Chhattisgarh State Guide: History, Government, Elections, Exams

Overview

Chhattisgarh is a landlocked state in east-central India, created on 1 November 2000 when the Chhattisgarh region was separated from Madhya Pradesh. Its capital is Raipur. The state covers about 135,192 square kilometres, which makes it the ninth largest state by area, and it is bordered by seven states: Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Jharkhand, Odisha, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. As on October 2026 it has 33 districts grouped into five divisions.

The state is usually described by three features. First, it is a rice-growing basin: the central plain drained by the Mahanadi and its tributaries is often called the "rice bowl" of central India. Second, it is heavily forested: the India State of Forest Report 2023 puts forest cover at 55,812 sq km, the third largest in the country by area after Madhya Pradesh and Arunachal Pradesh. Third, it is rich in minerals, especially coal, iron ore, bauxite, limestone and tin. The Indian Bureau of Mines describes it as the only producer of tin concentrates in India.

It is also one of the most tribal states. In Census 2011, Scheduled Tribes made up 30.62 per cent of the population, with the Gond the largest community. The north and south of the state are hilly and tribal, the centre is open farmland, and the cultural mix of the three zones is what makes the state distinct.

Census 2011 recorded 25,545,198 people, a density of 189 per sq km and a sex ratio of 991 females per 1,000 males, which is higher than the national figure. Census 2011 is still the latest published census; the next census has not yet produced state-level results.

The name "Chhattisgarh" is traditionally explained as "thirty-six forts" (chhattis garh), a reference to a set of fortified centres in the old Haihaya kingdom. Historians do not agree on this etymology, and it is better treated as a popular tradition than a settled fact.

This guide is organised in five parts. This first part covers the land and its people: history, geography, administration and demography. Later sections cover government, elections, economy, culture and the state's recruitment exams. If you are preparing for CGPSC or another state exam, the "For exam preparation" lists at the end of each section collect the facts that are most often asked.

For exam preparation

• Chhattisgarh became a state on 1 November 2000; the capital is Raipur.
• Area is about 135,192 sq km, ninth largest state by area (Wikipedia, cross-checked with the Census figure of about 135,191 sq km).
• It borders seven states and has no coastline.
• Census 2011 population is 25,545,198; sex ratio is 991.
• As on October 2026 the state has 33 districts and 5 divisions.
• Forest cover is 55,812 sq km (ISFR 2023), third largest by area.

History

The land that is now Chhattisgarh was known in ancient texts as Dakshina Kosala, "South Kosala". The record begins with stone-age tools in the Mahanadi valley and passes through the Mauryas, the Sharabhapuriyas and Panduvamshis of Sirpur, the Kalachuris of Ratanpur, the Maratha Bhonsles of Nagpur and then British rule, before the state was formed in 2000.

Prehistory and early historic period

Archaeologists have found Palaeolithic and Mesolithic tools and painted rock shelters in the Raigarh area, notably at Singhanpur and Kabra Pahar, and megalithic burial sites such as Dhanora in the Bastar and Rajnandgaon region. These sites show human settlement long before written records. Iron-age stone circles and burial sites are also known from Durg and Rajnandgaon districts.

Dakshina Kosala appears in the early historic period as a region separate from northern Kosala (the Ayodhya region). Wikipedia's account, drawing on epigraphic evidence, notes that Mahameghavahana of Chedi conquered the region in the 1st century BCE, and that it later came under the Satavahanas in the 2nd century CE. The Sitabenga and Jogimara caves in Surguja are dated to the Mauryan period (3rd century BCE) and are cited as some of the earliest rock-cut theatre-like spaces in India. In the 4th century CE, the Gupta emperor Samudragupta's southern campaign brought the area into the Gupta sphere of influence.

Epic and puranic tradition ties the land to the Ramayana: Kausalya, mother of Rama, is traditionally called the daughter of a Kosala king, and local belief links places such as Sirpur, Turturiya and Shivrinarayan with the epic. These are traditions rather than documented history.

Sharabhapuriyas and Panduvamshis

The first well-documented local dynasty is the Sharabhapuriya line, dated to the late 5th century CE and known mainly from copper-plate inscriptions. They ruled from a capital called Sharabhapura, whose exact site is not identified. They were followed by the Panduvamshis of Dakshina Kosala, who ruled from Sirpur, ancient Shripura, on the Mahanadi in Mahasamund district. Inscriptions of the mid-6th century mention the Shaiva king Tivaradeva, and an 8th-century ruler, Mahashivagupta Balarjuna, is known for supporting Hindu, Buddhist and Jain institutions.

Sirpur became one of the great sites of early medieval central India. Excavations have revealed many Shiva and Vishnu temples, Buddhist viharas, Jain viharas, and a marketplace and bathhouse. The Lakshmana temple, a brick temple dedicated to Vishnu, is attributed by its inscription to Queen Vasata, mother of Mahashivagupta Balarjuna. Scholars date it differently, from the late 6th to the 7th or 8th century, so the safest statement is that it is among the oldest brick temples in India. The Chinese pilgrim Xuanzang visited Kosala around 639 CE and described a prosperous land with many Buddhist monasteries; he is usually linked with the Sirpur period. The Archaeological Survey of India has carried out major excavations there; Alexander Cunningham had drawn attention to the site in the 1870s.

Other local powers of the early medieval period include the Nalas and later Nagavanshis in the Bastar region, and the Phani-Nagavanshis of the Kabirdham area, who are linked to the Bhoramdeo temples. Details of their dates and rulers are debated, and this guide does not give precise dates for them.

Kalachuris of Ratanpur

From about 1000 CE the main power was the Kalachuri line of Ratnapura, an offshoot of the Kalachuris of Tripuri, also called the Haihayas of Ratanpur. Tradition and inscriptions credit Kalingaraja with establishing the kingdom, with Tummana (modern Tuman) as the first seat before the capital shifted to Ratanpur in present Bilaspur district. Ratnadeva II is recorded as declaring independence from the Tripuri Kalachuris and repulsing the Eastern Ganga king Anantavarman Chodaganga.

Towards the end of the 14th century the family appears to have divided into two branches, one at Ratanpur and one at Raipur. The Raipur branch remained a separate seat for centuries. This division is the origin of the long-standing Raipur-Ratanpur dual centre of the region, and Raipur itself rose to importance from this period.

Bastar and the smaller states

South of the Mahanadi plain, Bastar was ruled by a dynasty that, according to its own tradition, was founded around 1324 CE by Annamaraja, described as a brother of the last Kakatiya ruler Prataparudra II. Historians treat this ancestry claim cautiously. The capital moved over time, finally settling at Jagdalpur. Bastar and a number of smaller territories such as Kanker, Kawardha, Surguja, Jashpur, Korea, Raigarh, Sarangarh, Khairagarh, Chhuikhadan and Nandgaon kept princely status into the British period. They are often called the Chhattisgarh feudatory states; fourteen of them are commonly listed after the 1905 reshuffle.

Maratha rule

The Ratanpur kingdom accepted Maratha suzerainty in 1740 after the invasion of the Bhonsle rulers of Nagpur, and it was annexed outright in 1758 after the death of its last ruler, Mohan Singh. Bimbaji Bhonsle became the first Maratha governor. Maratha rule over the region ran until the early 19th century and is remembered locally for heavy revenue demands and for tribal revolts against it, such as the Halba rebellion in Bastar (1774 to 1779) led by Ajmer Singh, according to commonly cited accounts.

British rule

After the Third Anglo-Maratha War, the British took control of the Nagpur territories in 1818 and handed the administration back to the Bhonsles in a limited way, then annexed Nagpur outright after Raghuji III died without a direct heir in the early 1850s. The Chhattisgarh Division was formed in 1853 with Raipur as headquarters, and it consisted of the districts of Raipur, Bilaspur and Sambalpur. In 1861 the region became part of the new Central Provinces. In 1905 the Odia-speaking Sambalpur tract and some states were moved to Bengal, while five Hindi-speaking states (Changbhakar, Korea, Surguja, Udaipur and Jashpur) were moved into the Central Provinces. The province was later renamed the Central Provinces and Berar.

Tribal resistance was frequent. The Paralkot rebellion of 1825 (led by Gend Singh), the Tarapur rising of 1842, the Maria rebellion (1842 to 1863) and the Muria rebellion of 1876 are standard entries in the regional record. The best known is the Bhumkal of 1910 in Bastar, an uprising against reserved-forest rules and outside traders, led by Gunda Dhur with the former dewan Lal Kalendra Singh organising in the background. It began on 6 February 1910 and was put down within weeks.

Freedom movement

The first martyr of the state in the Revolt of 1857 is Veer Narayan Singh (1795 to 1857), zamindar of Sonakhan. During the 1856 famine he was arrested for taking grain from a hoarding trader and giving it to the poor. He escaped, raised a local force when the Revolt began, and was hanged at Jaistambh Chowk, Raipur, on 10 December 1857. The state observes 10 December in his memory.

In the 20th-century national movement the key figure is Pandit Sundarlal Sharma (1881 to 1940), who led the Kandel Nahar Satyagraha of 1920 in Dhamtari tehsil against an irrigation-water levy. Mahatma Gandhi visited Raipur on 20 December 1920 and is reported to have visited Kandel the next day. Other prominent names from the region include Ravishankar Shukla and Babu Chhotelal Shrivastava; the Jungle Satyagraha of 1930 in the Dhamtari area is linked with Shrivastava. The princely states, meanwhile, joined the Indian Union around 1948; Bastar's accession is dated 1 January 1948.

Madhya Pradesh and the statehood movement

After independence the Chhattisgarh districts were part of the Central Provinces and Berar, which became Madhya Pradesh in 1950, and the present Madhya Pradesh was formed in 1956. The idea of a separate Chhattisgarh was raised as early as the 1920s, but a mass movement came only in the 1990s, with the Chhattisgarh Rajya Nirman Manch, led by Chandulal Chandrakar, organising region-wide strikes and rallies with support from the major parties.

The Madhya Pradesh Assembly passed the separate-state bill, Parliament passed the Madhya Pradesh Reorganisation Act, 2000, and the Act received assent on 25 August 2000. Chhattisgarh came into existence on 1 November 2000 with 16 districts and Raipur as capital. Ajit Jogi was the first Chief Minister.

For exam preparation

• The ancient name of the region is Dakshina Kosala.
• Sirpur (Mahasamund) was the capital of the Panduvamshis; the Lakshmana temple there is a brick temple of Vishnu attributed to Queen Vasata.
• The Kalachuri kingdom of Ratanpur began around 1000 CE under Kalingaraja; the Marathas took over in 1740 to 1758.
• The Chhattisgarh Division of British India was set up in 1853 with Raipur as headquarters.
• Veer Narayan Singh of Sonakhan was hanged on 10 December 1857 at Raipur.
• The Kandel Nahar Satyagraha was in 1920 under Pandit Sundarlal Sharma.
• The Bhumkal rebellion in Bastar was in 1910 under Gunda Dhur.
• The Madhya Pradesh Reorganisation Act, 2000 received assent on 25 August 2000; the state was formed on 1 November 2000.

Geography

Chhattisgarh lies in east-central India between roughly 17 degrees 46 minutes and 24 degrees 5 minutes north, and 80 degrees 15 minutes and 84 degrees 20 minutes east. It extends about 700 km north to south and about 435 km east to west, and its outline is often compared to a sea horse. The Tropic of Cancer crosses the northern part of the state. It has no coast, and it is bordered by Uttar Pradesh (north), Madhya Pradesh (north-west and west), Maharashtra (south-west), Jharkhand (north-east), Odisha (east), and Andhra Pradesh and Telangana (south). The longest border is with Odisha.

Physiography

The state has three broad regions.

Northern hills. The north has hilly uplands that include the Surguja plateau and high tablelands called "pats", such as Mainpat, Samri Pat and Jashpur Pat. Mainpat in Surguja is a well-known hill station often nicknamed the "Shimla of Chhattisgarh". This zone is also the edge of the Indo-Gangetic drainage, with rivers like the Rihand flowing north to the Son and the Ganga basin.

Central plains. The Chhattisgarh plain, formed by the Mahanadi and its tributaries (Shivnath, Hasdeo, Arpa, Jonk and others), is the rice-growing heartland. It is a saucer-shaped basin ringed by hills on all sides, and it is where most of the population lives.

Southern plateau. South of the plain lies the Bastar plateau, part of the Deccan peninsula and the Dandakaranya region, drained mainly by the Indravati and Sabari rivers towards the Godavari. It has dense forest and the Bailadila range, which holds major iron-ore deposits.

Highest point. Sources disagree. Wikipedia gives Nandiraj in the Bailadila range, Dantewada district, at 1,276 m. Other state-level references give Gaurlata in Samri Pat, Balrampur district, at about 1,225 m as the highest peak. We cannot confirm which is the officially accepted highest point, so for exams follow the reference book you are using and note the discrepancy.

Rivers

The state's rivers fall mainly into three systems: the Mahanadi (the largest in the state), the Godavari (through the Indravati and Sabari in the south) and the Ganga (through the Rihand and Kanhar in the north, which flow to the Son). Exact basin shares are not given here because we did not verify them.

River	Origin and course	Notes
Mahanadi	Rises near Sihawa in Dhamtari district (about 890 m) and flows to the Bay of Bengal through Odisha	Total length about 900 km; basin about 132,100 sq km; Hirakud Dam is in Odisha
Shivnath (Seonath)	Rises in Rajnandgaon district, joins the Mahanadi near Shivrinarayan	Wikipedia gives about 290 km and calls it the longest tributary of the Mahanadi
Hasdeo	Rises in the Kaimur hills near Sonhat, flows through Korba and joins the Mahanadi in Janjgir-Champa	About 333 km (Wikipedia); Hasdeo Bango (Minimata) dam; Hasdeo Arand forest
Indravati	Rises in Kalahandi, Odisha, flows through Bastar and joins the Godavari	About 535 km (Wikipedia); Chitrakote Falls; Indravati National Park
Sabari (Kolab)	Flows in the south of Bastar towards the Godavari	Part of the Godavari basin
Rihand	Rises in the northern plateau of Surguja and flows north	Ganga basin; drains towards the Son

Other rivers asked about include the Kharun, Arpa, Jonk, Mand, Ib and Kanger. Lengths differ between sources, and sources also disagree on which Mahanadi tributary is "longest" (Hasdeo or Shivnath), so use length figures only from the book you are preparing from.

