Retrieved 2007-08-09.
- ↑ Creation of Yadgir district. Online Edition of The Hindu, dated 2009-12-30(30 December 2009).
- ↑ Vijayanagar to be Karnataka's 31st district, BSY Cabinet gives in-principle nod. The New Indian Express(19 November 2020). Retrieved 23 November 2020.
- ↑ NIC Policy on format of e-mail Address: Appendix (2): Districts Abbreviations as per ISO 3166–2. Ministry Of Communications and Information Technology, Government of India(2004-08-18). Retrieved 2008-11-24.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 Know India – Districts of Karnataka. Government of India portal. Retrieved 16 November 2010.
- ↑ Here 'Established' means year of establishment as a district of Karnataka. If the district was formed earlier to the formation of district in the state of Karnataka, 1 November 1956 will be considered as the day of establishment of the district.
- ↑ STATES REORGANISATION ACT 1956 - Formation of a new Mysore State. Retrieved 17 November 2010.
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 List of districts of Karnataka.
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 11.2 11.3 11.4 11.5 11.6 11.7 11.8 A Handbook of Karnataka – Administration. Government of Karnataka. Retrieved 16 November 2010.
- ↑ District Profile. Retrieved 18 November 2010.
- ↑ District Profile – Area and population. Retrieved 18 November 2010.
- ↑ Kolar district at a glance. Retrieved 18 November 2010.
- ↑ Note: This date means the day when the district was initially formed, even before the formation of the state of Karnataka (Mysore). Hence 1 November 1956 will be considered as the day of formation of district in the state of Karnataka
- ↑ Formation of Mandya district. Retrieved 18 November 2010.
- ↑ Karnataka Govt Considers Division of Five Districts, marvelousbelgaum.in, 18 December 2025.