In this guide
Every UPPSC aspirant hopes one day to sit in one of the chairs described below — as an SDM in a tehsil, a BDO in a block, or a Deputy Collector in a district office. So it pays to understand the machinery properly: who holds power in Uttar Pradesh, how orders travel from Lucknow to a village, and where the checks lie. This is also the foundation for many Mains questions on state administration.
The constitutional frame
Uttar Pradesh is governed, like every state, under Part VI of the Constitution (Articles 152–237). There is no special status provision for UP. What makes the state distinctive is scale: a population of about 20 crore in 2011, the largest legislature of any state, 80 Lok Sabha seats and 31 Rajya Sabha seats.
The executive
The Governor (Articles 153–162) is the constitutional head, appointed by the President and holding office during the President's pleasure. The Governor summons and prorogues the legislature, gives or withholds assent to bills (and may reserve bills for the President under Article 200), promulgates ordinances under Article 213, appoints the Chief Minister, and is ex-officio Chancellor of the state universities. The Governor's residence in Lucknow, long known as Raj Bhavan, was renamed Jan Bhavan in January 2026.
The Chief Minister and the Council of Ministers (Articles 163–164) hold real executive power. The Council is collectively responsible to the Vidhan Sabha. Under the 91st Amendment (2003), the size of the Council cannot exceed 15% of the Assembly's strength — for UP's 403-member Assembly, that means a ceiling of 60 ministers including the Chief Minister. Ministers come in three ranks: Cabinet ministers, Ministers of State (Independent Charge) and Ministers of State.
The Advocate General (Article 165) is the state's chief law officer.
The Secretariat
Policy is made in the Secretariat at Lucknow — since 2016 the new Secretariat building known as Lok Bhavan has housed the Chief Minister's office, and the older Secretariat complex (Bapu Bhawan, Vidhan Bhawan annexe and others) houses departments.
| Level | Who | Role |
|---|---|---|
| Chief Secretary | Senior-most IAS officer | Head of the civil service; secretary to the Cabinet; coordinates departments |
| Agricultural Production Commissioner / Infrastructure and Industrial Development Commissioner | Senior IAS officers | Coordinate groups of departments |
| Additional Chief Secretary / Principal Secretary / Secretary | IAS officers | Administrative heads of departments |
| Directorates | Heads of department (e.g., Director of Health) | Execute policy in the field |
The distinction to remember is between the Secretariat (which frames policy) and the Directorates (which implement it).
Divisions and districts
Below Lucknow, UP is organised into 18 divisions and 75 districts.
| Unit | Head | Role |
|---|---|---|
| Division (Mandal) | Divisional Commissioner | Supervises districts; revenue appeals; coordination |
| District (Janpad) | District Magistrate / Collector | Law and order, revenue, elections, disasters, development coordination |
| Sub-division / Tehsil | Sub-Divisional Magistrate (SDM) and Tehsildar | Revenue administration, land records, magistracy |
| Development block | Block Development Officer (BDO) | Rural development schemes; works with the Kshettra Panchayat |
| Village | Lekhpal (revenue) and Gram Panchayat Secretary | Land records; panchayat functions |
At the district level, the Chief Development Officer (CDO) — often a young IAS officer — coordinates development schemes, while the Superintendent of Police or Senior Superintendent of Police handles policing (except in commissionerate cities; see our post on police administration).
The judiciary
The High Court of Judicature at Allahabad sits at Prayagraj, with a permanent bench at Lucknow. The Lucknow bench traces its origins to the Chief Court of Oudh, which was amalgamated with the Allahabad High Court in 1948. It is one of the largest High Courts in India by sanctioned strength. Below it are District and Sessions Courts, Civil Courts, and special courts.
Key constitutional and statutory bodies
| Body | Basis |
|---|---|
| UP Public Service Commission (Prayagraj) | Article 315; set up in 1937 |
| State Election Commission | Article 243K — conducts panchayat and municipal elections |
| State Finance Commission | Article 243I — recommends sharing of state revenue with local bodies |
| Lokayukta | UP Lokayukta and Up-Lokayuktas Act, 1975 |
| State Human Rights Commission | Protection of Human Rights Act, 1993 |
| State Information Commission | RTI Act, 2005 |
| UP Subordinate Services Selection Commission | State law — recruits for Group C posts |
Language
Hindi (in Devanagari) is the official language of UP under the UP Official Language Act, 1951. Urdu was added as the second official language for specified purposes by an amendment in 1989.
A Mains framework: challenges of governing UP
- Scale — very large districts; administrative load on DMs.
- Capacity — vacancies at the cutting edge (lekhpals, teachers, health staff).
- Coordination — many departments working in silos.
- Accountability — grievance redress, transparency and social audit.
- Reform ideas — creation of smaller districts, e-governance, performance dashboards, capacity building at the block level.
Practice
Prelims-style:
- What is the maximum size of UP's Council of Ministers?
- Under which Article does the Governor promulgate ordinances?
- Where does the Allahabad High Court have its permanent bench?
- How many divisions and districts does UP have?
- When did Urdu become UP's second official language?
Mains-style:
- "The District Magistrate remains the linchpin of administration in Uttar Pradesh." Discuss.
- Examine the challenges of administering a state of UP's size and suggest reforms.
A note on dates and numbers. Exam patterns, vacancies and schedules change from year to year. Always confirm the current details in the latest notification on the Uttar Pradesh Public Service Commission website .
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