Climate

The climate is tropical and mostly of the wet-and-dry savanna type, with a hot summer, a monsoon from mid-June and a mild winter. Summer temperatures in the central plains often cross 45 degrees Celsius, and values of 48 to 49 degrees have been recorded in places like Bilaspur. Winters from November to January are pleasant, with lows near zero in some northern hill areas.

Rainfall is mainly from the south-west monsoon, which delivers about 80 to 90 per cent of the yearly total. The state average is about 1,292 mm (Wikipedia). By agro-climatic zone, the Bastar plateau gets about 1,345 mm, the Northern Hills about 1,271 mm and the Chhattisgarh plains about 1,103 mm. Raipur's long-term average is about 1,403 mm, and the normal onset date of the monsoon at Raipur is 16 June.

Soils and agro-climatic zones

The state is divided into three agro-climatic zones: the Chhattisgarh Plains, the Bastar Plateau and the Northern Hills. Local names for plain soils are Bhata (gravelly, poor soil on uplands), Matasi (loamy), Dorsa (a clay-loam mix) and Kanhar (black, clayey soil). In the plains zone, most of the land is under rice. About 74 per cent of the area of the plains, 97 per cent of the Bastar plateau and 95 per cent of the northern hills are rain-fed, and paddy is the lead crop in all three.

Forests

The India State of Forest Report 2023 records forest cover of 55,812 sq km, which is the third largest forest cover by area in India, behind Madhya Pradesh and Arunachal Pradesh. Divided by the state's area, that is about 41.3 per cent (our own calculation). In the 2021 report, the figure was 55,717 sq km (41.21 per cent). Forests are mainly tropical moist and dry deciduous; sal and teak are the best-known timber species, but we did not verify a region-wise breakdown.

Minerals

According to the Indian Bureau of Mines (Indian Minerals Yearbook 2019, State Review), Chhattisgarh is the sole producer of tin concentrates and moulding sand and is a leading producer of coal, dolomite, bauxite and iron ore. The state holds about 36 per cent of India's tin ore resources, 20 per cent of haematite iron ore, 18 per cent of coal, 11 per cent of dolomite and 4 per cent each of diamond and marble.

• Coal: reserves and resources were 59,907.76 million tonnes as on 1 April 2019 (Coal Directory 2018-19, cited by IBM). The main fields are Mand-Raigarh, Korba, Hasdeo-Arand, Bisrampur, Sonhat and Tatapani-Ramkola. A newer Ministry of Coal inventory figure of about 80,774 million tonnes (1 April 2023) appeared in a search summary, but we have not opened the primary source and do not rely on it.
• Iron ore: Bailadila (Dantewada), Rowghat (listed under Rajnandgaon district by the Bureau of Mines), Dalli-Rajhara (Durg area) and Chhote Dongar (Kanker) are the major deposits.
• Bauxite: Bastar, Bilaspur, Jashpur, Kanker, Kabirdham, Korba, Raigarh and Surguja.
• Others: limestone, dolomite, fluorite (Rajnandgaon), tin (Dantewada and Bastar), corundum, quartzite, and diamond and gemstone occurrences in Raipur, Mahasamund and Dhamtari.

Wildlife and protected areas

The state has three national parks, four tiger reserves and about a dozen wildlife sanctuaries. The Achanakmar-Amarkantak Biosphere Reserve (established 2005, about 3,835 sq km, mostly in Bilaspur district of Chhattisgarh and partly in Madhya Pradesh) is part of UNESCO's Man and the Biosphere network. The state animal is the wild buffalo (van bhainsa) and the state bird is the Bastar hill myna.

Area	Type	Notes
Indravati	National park and tiger reserve	Bijapur district; national park status in 1981
Kanger Valley	National park	Near Jagdalpur; established 1982; limestone caves (Kotumsar, Kailash) and Tirathgarh waterfall
Guru Ghasidas (Sanjay)	National park	Koriya district; now part of the Guru Ghasidas-Tamor Pingla Tiger Reserve
Udanti-Sitanadi	Tiger reserve	Gariaband district
Achanakmar	Tiger reserve	Mungeli district; within the biosphere reserve
Guru Ghasidas-Tamor Pingla	Tiger reserve	Declared in November 2024; 2,829.387 sq km; fourth tiger reserve of the state
Barnawapara, Bhoramdev, Badalkhol, Pamed, Bhairamgarh, Gomarda, Semarsot, Tamor Pingla	Wildlife sanctuaries	The sanctuary list varies by source; verify against the Forest Department list

Kopra Reservoir in Bilaspur district was declared the state's first Ramsar site on 12 December 2025, according to news reports, taking India's total to 96.

For exam preparation

• The Mahanadi rises at Sihawa in Dhamtari district; the Indravati flows to the Godavari; the Rihand drains to the Son.
• The three agro-climatic zones are the Chhattisgarh Plains, Bastar Plateau and Northern Hills.
• Chhattisgarh is the only state producing tin concentrates; Bailadila is the main iron-ore field.
• ISFR 2023 forest cover is 55,812 sq km.
• The state has 3 national parks (Indravati, Kanger Valley, Guru Ghasidas) and 4 tiger reserves.
• The Guru Ghasidas-Tamor Pingla reserve was notified in November 2024.
• Kopra Reservoir is the first Ramsar site, designated in December 2025.

Administration and districts

Chhattisgarh is governed through a Governor, a Chief Minister and a 90-member Vidhan Sabha, and it is administered in five divisions and 33 districts. The division is headed by a Commissioner and the district by a Collector. Below the district are sub-divisions, tehsils and development blocks. Local government has a rural three-tier panchayat system and an urban system of municipal corporations, councils and nagar panchayats. A large part of the state is a Fifth Schedule (Scheduled) Area.

Divisions

Division	Headquarters	Districts
Surguja	Ambikapur	Balrampur, Jashpur, Koriya, Manendragarh-Chirmiri-Bharatpur, Surajpur, Surguja
Bilaspur	Bilaspur	Bilaspur, Gaurela-Pendra-Marwahi, Janjgir-Champa, Korba, Mungeli, Raigarh, Sakti, Sarangarh-Bilaigarh
Raipur	Raipur	Baloda Bazar-Bhatapara, Dhamtari, Gariaband, Mahasamund, Raipur
Durg	Durg	Balod, Bemetara, Durg, Kabirdham, Khairagarh-Chhuikhadan-Gandai, Mohla-Manpur-Ambagarh Chowki, Rajnandgaon
Bastar	Jagdalpur	Bastar, Bijapur, Dantewada, Kanker, Kondagaon, Narayanpur, Sukma

Districts

The state has had 33 districts since September 2022. We searched for any change after that date and found none; as on October 2026, the number remains 33.

District	Headquarters	Division	Year formed
Balod	Balod	Durg	2012
Baloda Bazar-Bhatapara	Baloda Bazar	Raipur	2012
Balrampur	Balrampur	Surguja	2012
Bastar	Jagdalpur	Bastar	2000
Bemetara	Bemetara	Durg	2012
Bijapur	Bijapur	Bastar	2007
Bilaspur	Bilaspur	Bilaspur	2000
Dantewada	Dantewada	Bastar	2000
Dhamtari	Dhamtari	Raipur	2000
Durg	Durg	Durg	2000
Gariaband	Gariaband	Raipur	2012
Gaurela-Pendra-Marwahi	Gaurela	Bilaspur	2020
Janjgir-Champa	Janjgir	Bilaspur	2000
Jashpur	Jashpur	Surguja	2000
Kabirdham	Kawardha	Durg	2000
Kanker	Kanker	Bastar	2000
Khairagarh-Chhuikhadan-Gandai	Khairagarh	Durg	2022
Kondagaon	Kondagaon	Bastar	2012
Korba	Korba	Bilaspur	2000
Koriya	Baikunthpur	Surguja	2000
Mahasamund	Mahasamund	Raipur	2000
Manendragarh-Chirmiri-Bharatpur	Manendragarh	Surguja	2022
Mohla-Manpur-Ambagarh Chowki	Mohla	Durg	2022
Mungeli	Mungeli	Bilaspur	2012
Narayanpur	Narayanpur	Bastar	2007
Raigarh	Raigarh	Bilaspur	2000
Raipur	Raipur	Raipur	2000
Rajnandgaon	Rajnandgaon	Durg	2000
Sakti	Sakti	Bilaspur	2022
Sarangarh-Bilaigarh	Sarangarh	Bilaspur	2022
Sukma	Sukma	Bastar	2012
Surajpur	Surajpur	Surguja	2012
Surguja	Ambikapur	Surguja	2000

Note: the district list and headquarters follow Wikipedia's "List of districts of Chhattisgarh", cross-checked with news reports of the 2022 inaugurations. Spellings vary in official documents.

Formation of new districts

The state began with 16 districts in 2000. These were Bastar, Kanker, Dantewada, Raipur, Mahasamund, Dhamtari, Durg, Rajnandgaon, Kabirdham, Bilaspur, Raigarh, Janjgir-Champa, Korba, Surguja, Koriya and Jashpur. Later changes were:

• 11 May 2007: Bijapur and Narayanpur were created, taking the number to 18.
• 1 January 2012: nine new districts (Sukma, Kondagaon, Balod, Bemetara, Baloda Bazar, Gariaband, Mungeli, Surajpur and Balrampur) took the number to 27.
• 10 February 2020: Gaurela-Pendra-Marwahi was inaugurated as the 28th district, carved out of Bilaspur. The announcement had been made in the Independence Day speech of 15 August 2019.
• September 2022: five districts were inaugurated in the first ten days of the month: Mohla-Manpur-Ambagarh Chowki (2 September, the 29th), Sarangarh-Bilaigarh and Khairagarh-Chhuikhadan-Gandai (3 September), and Manendragarh-Chirmiri-Bharatpur and Sakti (9 September). This brought the total to 33. Sources differ by a day on some inauguration dates, so treat the order of the 30th and 31st districts as not confirmed.

Urban local bodies

Urban areas are governed under state municipal laws, with the State Election Commission running the polls (we did not verify the Act names here). In the latest cycle, polling was held on 11 February 2025 for 173 urban bodies: 10 municipal corporations, 49 municipal councils (nagar palikas) and 114 nagar panchayats; counting was on 15 February 2025. Turnout was reported at 72.44 per cent. We could not confirm a single authoritative figure for the total number of urban bodies in the state, so we cite only the bodies that voted in 2025.

Panchayati Raj

Rural areas follow the three-tier model: gram panchayat at village level, janpad (block) panchayat in the middle, and zila panchayat at the district level. For the 15th Finance Commission rural grants for 2025-26, the Government of India release referred to 26 zila panchayats, 138 block panchayats and 11,279 gram panchayats (as reported by All India Radio). The number of zila panchayats is below the number of districts, so the figures appear to date from before the recent districts' panchayats were formed; we cannot confirm this. Panchayat polls were held in three phases on 17, 20 and 23 February 2025. Panchayat elections are non-party, and ballot papers were used.

Fifth Schedule areas and PESA

Large tracts of the state are Scheduled Areas under the Fifth Schedule of the Constitution, which gives special powers to the Governor for tribal welfare and land protection. One summary source states that 13 districts are fully covered and 6 are partly covered, with 85 blocks; we could not verify the exact list from an official notification, so check the latest Presidential order before quoting district names. The Panchayats (Extension to Scheduled Areas) Act 1996, or PESA, extends panchayat powers to gram sabhas in these areas, and Chhattisgarh notified its own PESA Rules in 2022. The state has no Sixth Schedule area; that schedule applies only to parts of the north-eastern states.

For exam preparation

• The state has 5 divisions: Surguja, Bilaspur, Raipur, Durg and Bastar.
• Gaurela-Pendra-Marwahi (10 February 2020) was the 28th district.
• Five districts were created in September 2022, making 33 in all.
• The 2012 reorganisation created nine districts at once (1 January 2012).
• Bijapur and Narayanpur were created in 2007.
• Urban body polls were held on 11 February 2025; BJP won all 10 mayoral posts. Panchayat polls were held on 17, 20 and 23 February 2025.

Demography

Chhattisgarh had 25,545,198 people in Census 2011, about 2.1 per cent of India's population, with a density of 189 per sq km. It is a mainly rural, tribal-heavy state with a favourable sex ratio and a literacy rate a little below the all-India level of its time. All figures below are for Census 2011 unless stated.

Census 2011 at a glance

Indicator	Figure
Population	25,545,198
Males / females	12,832,895 / 12,712,303
Decadal growth, 2001-2011	about 22.6 per cent
Density	189 per sq km
Sex ratio	991 females per 1,000 males
Child sex ratio (0-6)	969
Literacy	70.28 per cent (male 80.27, female 60.24)
Urban / rural	23.24 per cent / 76.76 per cent
Scheduled Tribes	30.62 per cent (7,822,902)
Scheduled Castes	12.82 per cent (3,274,269)

Most densely populated district was Janjgir-Champa at 420 per sq km, and the least dense was Narayanpur at 20 per sq km (district boundaries as in 2011). The 2001 population had been about 20.8 million.

Literacy figures of 78 per cent or so that appear in some summaries come from later surveys, not Census 2011, and should not be mixed with the census figure above.

Languages

Hindi is the official language, and Chhattisgarhi, an Eastern Hindi language, is the most widely spoken local language; Census counts it as part of the Hindi group, though it records around 16.2 million speakers in separate figures. Chhattisgarhi has dialect forms such as Surgujia in the north. Tribal languages include Gondi, Halbi, Kurukh (Oraon), Sadri and Kamar, and Odia is spoken near the Odisha border. The date and legal status of Chhattisgarhi as a state official language were not verified for this guide.

Religion

Census 2011 shows Hindus at 93.25 per cent, Muslims 2.02 per cent, Christians 1.92 per cent, Buddhists 0.28 per cent, Sikhs 0.27 per cent and Jains 0.24 per cent. Many tribal people recorded under "other religions and persuasions" (about 1.94 per cent). Satnampanth, founded by Guru Ghasidas in the early 19th century, is an important local faith tradition among Scheduled Caste communities.

Tribes and castes

The tribal population is about three in ten people. The Gond are the largest group, estimated at around 3.7 million, which is more than half the tribal population. Other large communities are the Kawar (Kanwar), Oraon, Halba, Bhatra, Baiga and Muria. The state has 42 Scheduled Tribe entries and five Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (Abujhmadia, Baiga, Birhor, Kamar and Pahari Korwa, as commonly listed). We did not confirm the PVTG list or the Gond figure from an official source, so verify before quoting them. The culture and tribes section later in this guide covers them in more detail.

Urbanisation

About 23 per cent of residents lived in urban areas in 2011. The largest cities by 2011 figures were Raipur (about 1.01 million), Bhilai-Durg (about 1.00 million) and Bilaspur (about 0.72 million), according to Wikipedia; these figures appear to be for urban agglomerations. Raipur is the capital and the main commercial centre, Bhilai is the steel town, Korba is the power and coal hub, and Bilaspur is the seat of the High Court and a major railway centre.

Health and development indicators

The National Family Health Survey 2019-21 (NFHS-5) is the main recent source. As reported by the Daily Pioneer, Chhattisgarh's total fertility rate fell from 2.2 to 1.8, below the replacement level of 2.1, and the sex ratio at birth was about 960 females per 1,000 males, down from 977 in the previous round. The NITI Aayog National Multidimensional Poverty Index 2023 report shows large differences between districts, with Dantewada highest in multidimensional poverty headcount (54.59 per cent) and Dhamtari lowest (18.59 per cent), according to a search summary we did not open at the source. Human Development Index figures for the state differ between sources (for example 0.625 in one place and 0.670 in another), so we do not give one here.

For exam preparation

• Census 2011 population is 25,545,198; sex ratio is 991 and child sex ratio is 969.
• Literacy in Census 2011 was 70.28 per cent; male 80.27, female 60.24.
• Scheduled Tribes are 30.62 per cent and Scheduled Castes 12.82 per cent of the population.
• Janjgir-Champa was the densest district; Narayanpur the least dense.
• Hinduism is followed by 93.25 per cent of the population; Islam 2.02 and Christianity 1.92 per cent.
• Gond is the largest tribe; Chhattisgarhi is the main local language.

How the state is governed

Chhattisgarh has a parliamentary system under the Constitution of India, in the same pattern as every other Indian state. This section describes the structure, which stays fixed from one government to the next. Names of sitting office-holders change often, so this guide does not list them; for the current Governor, Chief Minister, ministers, Chief Secretary, DGP and Chief Justice, use the official state portal and our current affairs pages. Past office-holders with completed tenures are listed in the history section below.

The executive

Office	Role	How filled
Governor	Constitutional head of the state; summons and dissolves the Assembly, gives assent to bills, appoints the Chief Minister	Appointed by the President for five years; Chhattisgarh has had ten Governors since 2000
Chief Minister	Head of the government; leads the council of ministers	Leader of the party or alliance with a majority in the Assembly, appointed by the Governor
Council of ministers	Runs the departments; collectively responsible to the Assembly	Capped at 15 per cent of the Assembly's strength under Article 164(1A), which is 13 members for a 90-seat House (14 in some reports, a point that has been questioned politically)
Chief Secretary	Head of the civil service and the secretariat	Senior IAS officer chosen by the government
Director General of Police	Head of the state police	IPS officer, selected under the Supreme Court's Prakash Singh guidelines
Advocate General	Chief legal adviser to the government	Appointed by the Governor under Article 165

The secretariat is at Mantralaya, Mahanadi Bhavan, in Atal Nagar (Nava Raipur), the planned capital area developed near Raipur. Raipur remains the capital city and the Governor's residence (Lok Bhavan, earlier Raj Bhavan) is in Raipur.

Departments and bodies

The government works through about 50 departments, each headed by a minister and run by a secretary. Constitutional and statutory bodies include the Chhattisgarh Public Service Commission (CGPSC), the State Election Commission (panchayat and municipal polls), the State Finance Commission, the Lok Ayog (Lokayukta), the State Information Commission and the State Human Rights Commission. The Chief Electoral Officer, appointed by the Election Commission of India, runs elections to the Assembly and Parliament.

For exam preparation

• The Governor is appointed by the President; the Chief Minister is appointed by the Governor.
• The council of ministers is capped at 15 per cent of the House (Article 164(1A), 91st Amendment).
• The Advocate General is covered by Article 165 and the Governor's powers by Articles 153 to 167.
• Raipur is the capital; Atal Nagar (Nava Raipur) houses the Assembly and the secretariat.
• CGPSC recruits to state services; the State Election Commission runs local-body elections.

Legislature, Parliament and judiciary

Chhattisgarh has a single-chamber legislature (Vidhan Sabha) of 90 members, five Rajya Sabha seats and eleven Lok Sabha seats. There is no Vidhan Parishad.

Vidhan Sabha

The Chhattisgarh Legislative Assembly meets at the Vidhan Sabha Bhavan, Sector 19, Atal Nagar (Nava Raipur). A new building at the same complex was started in August 2020, stalled in 2021 and resumed in 2022. Members serve five-year terms; the Sixth Assembly was elected in 2023 and the next general election is due in 2028.

Of the 90 seats, 51 are General, 10 are reserved for Scheduled Castes and 29 for Scheduled Tribes, a pattern in place since the 2008 delimitation. Before that, the 2003 election was fought on a map of 46 General, 10 SC and 34 ST seats.

Party	Seats won, 2023 election
Bharatiya Janata Party	54
Indian National Congress	35
Gondwana Gantantra Party	1
Total	90

These are the results of the December 2023 count. Strength can shift with by-elections, defections and vacancies, so check the Assembly website for the live position. A record 19 women were elected in 2023, about 21 per cent of the House and the highest since the state was formed (PRS).

Rajya Sabha

The state sends five members, elected by MLAs for six years, with seats retiring in staggered batches (a seat's term is counted from its own cycle, so one or two seats fall due in most election rounds). Rajya Sabha membership is decided by the party position in the Assembly, so it changes slowly.

Lok Sabha

The state has 11 constituencies: 6 General, 1 SC and 4 ST.

Constituency	Category	Region
Sarguja	ST	North
Raigarh	ST	North-east
Janjgir-Champa	SC	Central-north
Korba	General	North
Bilaspur	General	North-central
Rajnandgaon	General	West
Durg	General	West-central
Raipur	General	Central
Mahasamund	General	Central-east
Bastar	ST	South
Kanker	ST	South

High Court and other bodies

The Chhattisgarh High Court was established on 1 November 2000, the 19th High Court in India, and sits at Bodri village near Bilaspur. Its sanctioned strength is 22 judges (17 permanent and 5 additional). Below it are district and sessions courts in each district, family courts and special courts. The Lokayukta institution (Chhattisgarh Lok Ayog) was created by the Chhattisgarh Lok Ayog Act, 2002. The separate State Election Commission runs panchayat and municipal polls.

For exam preparation

• The Assembly has 90 seats: 51 General, 10 SC, 29 ST.
• Chhattisgarh has 5 Rajya Sabha seats and 11 Lok Sabha seats (1 SC, 4 ST).
• The Lok Sabha ST seats are Sarguja, Raigarh, Bastar and Kanker; the SC seat is Janjgir-Champa.
• The High Court sits at Bilaspur and was established on 1 November 2000.
• There is no Vidhan Parishad.

Elections

Chhattisgarh has held five Assembly elections since statehood: 2003, 2008, 2013, 2018 and 2023. The first Assembly (2000 to 2003) was formed from members already elected in the 1998 Madhya Pradesh election, so 2003 was the state's first election of its own. Governments have alternated only once: the BJP ruled from 2003 to 2018, Congress from 2018 to 2023, and the BJP returned in 2023. Figures below come from the Election Commission of India (ECI) statistical reports where they could be opened (2003, 2008, 2013, 2018) and from Wikipedia and ADR/PRS summaries for 2023 and the Lok Sabha.

Vidhan Sabha elections since 2003

Year	Polling dates	Turnout	BJP seats	INC seats	Others	Government formed
2003	1 Dec	71.30%	50	37	NCP 1, BSP 2	BJP
2008	14 to 20 Nov	70.51%	50	38	BSP 2	BJP
2013	11 and 19 Nov	77.12%	49	39	BSP 1, Independent 1	BJP
2018	12 and 20 Nov	76.88%	15	68	JCC 5, BSP 2	INC
2023	7 and 17 Nov	76.31%	54	35	GGP 1	BJP

Turnout for 2003 to 2018 is from the ECI statistical reports; for 2023 it is the figure reported by ADR and the press. Wikipedia shows slightly different turnout figures for 2008 (70.66%), 2013 (77.45%) and 2023 (76.75%), probably because of different treatment of NOTA and postal votes; the ECI report numbers are used here.

Year	Electors	BJP vote share	INC vote share	Other notable
2003	1,35,43,656	39.26%	36.71%	NCP 7.02%, BSP 4.45%
2008	1,52,18,560	40.33%	38.63%	BSP 6.11%
2013	1,68,95,762	41.04%	40.29%	BSP 4.27%; NOTA about 3.1%
2018	1,85,88,520	about 33.0%	about 43.0%	JCC about 7.6%, BSP about 3.9%
2023	about 2.04 crore	46.27%	42.23%	BSP 2.05%, NOTA 1.26%

The 2018 and 2023 vote shares are from Wikipedia citing ECI data; the ECI party-wise table for those two years could not be opened. In 2018 the ECI report gives 2,82,738 NOTA votes and 1,39,93,517 valid votes excluding NOTA. The 2003 to 2013 shares are share of valid votes polled.

The three most recent elections

2013. The BJP won a third straight term with 49 seats against Congress's 39, and the two parties were only 0.75 percentage points apart in vote share (41.04 against 40.29). Voting was held in two phases because of security concerns in the Bastar region, with 18 seats voting on 11 November and 72 on 19 November. Turnout reached 77.12%, and the ECI report shows women voting at a higher rate than men (77.32 against 76.93 per cent), which had not been true in 2008 (69.20 against 71.80). Counting took place on 8 December 2013.

2018. Congress won 68 of 90 seats, the highest tally any party has recorded in the state, while the BJP fell from 49 to 15. The Janta Congress Chhattisgarh (Jogi) won 5 seats and the BSP 2, which left the old two-party arithmetic with a visible third bloc. Voting was on 12 and 20 November; the 76.88% turnout was marginally below 2013. The new government was sworn in on 17 December 2018. A feature of that term was the by-election run, in which Congress won five of six contests (see below).

2023. The BJP won 54 seats, a gain of 39, and Congress fell from 68 to 35; the Gondwana Gantantra Party won one seat and the BSP and JCC none. The BJP's vote share rose to 46.27 per cent against Congress's 42.23. Polling was on 7 November (20 seats, 78 per cent turnout) and 17 November (70 seats, about 75.9 per cent) with 1,181 candidates, and counting on 3 December. The closest result was Ambikapur, decided by 94 votes; five winners in all had margins under 1,000 votes, according to ADR. The new government was sworn in on 13 December 2023.

Earlier elections: 2003 and 2008

In 2003, the first election after statehood, the BJP won 50 seats against Congress's 37 and ended the first government. The NCP, contesting 89 seats, won one seat with 7.02 per cent of votes. Only 5 women were elected. In 2008, held on a freshly delimited map, the BJP again won 50 seats and Congress 38; the BSP won two seats with 6.11 per cent. Eleven women were elected in 2008, more than twice the 2003 figure.

Lok Sabha elections

The BJP has won at least 9 of 11 seats in every election since 2004.

Year	BJP seats	INC seats	BJP vote share	INC vote share	Turnout	Congress seats won
2004	10	1	not confirmed	not confirmed	not confirmed	Mahasamund
2009	10	1	45.03%	37.31%	55.29%	Korba
2014	10	1	49.65%	39.09%	69.39%	Durg
2019	9	2	50.70%	40.91%	71.64%	Korba, Bastar
2024	10	1	52.65%	41.06%	about 72.9%	Korba

Shares are on the ECI basis (percentage of all valid votes including NOTA); other sites that exclude NOTA show slightly higher figures, for example 53.13 and 41.43 for 2024. Final 2024 turnout was reported as 72.94% on Wikipedia and 72.8% in the first press reports. The 2024 election was held in three phases on 19 April, 26 April and 7 May. Sarguja had the highest turnout among constituencies, near 80 per cent.

By-elections

The Wikipedia list shows eight Assembly by-elections between 2011 and 2024.

Date	Constituency	Won by	Note
14 Feb 2011	Sanjari Balod	BJP (held)	Reason not checked
13 Sep 2014	Antagarh	BJP (held)	Reason not checked
23 Sep 2019	Dantewada	INC (gain from BJP)	Reason not checked
21 Oct 2019	Chitrakot	INC (held)	Reason not checked
3 Nov 2020	Marwahi	INC (gain from JCC)	Sitting MLA, the first Chief Minister, died in 2020
12 Apr 2022	Khairagarh	INC (gain from JCC)	Sitting MLA died on 4 Nov 2021
5 Dec 2022	Bhanupratappur	INC (held)	Reason not checked
13 Nov 2024	Raipur City South	BJP (held)	Sitting MLA elected to Lok Sabha

Congress won five of the six by-elections held in 2019 to 2024, and the BJP held its own seats in 2011, 2014 and 2024.

Municipal and panchayat elections, 2025

Urban local body elections were held on 11 February 2025 and counted on 15 February for 173 bodies: 10 municipal corporations, 49 nagar palikas (municipal councils) and 114 nagar panchayats. Turnout was 72.44%, highest in Koriya (84.99%) and lowest in Raipur (51.37%).

Body	Total	BJP	INC	Others
Municipal corporations (mayors)	10	10	0	0
Nagar palikas (presidents)	49	35	8	AAP 1, Independents 5
Nagar panchayats (presidents)	114	81	22	BSP 1, Independents 10
All bodies	173	126	30	Independents 15, BSP 1, AAP 1

Some news reports put Congress at 39 bodies; the breakdown by body type adds up to 30, and the gap was not resolved. Mayors and chairpersons were elected directly by voters, because the late-2024 amendments undid the indirect system used in the 2019 civic polls.

The three-tier panchayat elections were held in three phases on 17, 20 and 23 February 2025 on a non-party basis, using ballot papers. About 76 per cent turned out in the first phase. Because parties do not contest officially, no authoritative party-wise tally exists.

Reservation, delimitation and voters

Seats in the Assembly and Lok Sabha were last re-drawn by the 2008 Delimitation Commission order, which settled the 51 General, 10 SC and 29 ST pattern. In panchayats, the law provides 50 per cent reservation for women among members and sarpanches, and SC and ST seats are reserved in proportion to population. In late October 2024 the cabinet doubled OBC reservation in local bodies from 25 to 50 per cent in principle, but it does not apply to bodies where SC and ST reservation already reaches 50 per cent or more.

The electoral roll fell after the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) that ran from 27 October 2025 to 21 February 2026. The final roll published on 21 February 2026 has 1,87,30,914 electors. Reports describe a roll of 2,12,30,737 voters before the exercise, a net drop of about 25 lakh, although the wording used for that figure (draft roll or pre-revision roll) is inconsistent. Using ECI report figures, the number of female electors per 1,000 male electors was about 988 in 2003, 983 in 2008, 968 in 2013 and 995 in 2018.

Firsts and records

• The longest Chief Minister tenure is 15 years and 10 days (2003 to 2018).
• Congress's 68 seats in 2018 are the largest tally by any party in the state.
• The first Deputy Chief Minister served from 28 June 2023 to 13 December 2023.
• In 2013 women voters turned out at a higher rate than men for the first time in the ECI tables above.
• The 19 women MLAs of 2023 are the highest number since formation.

For exam preparation

• Chhattisgarh's first Assembly election was held on 1 December 2003; the BJP won 50 of 90 seats.
• The BJP won in 2003, 2008, 2013 and 2023; Congress won in 2018 with 68 seats.
• In 2023 the BJP won 54 seats, Congress 35 and the Gondwana Gantantra Party 1.
• Turnout was 76.88 per cent in 2018 and 76.31 per cent in 2023.
• BJP won all 10 mayoral posts in the February 2025 civic polls; 126 of 173 bodies went to the BJP.
• Mayors are directly elected again after the 2024 change.
• The final electoral roll after the 2026 SIR has 1,87,30,914 electors.

Past Chief Ministers, Governors and office-holders

This section lists only completed tenures, which do not change. The state has had four Chief Ministers and ten Governors since 1 November 2000; the incumbents are not named here (see the note under How the state is governed). Dates follow Wikipedia's lists, which draw on official records; exact Speaker dates vary by a few days between sources.

Chief Ministers

No.	Chief Minister	Party	Tenure	Note
1	Ajit Jogi	INC	1 Nov 2000 to 7 Dec 2003	First CM; about 3 years
2	Raman Singh	BJP	7 Dec 2003 to 17 Dec 2018	Three terms; 15 years, the longest
3	Bhupesh Baghel	INC	17 Dec 2018 to 13 Dec 2023	4 years 361 days
4	Incumbent	BJP	From 13 Dec 2023	First tribal Chief Minister, in widely repeated descriptions

The Deputy Chief Minister's post has been created rarely; T. S. Singh Deo (Congress, 28 June 2023 to 13 December 2023) was the first holder.

Governors

No.	Governor	Tenure
1	Dinesh Nandan Sahay	1 Nov 2000 to 1 Jun 2003
2	Lt Gen Krishna Mohan Seth (Retd)	2 Jun 2003 to 25 Jan 2007
3	E. S. L. Narasimhan	26 Jan 2007 to 23 Jan 2010
4	Shekhar Dutt	23 Jan 2010 to 19 Jun 2014
5	Ram Naresh Yadav (additional charge)	19 Jun 2014 to 14 Jul 2014
6	Balram Das Tandon	18 Jul 2014 to 14 Aug 2018 (died in office)
7	Anandiben Patel (additional charge)	15 Aug 2018 to 28 Jul 2019
8	Anusuiya Uikey	29 Jul 2019 to 22 Feb 2023
9	Biswabhusan Harichandan	23 Feb 2023 to 31 Jul 2024
10	Incumbent	From 31 Jul 2024

Balram Das Tandon is the only Governor of the state to die in office.

Speakers of the Assembly

No.	Speaker	Assembly (approximate years)
1	Rajendra Prasad Shukla (INC)	1st (2000 to 2003)
2	Prem Prakash Pandey (BJP)	2nd (2003 to 2008)
3	Dharamlal Kaushik (BJP)	3rd (2008 to 2013)
4	Gaurishankar Agrawal (BJP)	4th (2013 to 2018)
5	Charan Das Mahant (INC)	5th (2018 to 2023)

Leaders of Opposition

Nand Kumar Sai (BJP, 2000 to 2003), Mahendra Karma (INC, 2003 to 2008), Ravindra Choubey (INC, 2009 to 2013), T. S. Singh Deo (INC, 2014 to 2018), Dharamlal Kaushik (BJP, 2019 to 2022) and Narayan Chandel (BJP, 2022 to 2023).

Chief Justices of the High Court

No.	Chief Justice	Tenure
1	W. A. Shishak	5 Dec 2000 to 15 Jan 2002
2	K. H. N. Kuranga	6 Feb 2002 to 10 May 2004
3	A. S. Venkatachala Moorthy	28 May 2004 to 7 Jan 2005
4	A. K. Patnaik	14 Mar 2005 to 1 Oct 2005
5	S. R. Nayak	17 Nov 2005 to 31 Dec 2006
6	H. L. Dattu	12 Feb 2007 to 17 May 2007
7	Rajeev Gupta	2 Feb 2008 to 9 Oct 2012
8	Yatindra Singh	22 Oct 2012 to 8 Oct 2014
9	Navin Sinha	9 Oct 2014 to 13 May 2016 (acting from 9 Oct 2014 to 8 Apr 2015)
10	Deepak Gupta	16 May 2016 to 16 Feb 2017
11	Thottathil B. Radhakrishnan	18 Mar 2017 to 6 Jul 2018
12	Ajay Kumar Tripathi	7 Jul 2018 to 22 Mar 2019
13	P. R. Ramachandra Menon	6 May 2019 to 31 May 2021
14	Arup Kumar Goswami	12 Oct 2021 to 10 Mar 2023
15	Ramesh Sinha	28 Mar 2023 to 4 Sep 2026

Acting Chief Justices served between some of these tenures.

For exam preparation

• Ajit Jogi was the first Chief Minister and Dinesh Nandan Sahay the first Governor.
• Raman Singh was Chief Minister for 15 years (2003 to 2018), the longest tenure.
• Bhupesh Baghel was the third Chief Minister; the fourth took office on 13 December 2023.
• Balram Das Tandon died in office in August 2018.
• Rajendra Prasad Shukla was the first Speaker and Nand Kumar Sai the first Leader of Opposition.
• For the present holders of any post, check current affairs.

Political history and movements

Chhattisgarh's politics is shaped by a long demand for a separate state, a two-party contest after 2000 and a decades-long Maoist insurgency in the south.

The statehood movement

The Chhattisgarh region joined Madhya Pradesh on 1 November 1956 under the States Reorganisation Act, 1956. The demand for a separate state is traced to 1924, when the Raipur unit of the Congress raised it. The States Reorganisation Commission turned it down in 1954, and the issue came up again in 1955 in the Nagpur assembly of the old Madhya Bharat. Dr Khubchand Baghel is described as one of the early proponents; in 1967 he spoke publicly for a separate state at a gathering in Rajnandgaon and in the mid-1960s he founded the Chhattisgarh Bhratri Sangh and the Chhattisgarh Mahasabha. The demand became a mass issue in the 1990s through the Chhattisgarh Rajya Nirman Manch, a cross-party platform that organised strikes and rallies.

The National Democratic Alliance government at the Centre sent the separate-state bill to the Madhya Pradesh Assembly, which approved it unanimously, and Parliament then passed it. The Madhya Pradesh Reorganisation Act, 2000 was enacted on 25 August 2000, and Chhattisgarh became a state on 1 November 2000. The Act cut Madhya Pradesh to 230 Assembly seats, 29 Lok Sabha seats and 11 Rajya Sabha seats, and gave Chhattisgarh 90, 11 and 5 respectively. The first Assembly was made up of the members elected in 1998 from constituencies that now lay in Chhattisgarh. Ajit Jogi (Congress) became the first Chief Minister, Rajendra Prasad Shukla the first Speaker and Nand Kumar Sai the first Leader of Opposition.

Changes of government since 2003

The BJP won the 2003 election and formed the government for three terms until December 2018. Congress won 68 seats in 2018 and governed for five years. The BJP won 54 seats in 2023 and returned to office. The Janta Congress Chhattisgarh (Jogi) contested in 2018 and won five seats; its founder died in 2020, and the party's two sitting seats (Marwahi and Khairagarh) later went to Congress in by-elections. In June 2023, in the last months of that government, the post of Deputy Chief Minister was created for the first time.

Maoist insurgency and security

The Bastar region has been the centre of Left Wing Extremism in the state. The state government started the Salwa Judum campaign in June 2005 in Dantewada, Bastar and Kanker districts; on 5 July 2011 the Supreme Court, in a petition by Nandini Sundar and others, declared it illegal and unconstitutional and ordered it disbanded and the use of special police officers in anti-Naxal operations stopped. Major incidents include the April 2010 Dantewada attack (76 security personnel killed in most accounts), the 25 May 2013 Jhiram Ghati ambush on a Congress convoy that killed a former minister, Mahendra Karma, and others, the April 2017 Sukma attack (25 personnel), the 3 April 2021 Sukma-Bijapur ambush (22 personnel) and the 26 April 2023 Aranpur IED blast (10 District Reserve Guard personnel and a driver).

In 2025 security forces killed Nambala Keshava Rao, general secretary of the CPI (Maoist), at Abujhmarh on 21 May. On 18 May 2026 the Union Home Minister said that the Centre's goal of ending Naxalism by 31 March 2026 had been achieved. This is the Union government's statement; encounters continued to be reported in the months before it (for example in Bijapur in December 2025 and in Sukma on 29 March 2026).

Recent developments

Since 2023 the state has seen the Raipur City South by-election (November 2024), a late-2024 return to direct election of mayors, a decision in October 2024 to raise OBC reservation in local bodies, a BJP sweep of the February 2025 civic polls, a cabinet expansion in August 2025 and the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls that ended in February 2026.

For exam preparation

• Chhattisgarh was carved out of Madhya Pradesh on 1 November 2000 under the Madhya Pradesh Reorganisation Act, 2000.
• The Chhattisgarh Rajya Nirman Manch led the demand in the 1990s.
• The first Assembly was formed from MLAs elected in 1998.
• Salwa Judum began in 2005 and the Supreme Court declared it unconstitutional on 5 July 2011.
• The Jhiram Ghati attack was on 25 May 2013.

Budget and governance

The 2026-27 budget, presented on 24 February 2026 under the theme SANKALP, carries a total outlay of Rs 1,72,000 crore. Sources differ on the presentation date (one gives 25 February and another 26 February); the PRS Legislative Research analysis and All India Radio give 24 February. Budget figures are dated to that year and are replaced each February.

Key numbers

All figures below are from the Finance Department's key-highlights document unless stated.

Item	2026-27 (budget estimate)
Total receipts and expenditure	Rs 1,72,000 crore
Revenue receipts	Rs 1,43,000 crore (own revenue 77,000; central grants 66,000)
Revenue expenditure	Rs 1,45,000 crore
Capital expenditure	Rs 26,500 crore (about 15.4 per cent of the budget)
Revenue deficit	Rs 2,000 crore (against a Rs 2,805 crore surplus in the 2025-26 budget)
Fiscal deficit	Rs 20,400 crore, 2.87 per cent of GSDP
GSDP (current prices)	Rs 7,09,553 crore, about 12.4 per cent above 2025-26

PRS reports the fiscal deficit as 4.1 per cent of GSDP, or Rs 28,900 crore. The difference is the Rs 8,500 crore of special capital assistance to states, which the state's own figure leaves out. PRS also reports outstanding liabilities of about 21.4 per cent of GSDP, own tax revenue of Rs 52,000 crore and mining receipts of Rs 19,000 crore.

Headline allocations

The biggest scheme provisions are Krishak Unnati Yojana (Rs 10,000 crore), Mahtari Vandan Yojana (Rs 8,200 crore), electricity subsidy (Rs 6,700 crore), the Mukhyamantri Khadyaan Sahayata Yojana (Rs 6,500 crore), paddy procurement facilitation (Rs 6,000 crore) and the Jal Jeevan Mission (Rs 3,000 crore). The largest departmental allocations are School Education (Rs 22,360 crore), Panchayat and Rural Development (Rs 16,560 crore), Agriculture (Rs 13,507 crore), Food and Civil Supplies (Rs 12,820 crore) and Women and Child Development (Rs 11,000 crore). The budget announced 12 new schemes and five Mukhyamantri missions (AI, tourism development, sports excellence, infrastructure, and start-up and NIPUN), and Bastar and Sarguja received special provisions, including an education city at Abujhmad and Jagargunda.

Governance and reforms

The budget provides for e-Office and biometric attendance in government offices, the UPAHAR land-record system (auto diversion and auto mutation), a Mukhyamantri Helpline portal (Rs 20 crore), model sub-registrar offices at 15 locations, a Business Intelligence Unit for GST, a new treasury under the Centre's SNA-SPARSH fund-flow system, a Chhattisgarh Pension Fund (Rs 500 crore) and a Growth Stability Fund (Rs 250 crore). The state also ran a 41-day grievance-redressal campaign, Sushasan Tihar, in 2026. Two governance changes outside the budget are the return to direct mayoral elections and the October 2024 decision to raise OBC reservation in local bodies.

For exam preparation

• The 2026-27 budget is Rs 1.72 lakh crore, presented on 24 February 2026.
• The state's fiscal deficit is 2.87 per cent of GSDP by its own accounting.
• Capital expenditure is Rs 26,500 crore and GSDP is Rs 7,09,553 crore.
• Mahtari Vandan Yojana gets Rs 8,200 crore and Krishak Unnati Yojana Rs 10,000 crore.
• The theme of the budget is SANKALP.
• Five Mukhyamantri missions were announced.

Economy

Chhattisgarh is a mineral-and-power economy with a rice-growing countryside. As on October 2026, the state's own Economic Survey 2025-26 (tabled in the Vidhan Sabha on 23 February 2026) puts nominal GSDP for 2025-26 at about ₹6.31 lakh crore and per capita income at ₹1,79,244. Industry, driven by mining, power and metals, supplies the largest share of output, but agriculture still employs most of the workforce. The state's finances are healthy on the revenue side and stretched on borrowing.

Size, growth and income

The figures below are the Economic Survey 2025-26 estimates for 2025-26 (estimates can be revised later).

Indicator	Value (2025-26, Economic Survey)
Real GSDP growth (constant 2011-12 prices)	8.11%, to ₹3,58,293 crore
Nominal GSDP growth (current prices)	11.57%, to about ₹6.31 lakh crore
Per capita income	₹1,79,244 (up 10.07% from ₹1,62,848)
Share of GSDP: agriculture and allied	20.64%
Share of GSDP: industry	46.59%
Share of GSDP: services	32.77%
Sector growth: agriculture / industry / services	7.49% / 7.21% / 9.11%

The state government has spoken of doubling GSDP to ₹10 lakh crore by 2028. That is a stated ambition, not a forecast. The 2026-27 budget documents project GSDP at ₹7,09,553 crore at current prices, about 12% higher than in 2025-26.

For a longer view, NITI Aayog's 2025 "Macro and Fiscal Landscape of the State of Chhattisgarh" report gives these older benchmarks:

• Real GSDP grew at an average of 5.5% a year from 2012-13 to 2021-22, close to the national 5.6%.
• The state's share in India's nominal GDP was 1.7% in 2021-22, down from 2.1% in 1993-94.
• Per capita income in 2021-22 was about 20% below the national average. The 2025-26 figure above is not directly comparable, because it comes from the state's own survey.
• By gross state value added in 2021-22, industry contributed 42.4%, services 35.4% and agriculture 22.2%. Mining alone was about 8.9% of GSVA in that period.
• Foreign direct investment is small: 0.1% of India's FDI inflow in 2023-24. Exports were about US$136 million in 2022-23.

Jobs and poverty

Employment looks quite different from output. NITI's report, using the Periodic Labour Force Survey 2022-23, says 62.6% of workers are in agriculture, forestry and fishing, 18.8% in services, 9.7% in construction and 7.6% in manufacturing. The annual unemployment rate was 2.4% against 3.2% for India, and the female labour-force participation rate was 59.8%. High female participation partly reflects farm and forest work.

On poverty, NITI Aayog's National Multidimensional Poverty Index (2023 report, built on NFHS-4 and NFHS-5) shows the share of people who are multidimensionally poor falling from 29.90% in 2015-16 to 16.37% in 2019-21. The MPI value fell from 0.133 to 0.070. "Multidimensional" means the index looks at health, education and living standards together, not income alone.

State budget and finances

The 2026-27 budget was presented in February 2026 under the name "Sankalp Budget". The figures below are from the budget documents as analysed by PRS Legislative Research.

Item (2026-27 budget estimate)	Amount
Total expenditure (excluding debt repayment)	₹1,72,000 crore (up 10% on 2025-26 revised)
Revenue receipts	₹1,43,000 crore
Own revenue (tax plus non-tax)	₹77,000 crore (54%)
Central transfers	₹66,000 crore (46%)
Own tax revenue	₹52,000 crore (7.3% of GSDP)
State GST	₹17,780 crore (largest own-tax source)
Mining non-tax revenue	₹19,000 crore
Capital outlay	₹26,500 crore (up 63% on 2025-26 revised)
Revenue deficit	₹2,000 crore (0.3% of GSDP)
Outstanding liabilities	21.4% of GSDP at end of 2026-27

Two points need care when quoting the deficit. The state government reports a fiscal deficit of about ₹20,400 crore (2.87% of GSDP). PRS reports ₹28,900 crore (4.1% of GSDP), because the state counts public-account receipts as non-debt capital receipts and PRS does not. The 16th Finance Commission recommended a 3% annual deficit limit for 2026-31, and 50-year interest-free central capital loans (budgeted at ₹8,500 crore) are excluded when the borrowing ceiling is worked out. The state's Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management (FRBM) Act dates from 2005.

Committed spending (salaries, pensions, interest) is ₹57,293 crore, about 40% of revenue receipts. Salaries take ₹37,303 crore, interest ₹10,983 crore and pensions ₹9,007 crore. Outstanding liabilities were 11.5% of GSDP in 2011-12 and 24.7% in 2023-24, according to the 16th Finance Commission as cited by PRS. Outstanding government guarantees were ₹17,888 crore (2.8% of GSDP) in January 2026.

State GST is the largest own-tax source, at about 34% of own tax revenue. Mining is about three-quarters of the state's own non-tax revenue.

For exam preparation

• The Economic Survey 2025-26 estimates per capita income at ₹1,79,244 and real GSDP growth at 8.11%.
• Industry has the largest share of GSDP (46.59%), then services (32.77%) and agriculture (20.64%), in that survey.
• About 62.6% of workers are in agriculture, forestry and fishing (PLFS 2022-23, via NITI Aayog).
• The 2026-27 budget is ₹1.72 lakh crore, presented in February 2026.
• Multidimensional poverty fell from 29.90% (NFHS-4) to 16.37% (NFHS-5) in NITI's 2023 index.
• Mining supplies about ₹19,000 crore of non-tax revenue in 2026-27.

Agriculture, forests, minerals, industry and energy

Chhattisgarh is called the rice bowl of India because paddy dominates its farms. It also holds one of the largest forest covers among Indian states, large coal and iron ore deposits, and the only tin concentrate production in the country. These resources feed steel, aluminium and coal power plants in Bilaspur, Korba, Durg, Raigarh and Dantewada. Because of this, the state sends power and minerals outside and imports most of its manufactured goods.

Agriculture

Older state agriculture figures put the net sown area at about 46.8 lakh hectares and the gross sown area at about 55.6 lakh hectares, with irrigation reaching roughly 36% of cropped area. Paddy covers about 37 lakh hectares in the kharif season and gives most of the state's foodgrain output. Other crops are maize, wheat, pulses (tur, gram, urad), oilseeds and millets. Rabi cropping is small compared with kharif. Treat these as approximate and check the latest Agriculture Department release before using them as a precise answer.

Farm policy has centred on paddy procurement and price support:

• For the 2025-26 marketing year, the state procures paddy at ₹3,100 per quintal, up to 21 quintals per acre, between 15 November 2025 and 31 January 2026.
• Procurement is done through primary cooperative societies, with 2,739 procurement centres and an online token app, "Token Tuhar Hath".
• Under the Krishak Unnati Yojana, farmers get the gap between the ₹3,100 promise and the central minimum support price as input assistance. For the 2023-24 crop, the first payment was ₹917 per quintal over the MSP, and about ₹13,320 crore was released to 24.72 lakh farmers in March 2024. A June 2025 cabinet decision extended the scheme beyond paddy to maize, lentils and oilseeds.
• The state reports procuring about 141 lakh tonnes of paddy from 25,24,339 farmers in the 2025-26 year, and a ₹10,000 crore Krishak Unnati payment for that season. The cumulative total across three seasons is reported as ₹35,000 crore. These are press-reported numbers.

The 2026-27 budget gives ₹30,708 crore to agriculture and allied activities (a 15% fall from the 2025-26 revised figure, which included a large one-time payout) and ₹10,000 crore to Krishak Unnati.

Two paddy varieties carry Geographical Indication tags: Jeeraphool (certified 14 March 2019) and Nagri Dubraj (registration reported in 2023).

Forests

The India State of Forest Report 2023 (Forest Survey of India) records 55,812 sq km of forest cover in Chhattisgarh. That is third in the country after Madhya Pradesh and Arunachal Pradesh. Against a geographical area of 1,35,192 sq km, this is about 41% (our calculation). The report also lists the state's growing stock at about 398.5 million cubic metres and credits it with the largest gain in forest and tree cover among states in that assessment cycle (683.62 sq km).

Minor forest produce, of which tendu leaf is the best known, is a cash income source for tribal households. A 2025 government note on GST rate cuts named processed tendu leaf products, spices and millets as items that benefit small producers in the state.

Minerals

The Indian Bureau of Mines describes Chhattisgarh as the only producer of tin concentrate and moulding sand and a leading producer of coal, dolomite, bauxite and iron ore. Older IBM figures give the state about 36% of India's tin ore resources, 20% of iron ore (haematite), 18% of coal and 11% of dolomite.

Mineral	Main areas
Coal	Korba, Raigarh and Surguja areas
Iron ore (haematite)	Bailadila (Dantewada), Bastar, Chhote Dongar (Kanker), Rowghat-Chargaon area (listed under Rajnandgaon by IBM), Dalli-Rajhara (Durg)
Bauxite	Bastar, Bilaspur, Dantewada, Jashpur, Kanker, Kabirdham, Korba, Raigarh, Surguja
Dolomite	Bastar, Bilaspur, Durg, Janjgir-Champa, Raigarh, Raipur

Coal resources are put at about 80.77 billion tonnes in a recent geological summary (37.24 billion measured, 42.29 billion indicated, 1.24 billion inferred). The state holds roughly 17% of India's coal and ranks third among states. NMDC mines iron ore at Kirandul and Bacheli in the Bailadila sector in Dantewada district.

On the revenue side, mining is about ₹19,000 crore of the state's 2026-27 estimated non-tax revenue. PRS notes that only about 9% of auctioned mine blocks in Chhattisgarh became operational between 2015-16 and 2024-25, against 54% in Odisha.

Industry

• Bhilai Steel Plant (SAIL), Durg district. Set up from 1955 with Soviet help; its first blast furnace was commissioned in 1959. SAIL has approved expanding crude steel capacity from 6.8 to 10.2 million tonnes a year.
• BALCO, Korba. Incorporated in 1965 as a public-sector aluminium company; it is now run by Vedanta. In October 2025 it produced first metal from a new 525 kA smelter, taking planned capacity to 1 million tonnes a year.
• Sponge iron: the state had about 57 sponge iron plants in 2014-15. A more recent count is not confirmed.

The Chhattisgarh Industrial Development Policy 2024-30, launched in November 2024 under a "Vision 2047" framing, offers fixed capital investment subsidy, SGST reimbursement, interest subsidy and electricity and stamp duty exemption. The cabinet amended it in January 2026. The 2026-27 budget announces 23 new industrial parks with ₹250 crore.

Energy

In February 2026 the state reported an installed capacity of about 30,671.7 MW: 28,824 MW thermal, 220 MW hydro and 2,047 MW solar, biomass and other renewables. A separate April 2026 press report, using a broader renewable count, gives 3,246.93 MW of non-conventional capacity for 2025-26 (solar 1,671.91 MW, biomass 1,327.09 MW, small hydro 240.35 MW, bagasse 7.58 MW). The two lists use different definitions, so do not mix them in one sum.

The state-owned CSPGCL runs about 2,840 MW of thermal plant across Hasdeo (4×210 MW), Korba West (500 MW), Korba East (2×250 MW) and Marwa (2×500 MW). NTPC's Sipat plant in Bilaspur district got a foundation stone for a third stage (1×800 MW) on 30 March 2025, which will take Sipat to 3,780 MW. A plan reported in February 2026 lists 32,100 MW of additions: 12,100 MW thermal, 4,200 MW nuclear, 2,500 MW solar and 13,300 MW pumped storage. Treat these as proposals. The 2026-27 budget sets aside ₹5,500 crore for free power to agricultural pumps.

For exam preparation

• Chhattisgarh is the only producer of tin concentrate in India.
• Forest cover is 55,812 sq km (ISFR 2023), third in India after Madhya Pradesh and Arunachal Pradesh.
• Paddy is bought at ₹3,100 per quintal up to 21 quintals per acre in the 2025-26 year, under the Krishak Unnati Yojana.
• Bhilai Steel Plant began with Soviet collaboration; its first blast furnace was commissioned in 1959.
• BALCO was incorporated in 1965 and is based at Korba.
• NMDC's Bailadila iron ore mines are in Dantewada district.
• Jeeraphool and Nagri Dubraj are the GI-tagged paddy varieties.

Transport and infrastructure

Chhattisgarh is landlocked, so goods leave by rail and road to ports in Odisha, West Bengal and Andhra Pradesh. Rail is the strongest mode. National highway density is below the national average, and Raipur is the only major commercial airport.

Railways

The South East Central Railway (SECR) zone has its headquarters at Bilaspur and began working on 1 April 2003. It has three divisions: Bilaspur, Raipur and Nagpur. On 30 March 2025 the Union Government announced that the state's broad-gauge network, about 1,297 route km, was fully electrified.

The Dalli Rajhara-Rowghat-Jagdalpur line (about 235 km, in two phases) is meant to bring a railway to the Bastar region. Dalli Rajhara to Taroki (77 km) was commissioned by March 2024. Later sections were still being built when we last checked, and a current status was not confirmed.

Roads

As of 2025, the state has 3,607.59 km of national highway, as follows: 249.00 km below two lanes, 853.84 km two-lane, 1,282.56 km two-lane with paved shoulder, 1,129.44 km four-lane and 92.75 km more than four lanes. National highway density is 26.78 km per 1,000 sq km against a national average of 44.47 km. About 950 km was planned in the state under Bharatmala Pariyojana.

The Raipur-Visakhapatnam Economic Corridor (NH-130CD) is a 464 km six-lane access-controlled greenfield road across Chhattisgarh, Odisha and Andhra Pradesh. Its expected completion is December 2026, and the date is subject to change. NHAI broke through the state's first highway tunnel on this corridor, a 2.79 km twin-tube stretch between Kanker and Kondagaon districts, in October 2025.

Air

Swami Vivekananda Airport, Raipur, is the main airport. A June 2026 report says it handled more than 27 lakh passengers in 2025-26. In 2026, the civil aviation minister reportedly cleared the way for international services, but starting dates were not confirmed. Under UDAN, the Centre sanctioned ₹48 crore for Jagdalpur (Maa Danteshwari Airport), ₹27 crore for Ambikapur and ₹33 crore for Bilaspur. Alliance Air flies from Jagdalpur to Raipur and Hyderabad. At Bilaspur, defence land of 290.80 acres was handed over on 6 April 2026 for upgrading the airport, and six airlines were invited to assess commercial flights.

Power grid, water and urban planning

The state reported 41 new high-voltage substations over three years, 797 circuit km of new transmission lines and a 5,200 km optical-fibre network linking 131 substations. Under the 2026-27 budget, ₹3,000 crore goes to the Jal Jeevan Mission and ₹7,403 crore to capital outlay on roads and bridges.

Nava Raipur, officially Atal Nagar, is a planned greenfield city and the seat of the state government. The budget gives ₹960 crore to the Nava Raipur Atal Nagar Development Authority. We have not confirmed any metro rail project, so none is listed.

For exam preparation

• SECR zone headquarters is Bilaspur, functioning since 1 April 2003, with Bilaspur, Raipur and Nagpur divisions.
• The state's railway network was declared fully electrified on 30 March 2025.
• National highway length is 3,607.59 km (2025).
• The Raipur-Visakhapatnam corridor is a six-lane, 464 km greenfield expressway under construction.
• The main airport is Swami Vivekananda Airport, Raipur.
• The Bastar rail line runs from Dalli Rajhara towards Jagdalpur.

Culture, tribes and heritage

Chhattisgarh's culture rests on its tribal population, its farming calendar and an older layer of temples and Buddhist sites along the Mahanadi. Chhattisgarhi, the main local language, was recognised as an official language of the state on 28 November 2007, alongside Hindi. Scheduled Tribes make up about 30.6% of the population (Census 2011), with 42 recognised tribes.

Languages and literature

Chhattisgarhi is spoken across the plains, tribal languages such as Gondi and Halbi are spoken in Bastar and other forest areas, and Hindi is the language of administration. One writer stands out in recent years:

• Vinod Kumar Shukla (born 1 January 1937) was the first writer from Chhattisgarh to win the Jnanpith Award. He received the 59th Jnanpith Award, for 2024, which was announced in March 2025. His novels include Naukar Ki Kameez, Khilega To Dekhenge and Deewar Mein Ek Khidki Rahti Thi. He died at AIIMS Raipur on 23 December 2025, aged 88.

Tribes

Scheduled Tribes are 30.6% of the population (Census 2011, 42 recognised tribes). Five groups are listed as Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTGs): Baiga, Abujhmadia (Abhuj Maria), Kamar, Pahari Korwa and Birhor. Census 2011 reports a combined PVTG population of 2,33,450, but publishes separate figures for only two of them (Baiga and Kamar).

Tribe	Where mainly found
Gond	Bastar, Kanker, Rajnandgaon, Kabirdham, Kondagaon, Dantewada; the largest tribe
Abhuj Maria	Narayanpur (Abujhmad forests); a PVTG
Halba	Bastar, Kanker, Durg, Raipur
Baiga	Kabirdham, Bilaspur; a PVTG
Kamar	Gariaband, Dhamtari; a PVTG
Oraon	Jashpur, Surguja
Korwa	Surguja, Balrampur, Jashpur (Pahari Korwa are a PVTG)
Kanwar	Central and northern districts

Folk dance, music and theatre

Form	Community and occasion
Panthi	Satnami community; performed around Maghi Purnima, the birth anniversary of Guru Ghasidas; fast, acrobatic steps with mridangam and cymbals
Raut Nacha	Yadav community; stick dance tied to Krishna and cattle-herding
Karma	Gond, Baiga and Oraon groups; circular dance around the Karma tree at the harvest festival
Suwa	Women's circle dance in the harvest season
Saila	Gond and other groups; harvest dance in semi-circles
Pandavani	Solo narration of the Mahabharata with a tambura, made famous by Teejan Bai

Pandavani's best-known performer, Teejan Bai (born at Ganiyari near Bhilai), received the Padma Shri in 1988, the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award in 1995, the Padma Bhushan in 2003 and the Padma Vibhushan in 2019. She died on 5 July 2026, aged 70.

In theatre, Habib Tanvir founded Naya Theatre in 1959 and built plays around Chhattisgarhi folk performers. His 1975 play Charandas Chor won a Fringe First at the Edinburgh Festival.

Festivals and fairs

Festival	Notes
Bastar Dussehra	About 75 days long, from the Shravan dark fortnight to the 13th day of the bright fortnight of Ashwin; centred on goddess Danteshwari; the Ravana effigy is not burned; run by the Bastar royal family; reported to date from the reign of Purushottam Dev in the 13th century
Hareli, Goncha, Nawakhani, Sarhul	Listed among the state's tribal and agricultural festivals; dates and rituals are not detailed here
Madai	Tribal festival, listed among the Bastar-region festivals
Karma	Harvest festival of Gond, Baiga and Oraon groups, danced around the Karma tree

Rajim, in Gariaband district at the meeting of the Mahanadi, Pairi and Sondur rivers, has the Rajiv Lochan temple (Vishnu) and the Kuleshwar Mahadev temple (Shiva) at the confluence. Its temples date from the 8th to 14th centuries.

Food

The staples are rice, rice flour, curd and leafy greens such as lal bhaji, chowlai and bohar. Typical dishes: chila (rice-and-urad pancake), farra (steamed rice-flour dumplings with a dal or vegetable filling), muthia, angakar roti (thick rice roti cooked on charcoal), bore baasi (soaked leftover rice eaten in summer), khurma (vermicelli sweet) and bafauri (steamed gram-flour dumplings).

Handicrafts and GI tags

Gond painting, Dhokra metal casting, bamboo craft, wood carving, terracotta work and Kosa silk are the best-known crafts. Registered Geographical Indications we could confirm are below. A complete, current registry count is not confirmed.

GI product	Type	Notes
Bastar Dhokra	Handicraft	Certified 22 April 2008
Bastar Wooden Craft	Handicraft	Registered 22 April 2008
Bastar Iron Craft	Handicraft	Registered around 2008-09
Champa Silk Sarees and Fabrics	Handicraft	Kosa silk; registered around 2011
Jeeraphool rice	Agricultural	Certified 14 March 2019; first rice variety of the state
Nagri Dubraj rice	Agricultural	Dhamtari block; registration reported in 2023

Rock art, architecture and heritage

Rock paintings in red ochre exist at Kabra Pahar ("spotted mountain", about 8 km east of Raigarh), Singhanpur (about 20 km north-west of Raigarh) and Ongna. The state's architecture is best seen in three places:

• Sirpur (Mahasamund district), once a major centre of South Kosala. The Lakshmana temple, a brick temple, is dated to about 595-605 CE. Excavations show Buddhist viharas, a Jain vihara and many Shaiva and Vaishnava temples. In November 2025 the Archaeological Survey of India and the Sirpur development authority carried out an inspection linked to a UNESCO World Heritage nomination.
• Bhoramdeo (Kabirdham district), an 11th-century Shiva temple known as the "Khajuraho of Chhattisgarh".
• Malhar and Ratanpur, where several monuments, such as the Pateleshwar temple and the Kanthi Dewal, are protected by the ASI.

For exam preparation

• Chhattisgarhi became an official language of the state on 28 November 2007.
• Scheduled Tribes are about 30.6% of the population (Census 2011), with 42 recognised tribes.
• Gond is the largest tribe.
• Bastar Dussehra lasts about 75 days and does not involve burning a Ravana effigy.
• Panthi is the Satnami dance linked to Guru Ghasidas; Pandavani is the Mahabharata narration made famous by Teejan Bai.
• Vinod Kumar Shukla was the state's first Jnanpith awardee (59th Jnanpith, for 2024).
• Bastar Dhokra (certified 22 April 2008) is among the state's earliest GI tags.

Tourism and places of interest

Tourism in Chhattisgarh is built on waterfalls and caves in Bastar, wildlife in the central and northern forests, and temples and Buddhist ruins along the Mahanadi. October to March is the usual visiting season.

Place	District / region	What it is
Chitrakote Falls	Bastar	Waterfall on the Indravati, about 40 km from Jagdalpur; about 90 ft high (district tourism page)
Tirathgarh Falls	Bastar	Waterfall near Jagdalpur
Kanger Valley National Park	Bastar	About 200 sq km; limestone caves (Kutumsar, Kailash, Dandak); on UNESCO's Tentative List
Danteshwari Temple	Dantewada	Shaktipeeth; central to Bastar Dussehra
Sirpur	Mahasamund	Lakshmana temple and Buddhist viharas; UNESCO nomination in progress
Bhoramdeo	Kabirdham	11th-century temple complex
Rajim	Gariaband	Rajiv Lochan temple at the Mahanadi-Pairi-Sondur confluence
Malhar and Ratanpur	Bilaspur	ASI-protected temples and a fort
Mainpat	Surguja	Hill station called "Mini Tibet"
Barnawapara Wildlife Sanctuary	Central Chhattisgarh	About 245 sq km; established 1976
Kopra Reservoir	Bilaspur	Ramsar wetland

Recognised sites

• UNESCO: Kanger Valley National Park was added to India's UNESCO Tentative List (natural heritage) in March 2025, the first site from the state. We found no report of a Chhattisgarh site on the full World Heritage List.
• Ramsar: Kopra Reservoir in Bilaspur district (Sakri village) was announced as the state's first Ramsar site on 12 December 2025. Reported bird-species counts differ (122 and 161), so none is given here.
• Archaeological Survey of India: the Lakshmana temple at Sirpur, monuments at Malhar and the Kanthi Dewal at Ratanpur are among protected sites. The total number of centrally protected monuments in the state is not confirmed.

Wildlife areas

The state has three national parks (Indravati, Kanger Valley and Guru Ghasidas) and eleven wildlife sanctuaries covering 3,760.28 sq km (2.78% of the state), as reported in one aggregator. It has four tiger reserves: Indravati, Udanti-Sitanadi, Achanakmar and Guru Ghasidas-Tamor Pingla. The last one was notified in 2024, covers about 2,829 sq km (2,049 sq km core and 780 sq km buffer) and is described as India's 56th and third largest tiger reserve. The 56th number and the sanctuary count are as reported by the sources we opened; check with the Forest Department for the latest official figures.

For exam preparation

• Chitrakote Falls is on the Indravati river in Bastar district.
• Kanger Valley National Park was added to UNESCO's Tentative List in March 2025.
• Kopra Reservoir (Bilaspur) became Chhattisgarh's first Ramsar site, announced 12 December 2025.
• Guru Ghasidas-Tamor Pingla is the state's fourth tiger reserve (notified 2024).
• Bhoramdeo is called the Khajuraho of Chhattisgarh.
• Sirpur's Lakshmana temple is a brick temple of about 595-605 CE.

Education, health, sports and personalities

Chhattisgarh has a cluster of national institutes in Raipur and Bhilai. Its health indicators are weaker than the national average, although they have improved over time.

Literacy and schools

Literacy was 70.3% in Census 2011. The 2026-27 budget allots ₹27,068 crore to education, sports, arts and culture (up 23% on the 2025-26 revised estimate), including ₹12,083 crore for government primary schools and ₹5,763 crore for government secondary schools. It also proposes "education cities" in the Abujhmad and Jagargunda areas of Bastar.

Institutions

Institution	Place	Note
AIIMS Raipur	Raipur	Established 2012
NIT Raipur	Raipur	Reported as established in 1956 (as an engineering college); NIT status date not confirmed
IIT Bhilai	Bhilai (Durg)	Established 2016
IIM Raipur	Raipur	Year not confirmed here
IIIT Naya Raipur	Nava Raipur	Established 2015
Hidayatullah National Law University	Raipur	Established 2003
Guru Ghasidas Vishwavidyalaya	Bilaspur	Established 1983; central university since 2009
Pt. Ravishankar Shukla University	Raipur	1964
Indira Gandhi Krishi Vishwavidyalaya	Raipur	1987
Chhattisgarh Swami Vivekanand Technical University	Bhilai	2004
Sarguja University	Ambikapur	2008
Bastar University	Jagdalpur	2 September 2008
Atal Bihari Vajpayee Vishwavidyalaya	Bilaspur	2012
Hemchand Yadav Vishwavidyalaya	Durg	2015

Health

NITI Aayog's 2025 report puts life expectancy at birth at 65.1 years (older sources give 65.2 for 2014-18), against about 70 for India. It reports an infant mortality rate of 38 per 1,000 live births in 2020, higher than the national benchmark. Maternal mortality fell from 269 per lakh live births (SRS 2007-09) to 159 (SRS 2018). Full immunisation was 79.7% in the NITI report. The 2026-27 budget gives ₹11,153 crore to health (up 14%), ₹2,000 crore to the National Health Mission and ₹1,500 crore to the Shaheed Veer Narayan Singh Ayushman Swasthya Yojana. We could not confirm the current number of medical colleges.

Sports

The Shaheed Veer Narayan Singh International Cricket Stadium at Nava Raipur has a reported capacity of about 65,000. The Chhattisgarhiya Olympics promote traditional games, and the Bastar Olympics, held from 25 October to 30 November 2025, reportedly drew about 3.92 lakh participants, up from 1.65 lakh the year before, including surrendered Maoists and conflict-affected people. The state has announced cash awards for Olympic medallists of ₹3 crore (gold), ₹2 crore (silver) and ₹1 crore (bronze). Weightlifter Gyaneshwari Yadav of Rajnandgaon won silver in the women's 53 kg class at the 2026 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow (199 kg total).

Notable people and honours

Person	Known for
Vinod Kumar Shukla	First Jnanpith awardee from the state
Teejan Bai	Pandavani; Padma Vibhushan 2019
Habib Tanvir	Theatre director and founder of Naya Theatre
Budhri Tati, Dr Ramchandra Godbole and Sunita Godbole	Padma Shri 2026 (social work and medical service; Dantewada district)

State honours are presented around Rajyotsav (1 November), including the Chhattisgarh Rajya Alankaran awards and the Shaheed Veer Narayan Singh and Guru Ghasidas Samman. The Rajya Khel Alankaran honours sportspeople.

For exam preparation

• AIIMS Raipur was established in 2012 and IIT Bhilai in 2016.
• Hidayatullah National Law University, Raipur, was established in 2003.
• Guru Ghasidas University, Bilaspur, became a central university in 2009.
• Literacy was 70.3% in Census 2011.
• The Shaheed Veer Narayan Singh International Cricket Stadium is at Nava Raipur.
• Teejan Bai (Padma Vibhushan 2019) died on 5 July 2026.

Government schemes

Since December 2023 the state government has renamed several earlier schemes and launched new ones. The list below is from official or press sources as on October 2026; eligibility rules can change, so check the department notice before applying.

Scheme	What it gives	Eligibility and status
Mahtari Vandan Yojana	₹1,000 a month by direct transfer	Permanent residents aged 21 or above (as on 1 January 2024) who are married, widowed, divorced or deserted; not for income-tax payers or government-employee families. Launched March 2024. 30th instalment (₹630 crore to 67,20,125 women) was released on 8 August 2026. 2026-27 budget: ₹8,200 crore
Krishak Unnati Yojana	Input assistance equal to the gap between ₹3,100 per quintal and the MSP; extended to maize, lentils and oilseeds	Farmers selling paddy at procurement centres, up to 21 quintals per acre. 2026-27 budget: ₹10,000 crore
Shaheed Veer Narayan Singh Ayushman Swasthya Yojana	Cashless treatment up to ₹5 lakh for priority families; up to ₹50,000 for other ration-card families	Renamed in June 2024 from the Dr. Khubchand Baghel scheme; needs identity verification and an Ayushman e-card. 2026-27 budget: ₹1,500 crore
Mukhyamantri Khadyann Sahayata Yojana	Subsidised foodgrain on ration cards	Ration-card holders; details of quantity and price not confirmed. 2026-27 budget: ₹5,000 crore.
PM Awas Yojana (Gramin)	Rural housing support	Eligible rural households under the central scheme. 2026-27 budget: ₹4,000 crore
Niyad Nellanar Yojana	About 25 basic amenities in villages near security camps in Bastar	Villages within about 5 km of camps
Rani Durgavati Yojana	₹1.5 lakh to girls at age 18	Announced in the 2026-27 budget; launch details not confirmed

Other budget measures include a 50% registration-fee concession for women on property registration (announced in the 2026-27 budget) and ₹4,000 crore for the central rural employment programme listed as VB-G RAM G in the budget documents. A newspaper report in August 2026 said the Mahtari Vandan Yojana had paid 2,260 women who had died; we have not verified the report, and the state's response was not checked.

For exam preparation

• Mahtari Vandan Yojana pays ₹1,000 a month to eligible women and was launched in March 2024.
• Krishak Unnati Yojana is tied to the ₹3,100 per quintal paddy promise.
• Shaheed Veer Narayan Singh Ayushman Swasthya Yojana was renamed in June 2024 from the Dr. Khubchand Baghel scheme.
• Niyad Nellanar Yojana targets villages near security camps in Bastar.
• The Rani Durgavati Yojana (₹1.5 lakh at age 18) was announced in the 2026-27 budget.

Government exams in Chhattisgarh

Government recruitment in Chhattisgarh runs through a handful of bodies. The Chhattisgarh Public Service Commission (CGPSC) selects officers for Class I and II posts and, in some cycles, police sub-inspectors. A separate professional examination board, still widely called CG Vyapam, runs most written exams for Class III posts and teacher eligibility. The High Court, the Police Headquarters and individual departments run the physical, skill and document stages for their own posts. Vacancy numbers, dates and age rules change with every notification, so treat every figure below as a pointer and check the latest notification before you apply.

Chhattisgarh Public Service Commission (CGPSC)

The commission recruits for the State Services (Deputy Collector, Deputy Superintendent of Police, Chief Municipal Officer, Naib Tahsildar and other posts), and its site lists exams such as Civil Judge and Medical Officer as well. Our CGPSC guide covers the State Service exam in detail. The scheme reported for the State Service Examination has three stages:

Stage	What it is
Prelims	Two objective papers of 200 marks each (100 questions, 2 hours each). Paper I is General Studies with Chhattisgarh GK; Paper II is an aptitude test. One-third mark is deducted per wrong answer.
Mains	Seven descriptive papers of 200 marks each (1,400 total), three hours per paper. Reported papers: Hindi language, essay and General Studies papers. Answers may be written in Hindi or English.
Interview	Personality test. Sources disagree on the marks (100 in some, 150 in others), so read the rules attached to the notification.

One detail aspirants often miss: according to one exam-pattern reference, only Paper I counts towards merit for the Mains, while Paper II is qualifying (33% for general candidates, 23% for reserved and disabled candidates). Confirm this against the rules of the cycle you are applying for.

For the most recent cycle, the State Service Exam 2025 advertised 238 posts. Secondary sources report the notification on 26 November 2025, the Prelims on 22 February 2026 and a Prelims result on 25 March 2026 with 3,921 candidates qualifying for the Mains. The Mains are reported to have been held on 6 to 9 June 2026, with the result on 31 August 2026; one source had earlier listed 16 to 19 May for the Mains, so the dates should be checked on psc.cg.gov.in. The interview schedule was not confirmed when we checked. This is the same cycle our guides describe; for later cycles, check the latest notification.

CGPSC also conducts the Police Sub-Inspector, Subedar and Platoon Commander exam. Our CG Police SI guide notes the latest cycle advertised 341 posts, with a Prelims on 12 July 2026, a Mains and an interview, and a graduate degree as the qualification. We have not independently re-verified those SI figures against the commission's own notice, so confirm them on the notification.

Chhattisgarh Vyapam and the new Staff Selection Board

The Chhattisgarh Vyavsayik Pariksha Mandal (Chhattisgarh Professional Examination Board, universally called CG Vyapam) conducts most Class III written exams, the teacher eligibility test, entrance tests and several departmental recruitments. It is a Chhattisgarh body and should not be confused with the Madhya Pradesh board that had a different name and a well-known scandal.

The board is in a transition. On 20 March 2026 the Chhattisgarh Assembly passed the Chhattisgarh Staff Selection Board Bill, 2026, creating a new body to conduct recruitment exams for Class III and Class IV posts. News reports say the existing professional examination board will be merged into it, that it will be headed by a chairperson of principal-secretary rank, and that it is meant to publish an annual exam calendar. The Assembly also took up a separate bill against unfair means in public exams.

As on 4 October 2026, the official Vyapam website still presents itself as CG Vyapam and lists current notices. We could not confirm the date of the Governor's assent, the notification that brings the Act into force or the date the merger takes effect. In practice, a notice may carry either the Vyapam or the Staff Selection Board name for some time, so read the issuing authority on each notification and do not treat the two names as different exams.

The exams that currently run through this board, as our guides describe them, include:

• Chhattisgarh Police Constable: the 2025 cycle advertised about 5,967 posts. Secondary sources report a split into General Duty, driver and trade posts, a Class 10 qualification, and a selection process of physical tests, written exam, document verification and medical. Age is reported as 18 to 28 years with relaxations in the 2024 advertisement; confirm in the current notice.
• Forest Guard: the written exam is held by the board, while the Forest and Climate Change Department conducts the qualifying physical tests. Our guide says the latest large recruitment advertised 1,484 posts and the qualification is Class 12.
• Chhattisgarh TET: Paper 1 is for classes 1 to 5 and Paper 2 for classes 6 to 8, each of 150 questions in 150 marks over 2 hours 30 minutes. Qualifying marks are reported as 60% for the general category (90 of 150) and 50% for SC, ST, OBC and disabled candidates (75 of 150). The certificate is reported to be valid for life. Our guide says the latest exam was held on 1 February 2026.
• Assistant Teacher: 2,292 posts in the 2026 cycle (795 E-cadre and 1,497 T-cadre) per our guide, with a TET pass and a diploma in elementary education required and the written exam scheduled for 11 October 2026.
• Assistant Grade 3: 64 posts across the Law and Legislative Affairs Department and the State Legal Services Authority in the 2026 cycle, with a qualifying Hindi typing test after the written exam.
• ADEO (Assistant Development Extension Officer): a Panchayat and Rural Development Department post; the 2025 cycle advertised 200 posts, with a written exam and an interview.
• Mandi Nirikshak: the Mandi Board post; the 2026 cycle advertised 200 posts, followed by merit list, police verification and a medical check.
• Amin Patwari: a Water Resources Department Group C post, a different job from the Revenue Department patwari; the 2025 cycle advertised 50 posts.
• Pre B.Ed and Pre D.El.Ed: entrance tests for the B.Ed and D.El.Ed courses. Each is an OMR paper of 100 questions. The Pre B.Ed requires a graduate degree and Chhattisgarh domicile.

The board's site also listed notices for Lecturer posts, the State Eligibility Test, Laboratory Assistant, Fireman and Forest Guard second-level written exam recently, which shows the range of recruitment it handles. Every post-level figure above comes from our exam guides or secondary sources, not from a notification we opened, which is why each needs a check.

High Court of Chhattisgarh

The High Court at Bilaspur recruits its own staff. The High Court Assistant guide covers the Junior Judicial Assistant recruitment of late 2025: 133 posts (124 Junior Judicial Assistant and 9 Junior Judicial Assistant (Computer)), applications from 31 October to 25 November 2025, and a screening test on 4 January 2026 conducted by CG Vyapam. Selection is a screening test, a skill (typing) test carrying 50 marks and an interview, as per secondary sources. The post is open to graduates with a computer qualification, and the paper tests general aptitude rather than law. Judicial officer posts (Civil Judge) are listed under the commission's exams, not the High Court's staff recruitment.

Other recruiters

Police Headquarters (cgpolice.gov.in) publishes constable notices and the physical-test schedule. Individual departments, the health department, universities and district offices also advertise posts such as staff nurse, lecturer or guest faculty, often through the board or directly. Because these are many and small, a monthly look at the CGPSC site, the Vyapam site and the employment news is the reliable way to track them.

For exam preparation

• CGPSC State Services run on a three-stage scheme: Prelims, Mains and an interview.
• The State Service Prelims has two papers of 200 marks, with one-third negative marking.
• The Mains has seven papers of 200 marks each, a total of 1,400.
• Vyapam is the Chhattisgarh Professional Examination Board; the Staff Selection Board Bill, 2026 was passed on 20 March 2026.
• The Chhattisgarh TET has Paper 1 for classes 1 to 5 and Paper 2 for classes 6 to 8, with 150 questions each.
• Police SI is recruited by the commission, while constables are recruited through the board and Police Headquarters.

Domicile, reservation and recruitment rules

In Chhattisgarh state recruitment, being a resident of the state can change your age limit, your quota and sometimes your eligibility. A domicile certificate (called a resident or "mool niwasi" certificate in common use) is issued by the revenue authorities. This section explains the main rules as reported in the exam eligibility notes we opened; the notification of each exam overrides everything here.

Domicile and residence

The general age rule for the State Service Exam is that the age must be at least 21 and below 30 on 1 January of the year of the advertisement, but for domiciled or permanent residents of Chhattisgarh the upper limit extends to 35. Some posts carry different limits (for the DSP post a source lists 21 to 28), and the state government may vary the limits for individual services. A reported pathway to the domicile certificate is studying in the state for five years or more, birth in the state, a parent with immovable property or business in the state for five years, or residence of fifteen years. These conditions come from a general tax-site summary, not an official order, so check the district office's list of documents.

Several of our exam guides state a residence condition: for example, the Amin Patwari guide says you must be a Chhattisgarh native, and the Pre B.Ed guide requires Chhattisgarh domicile. Other exams, including the State Service Exam, are open to all Indian citizens but give the age and reservation benefits only to domiciled candidates. Nothing we opened set a Chhattisgarhi language requirement for the State Service Exam; the exams do include Hindi language papers and many have Chhattisgarh GK sections. Read each notification for language rules.

Reservation in state services

Chhattisgarh's reservation in state posts and educational institutions has been in legal dispute since 2022, so read this part carefully.

Item	What was reported
2012 amendment	Total 58%: SC 12%, ST 32%, OBC 14%.
High Court ruling	On 19 September 2022 a division bench of the Chhattisgarh High Court set aside the amendment, holding that going over the 50% ceiling was unconstitutional because no special case had been made out.
Supreme Court	On 1 May 2023 a Supreme Court bench of Justices B. R. Gavai, Vikram Nath and Sanjay Karol stayed the High Court order. Ongoing recruitment could continue under the 58% policy, with results subject to the final decision.
December 2022 bills	On 3 December 2022 the Assembly unanimously passed two bills for SC 13%, ST 32%, OBC 27% and EWS 4%, taking the total to 76%. Reports from that period say the Governor had not signed them. We did not confirm any later status.

What this means for a candidate: the state government, with Supreme Court permission, was applying the 58% structure to recruitment while the final decision was pending. We did not find a source confirming that the final verdict has been given, or the current roster percentages, so we cannot say how many seats your category will get in a particular recruitment. The vacancy table in each notification gives the real numbers for that exam. The EWS quota also exists under the 103rd Constitutional Amendment; the state-level percentage must be read from the notification.

Age relaxation

The eligibility notes for the State Service Exam, a rules-based document we opened, list the following relaxations on the upper age limit. The document is not dated, so confirm each against the current rules.

• Up to 5 years for domiciled candidates from SC, ST and OBC categories notified by the state government.
• Up to 10 years for women under the 1997 special provisions for women's appointment.
• Up to 5 years for ex-servicemen with at least five years of service, subject to conditions.
• Up to 10 years for disabled candidates applying for Class III posts, with a disability certificate of 40% or more.
• Up to 5 years for widows on their first appointment, and up to 5 years for certain state award-winning sportspersons.
• Up to 38 years for permanent or temporary employees of the state government or its undertakings.
• Up to 3 years for certain repatriates and displaced persons, with more for those who also belong to a reserved category.
• Former Shiksha Karmis may get relaxation equal to their service, capped at the age of 45.

Combined relaxations are usually capped, and a general secondary source quotes an overall ceiling of 45 years for resident candidates; verify the cap in the notification.

Selection stages and vacancy cycles

State Service and SI recruitment generally combine Prelims, Mains and an interview, with extra physical and medical stages for uniformed posts (the State Service rules list minimum height and chest standards for posts such as DSP). Class III recruitment usually combines a written exam with a skill or physical test and document verification. Vacancies are not on a fixed calendar: the Staff Selection Board Bill, 2026 aims at an annual exam calendar, but a published calendar for that board is not something we could confirm. Until it is, expect notifications at irregular times and plan around the syllabus rather than around a date.

For exam preparation

• Domiciled candidates get a higher upper age limit (35 years) in the State Service Exam than others (30).
• The 2012 amendment set Chhattisgarh's quota at 58%: SC 12%, ST 32%, OBC 14%.
• The High Court set that amendment aside on 19 September 2022.
• The Supreme Court stayed the High Court order on 1 May 2023, and the matter is pending as far as we could confirm.
• The December 2022 bills proposed 76% in total, with SC 13%, ST 32%, OBC 27% and EWS 4%.
• Women get a reported 10-year age relaxation in state services.

How to use this guide for exam preparation

This guide is written so that one read gives you the Chhattisgarh-specific GK that sits inside almost every state exam, and a second read turns it into recall. The Chhattisgarh section appears in the CGPSC Prelims, the SI exam, constable, Forest Guard, ADEO, Mandi Nirikshak and many Class III papers, so the same facts pay off across several exams. Use the section map below to decide where to spend time, then follow the four-week plan.

Which sections to prioritise

Section of this page	Why it matters	Typical question type
History	Dynasties, tribes and the freedom movement of the region	Match the dynasty to its capital or period
Geography	Rivers, plateaus, forests, protected areas, minerals	Which river, park or mineral belongs where
Administration and districts	Divisions, 33 districts, the 2022 changes	Counting and naming questions
Demography	Census 2011 figures	Literacy, sex ratio, urban share
Government and politics	Offices, elections, chief ministers	Who held an office and when
Economy and agriculture	Rice, minerals, steel, energy	First, only and rank questions
Culture and tribes	Folk forms, festivals, GI products	Match the art to the district or tribe
Government schemes	State and central schemes	Eligibility and purpose
Rapid-fire facts and FAQs	Compressed revision	Quick recall before a mock

For the CGPSC Prelims, Paper I counts for merit according to the pattern reference we opened, so Chhattisgarh GK is the part of that paper where your preparation is least contested by other states' aspirants. For constable, Forest Guard and Class III posts, the general question is a mix of GK, reasoning, arithmetic and language, so use the history, geography and schemes sections for GK and spend the remaining time on the rest of the syllabus.

A four-week revision plan

Week 1: land and people. Read History, Geography, Administration and Demography once, with the map open. After each section, write ten facts from memory. By the end of the week you should be able to name all five divisions and their headquarters, the main rivers and the three national parks without looking.

Week 2: government and economy. Read How the state is governed, Legislature and Judiciary, Elections and the lists of past chief ministers and governors, then Economy and Agriculture. Learn today's office-holders separately from our current affairs pages with their as-on date, because they are the facts that go out of date first; this guide deliberately does not list them.

Week 3: culture, tourism and schemes. Read Culture, Tourism, Education and Schemes. Make flash cards for tribes, dances, festivals and places. Attempt a topic-wise test on Chhattisgarh GK at the end of the week and note every wrong answer in a mistake log.

Week 4: recall and tests. Read the Rapid-fire table daily, take two full-length mocks (see our CGPSC and Police Constable guides), and revise only the mistake log and the as-on facts. Do not start new sources this week.

Common traps

• Mixing census years. The latest published census is Census 2011. Do not answer a population or literacy question with an estimate or a survey figure unless the question names the source.
• Old office-holders. Chief ministers, ministers, chief justices and chairpersons change. Check the as-on date before you memorise.
• District counts. The state had 16 districts at formation and has 33 now, after the 2022 additions. Older books show 27 or 28.
• Vyapam versus Staff Selection Board. They are the same transition, not two rival exams; read the issuing authority on the notification.
• Confusing the exams. Police SI is a commission exam, constable is a board exam, and Amin Patwari is not the Revenue patwari post.
• Treating any single number as final. Cut-offs, vacancies and dates differ by notification; mock performance is a relative guide only.

For exam preparation

• The Chhattisgarh GK section is repeated across State Services, police, forest and Class III exams.
• Chhattisgarh has 33 districts and 5 divisions.
• Census 2011 remains the latest published census.
• Learn current office-holders from current affairs, with their as-on date; this guide lists only completed tenures.
• Police SI belongs to the commission; constable and TET belong to the board.

Rapid-fire facts

Each row below was taken from a source we opened (listed in the last section). Where a fact has an as-on date, it is in the row. A few facts that we could not confirm are listed in the verification section rather than here.

Fact	Answer
Date of formation of Chhattisgarh	1 November 2000
State carved out of	Madhya Pradesh
Capital	Raipur
Districts at formation	16
Districts now (as on October 2026)	33
Number of divisions	5
Divisions	Surguja, Bilaspur, Raipur, Durg, Bastar
Surguja division headquarters	Ambikapur
Bilaspur division headquarters	Bilaspur
Raipur division headquarters	Raipur
Durg division headquarters	Durg
Bastar division headquarters	Jagdalpur
Year five new districts were inaugurated	2022 (September)
Number of districts created in 2022	5
District inaugurated 2 September 2022	Manpur-Mohla
Districts inaugurated 3 September 2022	Sarangarh-Bilaigarh and Khairagarh-Chhuikhadan-Gandai
Districts inaugurated 9 September 2022	Manendragarh and Sakti
Area of the state	135,192 sq km
Rank by area	9th
Vidhan Sabha seats	90
Lok Sabha seats	11
Rajya Sabha seats	5
Seat of the High Court	Bilaspur
High Court established	1 November 2000
Rank of the High Court among India's High Courts	19th
First Chief Minister	Ajit Jogi
Ajit Jogi's term	1 November 2000 to 7 December 2003
Second Chief Minister	Raman Singh
Raman Singh's term	7 December 2003 to 11 December 2018 (three consecutive terms)
Third Chief Minister	Bhupesh Baghel
Bhupesh Baghel's term	17 December 2018 to 13 December 2023
2018 Vidhan Sabha result, Congress seats	68 of 90
2023 Vidhan Sabha result, BJP seats	54
BJP vote share in 2023	46.3 per cent
Congress vote share in 2023	About 42 per cent
Population (Census 2011)	25,545,198
Population (Census 2001)	20,833,803
Decadal growth 2001 to 2011	22.61 per cent
Male population (Census 2011)	12,832,895
Female population (Census 2011)	12,712,303
Sex ratio (Census 2011)	991 females per 1,000 males
National sex ratio (Census 2011)	940
Literacy rate (Census 2011)	70.28 per cent
Male literacy (Census 2011)	80.27 per cent
Female literacy (Census 2011)	60.24 per cent
Urban population share (Census 2011)	23.24 per cent
Rural population share (Census 2011)	76.76 per cent
Urban literacy (Census 2011)	84.05 per cent
Rural literacy (Census 2011)	65.99 per cent
Hindus in the population (Census 2011)	93.25 per cent
Muslims in the population (Census 2011)	2.02 per cent
Christians in the population (Census 2011)	1.92 per cent
Official languages	Hindi and Chhattisgarhi
Law that made Chhattisgarhi co-official	Chhattisgarh Official Language (Amendment) Act, 2007
Chhattisgarhi speakers (approximate)	About 16.2 million
Language family of Chhattisgarhi	Indo-Aryan, Eastern Hindi
Main script of Chhattisgarhi	Devanagari
State animal	Wild water buffalo
State bird	Common hill myna
State tree	Sal
Neighbouring states	Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Jharkhand, Odisha, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana
Number of neighbouring states	7
Highest point (as listed in Wikipedia)	Nandiraj, 1,276 m
Largest river	Mahanadi
Source of the Mahanadi	Near Pharsiya village, Nagri-Sihawa, Dhamtari district
Length of the Mahanadi	About 900 km
Drainage basin of the Mahanadi	About 132,100 sq km
Mahanadi flows into	Bay of Bengal, via Odisha
Left-bank tributaries of the Mahanadi	Seonath, Mand, Ib and Hasdeo
Right-bank tributaries of the Mahanadi	Ong, Jonk, Telen and Danta
Hirakud Dam is near	Sambalpur (Odisha)
Forest cover (as stated in Wikipedia; year not confirmed)	Over 41 per cent
National parks	Three: Indravati, Kanger Valley and Guru Ghasidas
Tiger reserves	Four: Indravati, Udanti-Sitanadi, Achanakmar and Guru Ghasidas-Tamor Pingla
Biosphere reserve	Achanakmar-Amarkantak
Wildlife sanctuary named for the wild buffalo	Pamed
Coal reserves rank	Third largest in India (as stated in Wikipedia)
Only state with deposits of	Tin (as stated in Wikipedia)
Rice bowl of India	Chhattisgarh
Bhilai Steel Plant set up	1955, with USSR help; production from 1959
Owner of Bhilai Steel Plant	Steel Authority of India Limited (SAIL)
Bhilai Steel Plant district	Durg
GSDP 2023-24 (Wikipedia)	About 5.09 lakh crore rupees
Sector shares of the economy (Wikipedia)	Agriculture 32%, industry 32%, services 36%
Likely origin of the name	Thirty-six forts (chhattis garh); disputed
Alternative theory of the name	Chedisgarh, the land of the Chedi dynasty
Early theatre architecture	Sitabenga Caves, dated to the Mauryan period, 3rd century BCE
Staff Selection Board Bill passed	20 March 2026
Old name of the professional exam board	Chhattisgarh Vyavsayik Pariksha Mandal (CG Vyapam)
CGPSC State Service Exam 2025 posts	238
CGPSC State Service Prelims date	22 February 2026
CGPSC Prelims papers and marks	Two papers of 200 marks each
CGPSC Prelims negative marking	One-third mark per wrong answer
CGPSC Mains papers	Seven papers of 200 marks each, 1,400 in total
CGPSC age limit, general	21 to 30 years
CGPSC age limit, domiciled in Chhattisgarh	Up to 35 years
Chhattisgarh TET question count	150 per paper
Chhattisgarh TET qualifying marks	60% general, 50% reserved (reported)
2012 reservation structure	SC 12%, ST 32%, OBC 14%; total 58%
High Court order on 58% quota	19 September 2022, set aside
Supreme Court stay on that order	1 May 2023
December 2022 bills	SC 13%, ST 32%, OBC 27%, EWS 4%; total 76%
High Court Junior Judicial Assistant posts (2025)	133

Frequently asked questions

When was Chhattisgarh formed and what is its capital?

Chhattisgarh was formed on 1 November 2000 from Madhya Pradesh. Its capital is Raipur.

How many districts does Chhattisgarh have?

As on October 2026, Chhattisgarh has 33 districts in five divisions. It had 16 districts at formation. Five districts were inaugurated in September 2022.

How many seats are in the Chhattisgarh Vidhan Sabha and Lok Sabha?

The Vidhan Sabha has 90 seats. The state sends 11 members to the Lok Sabha and 5 to the Rajya Sabha.

What is the population of Chhattisgarh?

The Census 2011 population is 25,545,198, with a sex ratio of 991 and a literacy rate of 70.28 per cent. Census 2011 is still the latest published census.

What is the age limit for CGPSC State Service Exam?

The reported rule is a minimum age of 21 and a maximum of 30, extended to 35 for domiciled residents of Chhattisgarh, with relaxations for categories and women. The DSP post has a lower limit in at least one source. Check the latest notification.

What is the exam pattern of CGPSC?

The State Service Exam has a Prelims of two 200-mark objective papers, a Mains of seven 200-mark descriptive papers and an interview. See our CGPSC guide for the syllabus and mocks.

Is there negative marking in the CGPSC Prelims?

Yes, one-third of a mark is deducted for each wrong answer, as per the pattern references we opened.

Who conducts the Chhattisgarh Police SI exam?

The commission, not the professional exam board. Our Police SI guide has the details.

Who conducts the Chhattisgarh Police Constable exam?

The written exam is run through CG Vyapam for Police Headquarters, with physical tests as separate stages. See our constable guide.

Is CG Vyapam now the Chhattisgarh Staff Selection Board?

The Assembly passed the Staff Selection Board Bill on 20 March 2026 and reports say the existing board will be merged into it. As on 4 October 2026, the official site still used the Vyapam name, and we could not confirm the date the new board takes over.

What is the qualifying mark in Chhattisgarh TET?

It is reported as 60 per cent for the general category and 50 per cent for reserved categories. The certificate is reported to be valid for life. See our TET guide.

Can candidates from other states apply for Chhattisgarh government jobs?

It depends on the post. The State Service Exam is open to Indian citizens with a lower age limit for non-domiciled candidates, while some exams, such as the Amin Patwari recruitment, require Chhattisgarh residence. Read the eligibility section of each notification.

What is the reservation percentage in Chhattisgarh?

The 2012 structure was SC 12 per cent, ST 32 per cent and OBC 14 per cent, a total of 58 per cent. It was set aside by the High Court in 2022 and stayed by the Supreme Court in 2023, so the matter is still in court as far as we could confirm.

Did Chhattisgarh pass a 76 per cent reservation law?

The Assembly passed two bills for SC 13, ST 32, OBC 27 and EWS 4 per cent on 3 December 2022. Reports from that time say the Governor had not signed them, and we did not confirm a later status.

Who was the first Chief Minister of Chhattisgarh?

Ajit Jogi, from 1 November 2000 to 7 December 2003. The fourth Chief Minister took office on 13 December 2023; for the present holder see current affairs.

Which is the largest river in Chhattisgarh?

The Mahanadi, about 900 km long, rising near Pharsiya village in Dhamtari district.

How many tiger reserves are there in Chhattisgarh?

Four: Indravati, Udanti-Sitanadi, Achanakmar and the newly declared Guru Ghasidas-Tamor Pingla.

Which exam do I need for becoming a primary teacher in Chhattisgarh?

A D.El.Ed or equivalent qualification, then the Chhattisgarh TET, then the Assistant Teacher recruitment. See our Pre D.El.Ed, TET and Assistant Teacher guides.

Is the High Court recruitment a law exam?

No. The Junior Judicial Assistant paper is a general-aptitude screening test followed by a typing test. See our High Court Assistant guide.

Sources and verification

Time-sensitive facts (government, party strength, budget, office-holders, exam rules) were checked on 4 October 2026. Where a figure came only from a secondary source, or sources disagreed, the text says "reported", gives both figures, or leaves the fact out rather than guess. Census 2011 is still the latest published census, so demographic figures are for 2011 unless a year is given.

Official and primary sources used: Election Commission of India and the Chief Electoral Officer, Chhattisgarh (statistical reports for 2003, 2008, 2013 and 2018); PRS Legislative Research (Chhattisgarh Budget Analysis 2026-27 and the sixth Assembly profile); Chhattisgarh Finance Department 2026-27 budget highlights; NITI Aayog, Macro and Fiscal Landscape of the State of Chhattisgarh; Indian Bureau of Mines, Indian Minerals Yearbook; the CG Vyapam website.

Cross-checks: Wikipedia, All India Radio, Hitavada, LiveLaw, ThePrint, Drishti IAS, Vajiram and Ravi, Careers360 and the exam sources listed below.

Sources for the exam sections: Facts verified on 4 October 2026. Government sites that returned only partial content are marked. Many exam-specific figures come from secondary exam sites, as official notifications could not be opened in full, and are flagged in the text with "reported".

• News Arena, "Chhattisgarh passes Staff Selection Board Bill" (20 March 2026), for the board bill.
• Dainik Jagran (English edition), article on the Staff Selection Board and Prevention of Unfair Means bills.
• Official CG Vyapam website (vyapamcg.cgstate.gov.in), for the board's name and current notices as on 4 October 2026.
• Chhattisgarh Public Service Commission website (psc.cg.gov.in), navigation only; no notice text was visible.
• Careers360, pages on the CGPSC State Service Exam, Vyapam recruitment and Chhattisgarh jobs.
• GovtJobsAlert, CGPSC State Civil Service Exam 2025 page.
• Drishti IAS, CGPSC exam pattern page.
• SarkariJobs, CGPSC SSE Mains Result 2026 page.
• BYJU'S, CGPSC age limit page (used only as a cross-check; its relaxation table conflicts with the rules text below, which we preferred).
• CGPSC State Service Exam eligibility document (igjobs.in, PDF, undated), for the age rules and relaxations.
• Indianemployees.com, gazette listing for the 2020 amendment of the Chhattisgarh Civil Services (General Conditions of Service) Rules, 1961 (header only; the contents were not visible).
• LiveLaw, report on the Supreme Court stay (1 May 2023).
• ThePrint, report on the December 2022 reservation bills.
• The Wire, headline on the Supreme Court stay (headline only).
• Census2011.co.in, Chhattisgarh population page.
• Wikipedia, as a cross-check only, pages on Chhattisgarh, Demographics of Chhattisgarh, List of districts of Chhattisgarh, Chhattisgarh High Court, Chhattisgarhi language, List of chief ministers of Chhattisgarh, Mahanadi, Bhilai Steel Plant and Economy of Chhattisgarh.
• Exam facts for our own exam guides come from src/lib/exams-data.ts in this repository.